Shared Housing has been my home most of my life.
My late wife, Barbara, and I were heavily influenced by the success of cohousing in Denmark.
There are 1,000 intentional communities worldwide, 750 in the US.
Types include:
- Shared Housing (multiple individuals sharing a dwelling)
- Cohousing (individual homes within group owned property)
- Commune (organized around sharing almost everything)
- Ecovillage (organized around ecology and sustainability)
- Student Housing or Student Co-Op
- Spiritual or Religious Community
- Senior Cooperative Housing (active 55 and older residents)
- Transition Town or Eco-Neighborhood
- Traditional or Indigenous Community
Here are several flavors of group living that our family has some personal exposure to.
Our Coop
It's kinda like a condo.
Only with an intentional-family twist.
Either it's been a success or we're just lazy, 'cause it's kept us happy for 30 years.
Nyland Cohousing
Private dwellings, some multi-family, all on land managed by the residents.
Marcia helped build it and lived there for a decade.
Twin Oaks Community
Income sharing, common housing, and 42 hours a week working in the community's business and domestic areas.
Been a goin' thing for over 50 years.
Eleanor and Earle's visit there was one of the sparks for our own coop.