There has been a recent flurry of articles coming out of the US over the last few weeks talking about how the property market is stable for the nudist investor, while the usual property market flounders and struggles. One of the most interesting articles talking about this phenomenon can be found here -> Click here

The article is interesting because it is quite objective in its commentary – nudists are investors, and the real-estate market is one of the first to pick up on this!!

“It is a very big industry,” says Carolyn Hawkins, spokesperson for the American Association for Nude Recreation. “We’ve gone from a $400m to a $450m industry in the past five years, mostly based on real estate. There are now 268 naturist clubs and resort-communities throughout the US [up from 212 in 1998], with about 30 in Florida alone.”

Resort-style properties appear the most popular – more common in the US and Europe, the concept of owning a villa in what effectively amounts to a “Gated Community” (where the public are not permitted access, residents only allowed!) permits like-minded nudists to partake of the lifestyle without worrying about what the neighbours might think!

Nudists in general are an estate agent’s dream. “They tend to be older people, probably a little more settled, who generally don’t require mortgages and are prepared to pay a premium just to live here,” says Marc Seligman, who lives at The Oasis, a small naturist community in Pasco County, ­Florida.

Shared back yards are apparently common in these communities. Picture a standard Australian block of houses, and you’ll find these communities look the same out the front – but out the back, there are often no back fences (or pool-type fencing instead) with large shared areas including swimming pools and recreation areas!

This concept of community living never really took off in Australia to any great extent like it has in Europe (Cape D’Agde) or the US (quite a few places throughout Florida). Part of it is due to climate, where this kind of arrangement seems popular in places that are hotter and more humid for longer during the year than we see here in Australia. Still, we’ve not heard of any nudist Gated Communities even in Queensland, the best state for nudist lifestyles and still the only state without legalised CO beaches!! Go figure…

Australia has such a small nudist population in comparison to the other countries, it is no surprise that the opportunities for nudists and nudist living is more diverse and different to our own opportunities. Perhaps one day Australia will reach the point where the nudist property market is large enough to be recognised and marketed to!

Interesting couple of months, have you noticed? Take the last post for example, another news article referring to new trends and the future of nudism. Combine that kind of open discussion about nudism as a “curiosity past-time” rather than a lifestyle or recreation choice, and you have a whole new perspective on how the nudist community is evolving!

So, more examples that show times are a’ changin’ – anyone else noticed a sudden jump in nudist/naturist websites? Information portals designed to be starting points for interested people who like being nude. Notice we didn’t say “portals for nudists”, because the new nudist is actually more accurately described as a nude-curious – someone who will skinny dip or streak after a couple of drinks, but also thinks nothing of wandering around home nude.

Skinbook (link) got in early and has established itself quite well as the “Nude Facebook”. More recently, we became aware of Nudist Clubhouse (link), also promoting the “social networking” aspect of nudism.

What do these sites mean for the existing (and somewhat aging) traditional community? What does it mean for the future of nudism? Is it going to be important in attracting wider interest from a demographic that has been traditionally difficult to reach, the youth market?? And what does it mean for traditional models of nudist community management (clubs/resorts and official “bodies” such as ANF and FBA).

Time will tell we suppose – definitely one to keep an eye on!!

(As a side note, this site briefly had an account with Skinbook, but for some reason the account has been banned!! Numerous requests to the administrators for an explanation has met a deafening silence!! We didn’t even get to log in once, and apparently we have a message waiting!! Oh well, looks like we’ll be recommending other portal sites to our viewers, since Skinbook doesn’t actually appear interested in reaching the nudist community via existing supporters like this site!!)

An article in the UK Times Online has presented a really interesting view of the future of nudism – that new nudists are a generation of “nude-curious”. The article talks about how nudism will be less formalised and more location/event specific:

You’ll find them stripping off in their back gardens to make the most of the short-lived British summer, baring all at the Benicassim festival and feeling a new depth of stretch in naked yoga sessions. Where you won’t find them is pulling on a pair of socks and sandals and signing up for two weeks at a traditional nudist holiday camp.

Check out the article, it’s well worth the read. Some of the reader comments are interesting as well – in particular, we liked:

Guy A wrote:
Azra’s right! Nudity is just a fashion choice, not an invitation to intimacy. Anyone who thinks otherwise is still living in the Hugh Hefner era, or worse.

To read the full article, click here

Interesting article in the New York Times, talking about nudism/naturism being environmentally friendly (along with culture and society benefits apparently). The article is quite short, but has a few useful links in that are worth following!

From the article:

“For those few days [we holiday nude], we use virtually no fuel, our diet is minimal with low ecological impact, and we return healthier,” she [Kathy Blanchard] wrote, adding that the “trips are coolly green clothes-free vacations.”

Check out the whole article here -> How Green is a Nudist Vacation?

It’s been around 2 months since the last site update – a quick check on posts around the same time across the last couple of years and it looks like it was still reasonable weather in May in previous years!! Is it just us, or did it get cold much quicker this year? It certainly looks that way on the forums, with very few posts and not much in the way of news!! We’ll just assume everyone is enjoying a larger heating bill for this time of year and staying indoors!!

Since we’re doing a quick post, here’s an update relating to an article that somehow slipped past unnoticed – and it refers to warmer climates, so now is a good time to post!! Last month an article appeared in a number of media outlets talking about a new planned nudist retreat in Alice Springs – one of the articles covering the topic can be found here -> ABC Article

A bit of research revealed that the idea had already been proposed back in August 2008, with a similar story – you can check that article here -> NT News Article

It was interesting to note the photo on that NT News article, the couple looked familiar somehow – although the image does not name the couple, they look a lot like Tony and Lenore Fox, of the White Cockatoo Nudist Resort in Queensland. Probably just a stock photo coincidence, since the article says the Alice Springs resort idea came from a Melbourne businessman…

Enjoy the cold, snow is almost here (not usually a good thing for being nude, but great for skiing!! Perhaps one day nude skiing will be more than a thrillseeker past-time!!)