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Intentional CommunityOperational

Free State Project

Official Website

United StatesNorth America

At a glance

Established
2016
Population
5,000–10,000 residents
Climate
Humid Continental
Languages
English
Industries
Healthcare, Manufacturing, Retail, Education
Coordinates
43.66° N, 71.78° W
Who it’s for
US-based libertarians

About the project

This movement encourages libertarians from the United States to move to New Hampshire with the goal of transforming it into a freedom-oriented jurisdiction.

The Free State Project is a migration movement in the United States that encourages libertarians from across the country to relocate to one state, New Hampshire, and concentrate there. The aim is to build a critical mass of liberty-minded residents within an existing jurisdiction rather than to found a new settlement of their own.

It rests on the premise that a political philosophy spread thinly across a large country has little influence, whereas the same number of people gathered in one small state can shape its civic life. Prospective participants signed a statement of intent, pledging to move once a target number of like-minded signatories was reached. This happened in 2016 and members of the project have been moving to the state since. New Hampshire was chosen partly for its small population and its “Live Free or Die” tradition of limited government.

The project is decentralised and unaffiliated with any political party; a non-profit of the same name promotes it and organises gatherings, the best known being the annual PorcFest festival. Its long-term aim is not to win office as a bloc but to encourage a freer political culture in the state, and its community is bound together more by shared events and values than by any formal membership.

Official Website View on the Globe
TopicsIntentional CommunitiesResidency and CitizenshipPrivate Governance

Videos

Podcast episodes

Worth a watch

Videos and articles from around the web, made by others rather than the Free Cities Foundation. Each one plays here, and the pill on it opens the original.

Watch on YouTube

The Wall Street Journal

Can New Hampshire Become a Libertarian Utopia?

The Journal reports on the plan to gather 20,000 libertarians in one state, filmed as the movers pledge hit its target.

Watch on YouTube

Free the People

Beautiful Chaos at PorcFest 2022

A short, warm portrait of the festival’s camps, talks and trading, filmed at PorcFest 2022.

Watch on YouTube

101 Reasons Film

101 Reasons: Liberty Lives in New Hampshire (Full Length Film)

The feature-length community documentary on why Free Staters chose New Hampshire, from its politics to Bitcoin to PorcFest.

People

Team

The people officially representing Free State Project.

Voices from the community

People connected to Free State Project: residents and neighbours rather than official representatives, but worth getting to know when learning more about it.

In the press