Other Worlds

There are various parts to this idea.

Firstly, a place where those who would like to escape from this world of our normal everyday lives to somewhere else and live the life that world offers.

Secondly, a place where people can holiday that allows them to live in a different world for a while.

Third, there would be real life jobs maintaining each world and helping to set it up.

Fourth, the real world admin.

Fifth, people who play parts that are specific to each world, actors, entertainers, teachers, real world qualified workers like blacksmiths, carpenters, etc, stunt people, and more.

The main starting point is to find enough people who would want to live in a communal group with other like minded people who want to step aside from our normal lives and live in a completely different world.

The worlds suggested by the images so far, Medieval/Middle Earth Hobbiton, Mars Station 1, Wild West Cowboy Town and a zombie wasteland, do not have to be the worlds chosen, but the point is to step out of our real world lives and fully immerse into something else entirely.

This would mean leaving your real world life and moving to your chosen Other World.

That might mean selling up your normal life and the things in it that do not fit in the world you have chosen and starting anew in the Other World.  The selling up would create a sum of money and you use that money to move to whichever world you have chosen.  (Don't get hung up on the details at this point, it gets clearer as you read on.)

If you sold up your real life and moved to a Other World location, you could spend your money however you like.  You can have a new house built that fits into the theme, set up a business, and save whatever you want to and spend what you want to.  In real terms, it would be like selling up and moving to another place, only, this time, it's not just moving house, village, town, city, county or country, it's another world.

There would be a minimum amount you would need to set yourself up, that is yet to be determined, but you are going to need somewhere to live, something to do for a job and to set up any kind of hobby or whatever.  But everything has to be within the theme of the Other World you have chosen.  You will need food to get you through until you can grow your own if you want to, or you can do something that means you earn money from a job you do.  Whatever jobs there were in the theme of the Other World you are in will be available to you in the Other World you live in.

So, if you chose the Wild West Cowboy world, you could be a barber, shop keeper, carpenter, miller, farmer, bar/hotel owner or a member of staff in any of these, or anything else.  You earn what you can in the Other World, just like you would have had to, and if you can make anything that can be sold back out in the real world, you can sell that and have the income it makes converted to the money in the Other World that you are living in.

If you are a carpenter, when you are not working in the Other World, you could make things to sell outside, teach others, teach visitors, etc.

Any real world money you make that is not converted to your Other World life would be banked for you for if/when you chose to leave.

There would be a few things that would cross the line between the real world and the Other World.  Even if you live in a world where there is no real medical help or you needed to converse with the 'outside' for any reason, like being made aware of family members, etc, whatever the reason, you would be able to access things like medication or letters, etc, but as it arrived in your chosen Other World, it would be put in a suitable bag/box/other.  A few seconds putting medication in a world relevant package will help to remain in the right kind of mind.  The only things where this might change would be if you needed real world ambulance or whatever that was an emergency.  If it came to it, there would not be any messing about, an ambulance, even an air ambulance would be requested with no hesitation.  In a way, it is therefore kind of the best of both worlds.

If you really did need to be in contact with the outside, then some kind of system could be set up that would allow you to have access to what you wanted/needed but it would be asked that you kept such things out of sight and sound.  If you really needed to make a phone call in a Other World where such things don't exist, you could do it in your own home.  But the point is to remain in the Other World you have chosen, using such things as phones or the internet in a way that it does not interfere with others would be most helpful.

In short, move from your everyday real world life and live a life in a Other World as if were a new reality, but with access to the outside world when needed.

Visitors will be able to come and live life in their chosen Other World for a day, a week, a month or more.  But they pay to visit and the money made from that will go between the people living there and the business that will help to maintain the place.

The intention is to create a real and fully immersed world for people to come and see and live life as it would be if the Other World they visit was real.

The visitor would be able to look around where they were allowed, so they won't be entering your home if you choose so, or only the bits you choose, they will be able to act as if they were real people in the town as guests, so buy things made or buy drinks and food that should be authentic to the Other World.  They could stay in a tent, rent a room, stay in the hotel or whatever.

But this is where we might be able to have some fun.

Every now and then, there can be an activity.  Whether it is a raid by some baddies or a murder mystery set for the theme or a party or whatever.  But rather than using anything dangerous, any weaponry would be real life safe versions.  So, Airsoft guns, Nerf bows and arrows, foam swords and knives, etc.  No-one gets hurt, but it would spice up life for a bit of fun.  I believe that some visitors would have a great time taking part in such activities and they would be able to decide whether they are the goodies or the baddies.  

Whether as just a scream queen or an active participant, you would get to join in or hide, the choice would be yours.  You could help organise the protection of the place or be a helper and let someone else do the organising, or you could hide in your home and put a non-player note on the door, or be a bystander at the bar...  The choice would be yours.  Who knows, you might be the next great hero of your world!

Real life workers will be needed, certainly at the start to help build the basics and maintain them until those living there would be able to take over.  My thinking is that to start with, a group of people would need to be onsite to build the main central buildings in each Other World.  Things like the infrastructure, roads, rivers/ponds/lakes/bridges, etc so that those starting living there have a central point to start from.  At this starting point, things like diggers, etc could be used to help things move quicker, but once a certain point was reached, the diggers and other real life kit would be removed and everything would have to be done as it would in whichever Other World you were in.

