You can find land, raise money and design a new town. But what would make people actually move there?

Timothy Allen sits down with Stacia Wilson, co-founder and Chief Community Officer of Meridia, a proposed new town near Austin, Texas. Before there are streets and houses, Stacia is working on the people: introducing prospective residents, building friendships and finding out what would persuade them to make a home together.

Recorded in Próspera in September 2026, this conversation explores the practical problems of community building. Businesses need customers, residents need services, and knowing one person in a proposed community doesn’t mean you know your future neighbours. Stacia explains how Meridia is building its community through Austin meetups, and why she wants people trading with each other before the town exists.

They also explore what kind of life that community could support. Drawing on Stacia’s childhood in Japan and Timothy’s experience raising three children, the discussion turns to independence, phones, schooling, motherhood, relationships and meaningful work. Can choosing the people and culture around you change how everyday life works?

In this conversation:

• Building friendships before asking people to move somewhere together
• What anthropology and dance communities can teach us about culture
• Political disagreement, independent journalism and critical thinking
• First impressions of Próspera and the importance of everyday services
• Fractal NYC, walkable neighbourhoods and starting with an existing community
• Why land and funding do not automatically attract residents
• Creating a local economy before a new town is built
• Children’s independence, homeschooling and learning through useful work
• Whether shared expectations can change how families use technology
• Phones, social pressure and the difficulty of leading by example
• Relationships, feminism and different expectations of men and women
• Motherhood, ambition and integrating children into working life
• What Meridia could learn from Stacia’s childhood in Japan

Enjoy the conversation.

Timestamps (audio version, includes Timothy’s episode introduction):

• 0:00:30 - Introduction: the 2027 relaunch and a search for new music
• 0:03:29 - Raphaël Lima and the new midweek episode format
• 0:06:02 - Should the spoken introduction stay?
• 0:07:53 - Liberland: citizenship, membership and AI administration
• 0:09:29 - Fountain supporter thanks and the Manchester events
• 0:12:31 - And finally: tracking down a stolen Lancashire wall
• 0:13:46 - Start of conversation: AI researches the guest
• 0:17:02 - Growing up in Japan, anthropology and West Coast Swing
• 0:21:44 - Political divides, Second Look News and Curio
• 0:28:29 - Próspera’s culture, coffee shops and attracting families
• 0:34:02 - Fractal NYC, Culdesac and building a community first
• 0:41:52 - Austin meetups and getting future residents trading
• 0:45:27 - Stacia’s pitch: a town that makes family life easier
• 0:48:47 - Ambition, motherhood and children’s independence
• 0:52:45 - Can a different community culture change children’s phone use?
• 1:02:15 - Dating, Snapchat and choosing a partner
• 1:05:22 - The Queen’s Code and expectations of men and women
• 1:13:40 - Feminism, careers and integrating work with raising children
• 1:19:59 - Homeschooling and childhood freedom in Japan
• 1:23:05 - Trust, social pressure and the culture children grow up in
• 1:25:42 - Meridia’s community-building phase and getting involved
• 1:26:58 - Closing thoughts and supporting the show

Guest: Stacia Wilson: Meridia team profile | Meridia | Meridia on X | Meridia Substack

Links mentioned:

• Meridia: project information and getting involved | Meetups and events
• Curio: Stacia’s critical-thinking project
• Fractal NYC
• The Queen’s Code by Alison Armstrong
• Episode 208: Paraguay’s Banking Scandal: What’s Really Going On? | Raphaël Lima
• Liberland’s proposed Citizenship Act: citizenship and membership explained
• Liberland president’s November message: AI administration and Ethereum
• Bitfest: Manchester, 19–22 November 2026 | Freedom Fest, where Timothy will be speaking. Code FREECITIES applies to separate Freedom Fest tickets; a full Bitfest ticket includes Freedom Fest.
• Veritas Villages: community news and updates
• And finally: a hidden AirTag helps recover stolen historic wall stones in Rufford

Timothy’s interview with Meridia co-founder Billy Tetrud, mentioned during the conversation, is forthcoming.

The Free Cities Podcast is the official podcast of the Free Cities Foundation, hosted by Timothy Allen. New episodes every Friday. Long-form, in-person conversations with the builders, investors, residents and thinkers shaping the future of Free Cities, charter cities, special economic zones, Network States, private cities and governance innovation worldwide.

From 1 January 2027: the show becomes independent as Free Cities, with the same podcast feed and new video episodes on Timothy Allen’s YouTube channel. Follow the channel now for clips and additional conversations ahead of the relaunch.

Listen & follow: freecities.fm | All platforms | Fountain (bonus episodes & early access)

Community: Telegram | Free Cities Foundation newsletter | Free Cities Conference

Support the show: Donate via Stripe | V4V podcast apps

Lead show sponsor: Veritas Villages - Freedom-oriented communities in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, with opportunities to generate power, grow food and rely less on outside systems. Bitcoin accepted for property purchases.

Sponsor: AmityAge - Turning stranded gas into power for Bitcoin mining in Alberta. Accredited investors can follow the link to request details about the project.

Sponsor: Blink - A Bitcoin and Lightning wallet for everyday payments and local Bitcoin economies.

Follow: New YouTube channel | Free Cities Podcast on X | Free Cities Podcast on TikTok | Timothy Allen on X | Timothy Allen on Nostr | Free Cities Foundation on X