A friendly, honest guide for anyone who has daydreamed about shared dinners, a village of neighbours who know your name, and a smaller footprint. We cover what these places really are, how they run, which ones have lasted, and the parts nobody puts in the brochure.
An intentional community is any group of people who choose to live near each other and share something on purpose: land, buildings, meals, money, values, or simply the job of looking after one another. That covers everything from a Danish street of families who eat together twice a week to an eco-village with its own forest and school.
What they have in common is a trade. You give up some privacy, some speed and some control over your surroundings. In return you get neighbours you actually know, shared resources you could never afford alone, and a say in how the place you live is run. Whether that suits you depends more on temperament than architecture.
The words get used loosely. These are the four you will meet most often in Europe, and real places often mix two or three.
Private, complete homes clustered around a common house with a big kitchen, dining room and guest rooms. Residents usually design the scheme together and manage it themselves. Born in Denmark, where it is called bofællesskab.
Usually a building run by a company or landlord, with private bedrooms and shared kitchens, lounges and workspaces. Community is often organised for you through events. Popular with young professionals and remote workers in cities.
A rural or semi-rural settlement built around ecological, social and often cultural or spiritual goals. Expect gardens, natural building, shared land, and a lot of volunteer work. Many belong to the Global Ecovillage Network.
A legal structure more than a lifestyle. Members own the whole building or estate together and each holds a right to occupy a home. Common in Scandinavia, Germany and Switzerland.
This is where communities live or die, and it is worth more of your attention than the solar panels. Most European communities use some form of consensus: a proposal goes ahead only when nobody present blocks it. Done well, everyone can live with the result. Done badly, the most stubborn person holds a veto.
Many groups now use sociocracy or similar methods instead. Decisions are pushed down to small circles (the garden group, the finance group), and a proposal passes when nobody has a reasoned, serious objection, rather than when everyone is delighted. Others vote by majority on small matters and keep consensus for big ones.
Whatever the method, ask to read recent meeting minutes. They show what the group argues about and whether a few voices dominate.
The aim of Christiania is to build a self-ruling society, where each individual can help him- or herself freely while remaining responsible to the community as a whole.
The heart of classic co-housing is the common house: a large kitchen and dining room where residents take turns cooking for everyone a few evenings a week, plus laundry, workshops, children's play space and guest rooms. Because these are shared, private homes can be smaller.
Shared spaces need shared work. Most places expect a set number of hours each month for cooking, cleaning, gardening or committee work. Resentment about who is not pulling their weight is among the most common complaints anywhere, so ask how work is tracked.
None is a template. Each has survived decades, including hard years, which is why they are worth studying.
Hillerød area, Denmark · residents moved in 1972
Often described as the first modern co-housing community. It grew from a 1967 newspaper article by Bodil Graae and the work of architect Jan Gudmand-Høyer, and it set the pattern of private homes around a common house. The English word "cohousing" was popularised by architects Kathryn McCamant and Charles Durrett in their 1988 book on the Danish model.
Moray, north-east Scotland · since 1962
Founded by Peter and Eileen Caddy and Dorothy Maclean in a caravan park, Findhorn became a spiritual community and eco-village, and in 1995 hosted the conference that led to the Global Ecovillage Network. It is also a caution: the Findhorn Foundation closed its education programmes in 2023, and residents have since formed a community benefit society to take land and buildings into community ownership.
Copenhagen, Denmark · since 1971
A former military area occupied in 1971 and run ever since through residents' meetings that aim for consensus. Around 850 to 1,000 people live there. In 2012 a residents' foundation began buying the land from the state, and in 2024 residents and police together dug up Pusher Street to end its open cannabis trade: a reminder that self-government means owning your hardest problems.
Alentejo, southern Portugal · since 1995
Founded by Dieter Duhm, Sabine Lichtenfels and Rainer Ehrenpreis as a peace research and education centre. Known for its water retention landscape, and for unconventional views on love and relationships that draw both admirers and critics. It runs introduction weeks during its guest season.
Altmark, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany · since 1997
An eco-village of roughly 140 adults and children, famous for straw-bale buildings, including the three-storey Strohpolis completed in 2006. It offers guided tours and information weekends, making it one of the easier places to see a working eco-village.
Children should have a hundred parents.
Communities are homes first, not attractions. Instead of turning up unannounced:
The missing link between utopia and the outdated single-family house.
Tick them off as you get clear, written answers. A good community will be glad you asked. Your ticks stay in this browser only.
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Most communities are run by decent people. Some are not, and good people can still build structures that fail. Be wary of:
Meetings take real time. Privacy is lower than you expect. Selling can be slow, lenders are wary of unusual structures, and the keenest members often burn out.
Children with dozens of adults looking out for them. Older people who are not alone. And the plain pleasure of walking to dinner and knowing everyone at the table.
Not usually to buy into. Private homes in co-housing tend to be priced like other new homes nearby, and the shared buildings add cost. Savings come later and are modest: shared tools, cars, guest rooms and meals. Some cooperative and rental models are genuinely cheaper.
In co-housing each household has its own complete home and its own money, and shares a common house and grounds. In a commune members typically pool income or assets and share most living space. Co-housing is about neighbourliness with privacy; a commune is about a shared economic life.
It depends on the legal structure. If you buy a freehold or leasehold home on its own title, a normal mortgage is often possible. If you are buying cooperative shares or a membership right, many mainstream lenders will not lend. Ask which lenders previous members used.
No. Some well known eco-villages, such as Findhorn in Scotland, grew out of a spiritual practice, while others are mainly ecological or practical projects. Ask directly what shared practices are expected and whether they are optional.
Longer than feels necessary. Visit more than once, stay at least a week, sit in on a meeting, and speak to people who have left. A trial period of several months to a year is a good sign, not an obstacle.
Common Ground is a guide to shared living in Europe.