So, as an example, a river and pond could be made but the river only has a plank or simplistic bridge to cross it.  The kit would leave at that point and the Other World people would have to build a proper/better bridge.  This is where the real life carpenters/stone masons/etc come in.  But things that require real life safety or real life maintenance would be done by properly qualified people who were not part of the Other World.

It may become necessary to have some things done in real world methods to make the Other World more fun.  I doubt that there will be many people willing to act as a slave, whether as a person living there or a person visiting.  In this situation, it will be necessary to either employ non-Other World people to do things or to, in some way, automate such things.  For example, I doubt that a person living there or visiting will want to spend their time stoking a fire to keep a Roman baths heated and supplied with hot water.

Just as there is no way that lead would be used for the plumbing, it would need to be modern and to current safety standards, etc.

Real world admin.  Unfortunately, there will be real world admin that will need doing and there will be a need for it to be done.  This will include everything from the normal paperwork to Other World paperwork, like when someone leaves their old life and moves to their chosen Other World.  There will be a need for that to be documented in and out of real world.

There will be real and Other World accountancy that will need doing and potentially a shop for selling to the outside world, as well as shops in the Other World.  There will be the likes of a website and social media, etc that all needs dealing with.  No doubt there will be far more, but it all needs people to do the job.

People who play parts that are specific to each world, actors, entertainers, teachers, real world qualified workers like blacksmiths, carpenters, etc, stunt people, and more.

Not everyone would be likely to be able to do everything.  So, jobs that needed filling would be done by hiring in people to play that part.  If they are not incoming as part of the Other World community, then certain professional roles would need to be employed in order to make the Other World work.

Some jobs will not fit into this idea in terms of the level of need for it.  For example, a farrier would not be likely to be needed for much unless they were also good at something else, but they could be hired in or they could join the community and then work out in the real world.  It would just mean changing from their Other World self to their real world self each time they leave or return.

There would be need for the likes of plumbers in some places but not electricians and other such situations.  All of this could be dealt with by the admin people and the people involved.

It always comes down to money, doesn't it?

Well, yes, that's a part of the real world that we won't be able to avoid.

So, here's my thinking.

If we got say 40-50 people interested and they all had at least one useful skill, we could look at having a go at this.

If each of those joined in to start this creation of a Other World, I think that at least that many would be needed.  I also think that each would need to contribute at least £50,000.  That sounds a lot, it is a lot!  But this is a new start in a new world and they are presumably leaving their normal real world lives and starting in a Other World.  I would like to hope that anyone doing this would be able to join in for a minimum of three years.

I would also hope that they would be starting with £100,000 by way of selling up, and so keep half of that or whatever they wanted to keep after that £50,000 in a real world savings account or keep it in the real world, and know that it is safe beyond the investment in their new life in the Other World.

What would that buy you?  A small set up I think.  A small starter home made to current standards but in the style of the relevant theme.  If they could build it themselves, it might be better than any kind of basic small home and they would be able to call on others there with the right skills and hire in anyone they needed but we didn't have.  In theory, it would help them set up with whatever job they wanted to do, supply their food, clothes and kit and heating fuel.

Things like a Hobbit type Other World would be able to buy in things like a range cooker and a plumber would be able to make that heat the whole Hobbit Hole.  Smokeless coal would be brought in and everything dealt with as in Other World ways as possible.

Spending £20-30,000 would set up a decent starter home and job and another £10,000 for bills, etc.  The things brought in and bought within the Other World.  The remaining £20,000 would be to buy in to this whole concept and to pay for the land purchase and out of world costs like the admin folks.

I would fully expect this to take a year or so from the start point of wanting to try it to finding the right bit of land to getting the basics and some starter homes made and jobs in action.

A starter home in a Hobbit type world would be 3-5 8' x 20', or the equivalent size hobbit hole that would be set up much like the one we see in the Hobbit films and made by cut and cover technique.  This is where a space is dug and a container put in it and then the space covered back over.  The idea would be something like a shipping container which would need relevant works done to protect it from the elements and the weight of being mostly buried and then carpenters making it liveable as a hobbit hole with the shaping of rounded walls, windows, doors, etc.  In theory, it might be possible to extend some of these as time goes on, but it would be nice if we could do it by way of in world ways, rather than getting a digger in to do it.  There isn't going to be any TVs, internet, phones, etc so there should be plenty of time.  It's then just a case of getting the shipping container or similar into place, which would need to be done by normal means, even if only to get close and then placed by hand, then the carpenters, etc.

It kind of shows that most skills will be needed, from carpenters who can make a wind mill to a furniture maker, upholsterers, and so on.  Once it was done, the place would be yours and you could sell it to a new comer or someone who buys it in world, etc.  But the point would be to live the life.  When visitors come, everyone gets a share of the money along with a share for the maintenance, admin, etc, etc.

The amounts are yet to be decided, and potentially a long way off.  It would all depend on how many people want to join in, who wants to join in in terms of skills and when.

Once we get a critical number, we can look at making a start on finding the right location, buying it and starting to make it happen.