Greek Village Cohousing
by Pare (Evi) Gerou
- Category
- Forming Communities
- Location
- Peloponnesos, Greece
We have a warm friendly group and a spectacular mountain agrihood location– in Sunny Beautiful Greece, close to world class beaches and a vibrant city. We’ve completed our collaborative design phase and we’ve begun our earthwork excavation! We gather on Zoom and in Greece, and we help each other transition to this new and improved lifestyle.
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 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, and to our shared vision and values.
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-
In Peloponnesos: The Region That Has It All.
After searching throughout Greece for a year, we settled on gorgeous Peloponnesus because it has it all- snow capped 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.
At the Foothills of the Majestic Taygetos Mountains in a breathtaking mountain Agrihood
Between the Seaside Village of Gythio and the vibrant city of Sparta
People fall in love with our land. We are flanked by pristine nature of a huge national forest as far as the eye can see. Our plot juts out into the sunshine and fresh air. We have over 300 of sunny days a year and an ideal climate in our opinion. 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 hours.
But That is Not All!
Our Cohousing Village is inside an incredible, larger, Wellness and Lifestyle Community
While we will be a fully self-contained, separately-owned, cohousing village, our village is within a larger community called Peter and Paul’s Wellness and Lifestyle Village.
The larger community is all about nature, health and wellness, agronomy and good food, and about hospitality and community. The masterplan includes many amenities like a spa, beautiful walking and hiking trails, a restaurant , a future planned winery and olive oil experience, a farm, horses, separate residential villas, and another cohousing village nearby.
What Stage is Our Community In?
We are an intentional community right now- not in the future. Our community meets regularly on Zoom from around the world in order to designs our village together and get to know each other, and we have fun trips to Greece and gather regularly in Greece for those who are able.
As we get to know each other and design together, we plan to mutually choose those who value connected community and living more sustainably. We plan to be full long before our buildings are completed. We are seeking those who value intentional community enough to be part of our formation- those are who we will prioritize as we help develop and then purchase our charming Greek village buildings.
Our Stage of Formation: Design & Permit Complete, Excavation Begun.
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’ve begun excavating earthworks and will soon begin working on utilities.
You can see photos and watch a little of one of our design workshops on our website and on our Facebook page.
Our Cohousing Identity:
Our community is rooted in the Danish cohousing lifestyle and principles as articulated in Charles Durrett & Katie McCamant’s seminal book. These time-tested standards have proven to create thriving communities worldwide. While we embrace diversity in ideologies, religion, and political opinions, we are united by a shared mission to live in a community of mutual support, connection, and resilience. We are committed to managing our village together, sharing time, and living a joyful, purpose-driven life.
One of our community’s passions is cooking and eating together several times a week, growing and buying local foods from our bountiful Mediterranean region.
We value supporting all generations, from childhood to elder life, and prioritize energy self-sufficiency and water conservation. Our community will be powered by solar and geothermal energy, with water sourced from the Taygetos snowcaps and supplemented by municipal supply for resilience.
Living outdoors and in nature is integral to our identity, inspired by our breathtaking location and climate. We envision generous shared outdoor spaces that encourage an active, outdoor lifestyle. Our aesthetic is deeply connected to the traditional Hellenic village architecture, mirroring the beauty of our surroundings and the cultural virtues of Greece. We aim to use local materials, with stone sourced from our own site and mountain.
We seek individuals who value community connection, sustainable living, collaboration, and community service, and who are inspired by nature.
Who we seek to join us? —
Those who value community connection and living sustainably, who enjoy collaboration and community service, who want to relocate to Greece and Peloponnesos, who share our vision and values and who are inspired by nature, good food, and good company.
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 €300k– €650k for your percentage of land ownership, all amenities ownership, 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 €400k or more.
For this amount, a new resident gets a golden double benefit. Not only do they get to live in our village, but they get permanent residency for Greece is one of the last remaining countries to have a Golden Visa, as Spain and Portugal have discontinued their programs.
For this amount
What to do if interested:
*Visit our website (see link above)
* Consider taking our “Is This Project For You” questionnaire.
*Fill out our Contract form at the bottom of each website page, and ask to attend one of our Friday Information Coffees.
Feel free to email our Founder and Project Manager, Evi Gerou, as well-anytime: GreekVillageCohousing@gmail.com
Check out all of our updates us on Facebook page!