Walden Monterey Will Sell You the American Dream for $5M a Lot

We know you’re looking to get out.

The question is: How far?

What if you could take the best of small-town living — a community-minded ethos, neighborhood events, maybe some 200-year-old oaks — but keep it within an hour’s commuting distance of Silicon Valley?

And what if it came wrapped in a tribute to its namesake?

Welcome to Walden Monterey, a luxury-minded private community tucked into a 600-acre hillside overlooking Monterey Bay.

Here you’ll find nearly two dozen 20-acre homesites. Once you buy the land, you can build on it however you like — as long as it makes use of renewable energy sources, and as long as you don’t cut down any of those trees. Community events, like talks and yoga classes, are part of the deal.

Not sure which lot you prefer? Take advantage of a moveable “roving room,” a glass-walled living space in which you can test out the space.

“Think of it as Thoreau’s cabin 2.0,” reads the press release.

Sure, you could instead seek out the sort of cabin Thoreau might have actually lived in.

But if you’re too busy changing the world, Walden Monterey might be a reasonable stand-in.