GREEK VILLAGE COHOUSING – Permit Granted, Excavation Has Begun!

by Founder: Pare (Evi) Gerou
Category
Forming Communities
Location
Peloponnesos, Greece

Our mountain agrihood in Greece is more than a place to live; it’s a more meaning and connected life for those who cherish community, sustainability, and the flexibility to work where the air is clear and views are inspiring in beautiful Greece. It’s a home for families to grow, professionals to thrive remotely, and retirees to contribute meaningfully.  We’ve got a spectacular location and group, have completed our collaborative design phase, and have begun our earthwork excavation!

www.GreekVillageCohousing.com

Who we are: multinational, multilingual, multigenerational, friendly, skilled, — Communitarians!

Our group is as diverse as it is wonderful, we speak many languages and have diverse ideologies, religions, political opinions, and nationalities.  We are united not just by our varied backgrounds but by our commitment to greater mutual care and connection among neighbors, to community service, to living a more sustainable and resilient life, and to collaborative governance.

We are remote professionals, retirees, Greeks, and lovers of the Greek Mediterranean Lifestyle.  We collaborate to care for our village together, and we regularly train in sociocracy and other community living skills to ensure we thrive.

We love to cook together several times a week in our Common House using delicious local foods.  We love to eat together on our outdoor plateia overlooking the stunning Taygetos mountains.  We love to hike, bike, sail, stroll, explore natural and historic wonders, and drive down to the world class beaches or up to the ski slopes.

Where we are:  We are beginning to excavate earthworks for our village of 33 homes and an awesome Common House, and we are passionate about our breathtaking location in Peloponnesus Greece.

After searching throughout Greece for a year, we settled on gorgeous Peloponnesus because it has it all- snowcapped mountain ranges, vineyards and olive groves, beaches and seaside villages, cozy mountain villages, modern cities, best food and culture in the world, and ancient UNESCO archeological sites.

Peloponnesos is relatively free from mass tourism compared to the islands, and we do not need to fly or ferry in all our food and goods to an island.  Importantly for us, we can easily hop in the car drive to Athens, to airports, and into Europe.  It will take a lifetime to explore Peloponnesos.

We’ve begun to excavate earthworks for our charming village homes and Common House and anticipate a timeline of between 2 and three years till completion.

Our Location in Peloponnesos: the low foothills of the Taygetos Mountains between seaside village Gythio and famed city Sparta.

People fall in love with our land.  We are flanked by pristine nature national forest and jut out into the sunshine and fresh air.  Ever present is the breathtaking view of the Taygetos mountains – ancient, majestic mountains associated with wellness and mentioned in the Odyssey.  The valley below us is dotted with farms and orchards, and you can hear the sound of the sheep’s bells.  This is the heart of some of the best food in the world- literally winning first prize for olive oil and near the famed blue zones of longevity .  We can dine and do activities outside year-round in this arid forest region.

Despite feeling enveloped by nature, we are a very conveniently 20-minute drive down a nice road to the city of Sparta.  Sparta is a vibrant city, alive every night as everyone comes out to eat and socialize.  Just 30 minutes the other direction takes us to a picture postcard seaside village and world class beaches around Gythio. The breathtaking Mani Peninsula is a short drive as are the UNESCO sites of Monemvasia and Mystras.  The beautiful city of Nafplio is an easy day trip. The ferry at Gythio will take you to the island of Crete, or you can drive to Patras and take the ferry to Italy. During your vacations from our full time permanent resident village, you can be at most major European, North African, and Turkish cities within a few yours.

You can find out more about our location on our website.

Our Stage of Development – Excavation Stage, Group Formation Stage. 

We have an incredible site, awesome developers who believe in our cohousing mission, a beautiful design completed using the participatory process, and a budget and home prices. Part of our permits are complete.  We are excavating earthworks this year and working on utilities.  We hope to break ground on the village very late this year or early next year.  Some of us live in Greece, and many of us go to Greece regularly every 3 months to see the land and be together in person.  We meet each week and work together using Zoom.  You can see photos and watch a little of one of our design workshops on our website and on our facebook page.

Some Details:

Our community prioritizes traditional cohousing values and design as articulated in Charles Durrett and Katie McCamant seminal book on Cohousing.

Our village will also be adjacent to a larger community- “Wellness and Lifestyle Community” that spans the entirety of a low foothill and valley.  This larger community phase of development plans for a nature based and agricultural/ gastronomy based resort community with villas, several restaurantes to walk to, a spa and agrotourism hotel with services some members may want to purchase, and walking paths amidst nature.  There will be another cohousing community to keep us company nearby, and we will also be surrounded by a resort vineyard, olive and fruit tree orchard, farm, horses, beekeeping, outdoor yoga and meditation area, and miles of hiking trails.

Aesthetic: Our village aesthetic will mirror the charming village architecture around us as well as the landscape.  We are inspired by the UNESCO world heritage site and village of Monemvasia.  We seek to use local materials as much as possible.

Outdoor living: We envision generous shared outdoor spaces for an active life lived outdoors.

Who we seek to join us:  Those who value community and either live in Greece or want to relocate to Greece.

Cost: Our home prices include the cost of our land as well as all amenities: The Common House, the pool, the gardens and plateia, the soccer field, basketball court, and pickleball court.  The cost will run between €230 – 530.  This price includes the total cost of land, Common House, and your 1 to 3 bedroom unit.

Golden Visa Permanent Residency: We are not a vacation village.  We live in Greece full time as our home.  Thus, we all must be permanent residents of the EU or citizens of Greece.  Our non-European members will apply for one of several permanent residency options.  The most popular and most frequently used property ownership visa, the Greek Golden Visa.  The latter is Europe’s lowest cost permanent residency through property ownership program, providing EU permanent resident benefits for the entire family -spouse, children under 21, and your parents. The cost of a Golden Visa in Greece is the lowest in Europe and requires a purchase of a property totaling €250,000 or more.  This amount may go up next year and is the lowest in Europe.

 

What to do if interested:

*Visit our website at www.GreekVillageCohousing.com,

*Consider taking the “is this project for you” questionnaire.

*Reach out through the website contract form and ask to attend one of our Friday Information Coffees.

Feel free to email our Founder and Project Manager, Evi Gerou, with your interest: GreekVillageCohousing@gmail.com

Join us on Facebook and LinkedIn!