Is communal living the most sustainable and joyful way to live?
While millions of Americans were begrudgingly sheltering in their McMansions for what felt like an eternity during the dark days of the pandemic, another trend was also taking hold: intentional communities or communes (now sometimes modernized as “pods” or “bubbles”).
The trend, which began long before the pandemic, looks set to linger as everyone from Gen Z to Boomers look to reduce their impact, expenses, and climate risks.
Modern communes — or intentional communities — are stepping out of the shadows of the ‘60s and into a very different set of concerns: climate anxiety, housing scarcity, social disconnection. What was once the territory of barefoot idealists has been reimagined by architects, urbanists, and Gen Z pragmatists as a viable, even stylish, way to live. Less about flower crowns, more about compost toilets and solar microgrids. Less about escaping society, more about redesigning it at a slower pace, with shared values and a lower monthly Venmo request.
To live this way is to enter into a different contract — not just with your roommates, but with the land, the resources, the rhythm of the day. Morning chores might mean tending a communal herb garden instead of scrolling Zillow in despair. Evenings may bring consensus meetings, sure, but also shared meals that cost a fraction of DoorDash. The appeal isn’t just economic; it’s existential. At a time when capitalism feels both inescapable and unsustainable, there’s something quietly radical about choosing less — and choosing it together.
“Though many residents of intentional communities are undoubtedly frustrated by climate inaction and mounting economic inequality, others are joining primarily to form stronger social bonds,” The New York Times reported in 2020.
The number of intentional communities listed in the communal living sector’s directory, the Fellowship of Intentional Communities (FIC), nearly doubled between 2010 and 2016 (the last year the directory was published). It now contains some 1,200 listings. Estimating the total number of people living in these communities is difficult, but the FIC suggests it could be as high as 100,000 in the U.S.
“There’s an obvious growth trend that you can chart,” Sky Blue, the FIC’s executive director, told The Times. He says that millennials “get this intentional community thing more than people in the past.”
Communal living migrations
Business Insider reported that a mass migration, which started before the pandemic, is continuing to see interest now, too, particularly amid the current inflation and rising home prices. People are fleeing major metro areas like Manhattan, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and flocking to less-populated areas like Boise, Idaho; Billings, Montana; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where they are joining communities with common interests.
Idaho, for example, has seen a 194 percent increase in transplants since the pandemic. But the migration was already underway: In 2019, Boise earned the title “best place to live for millennials.” Thousands of these new residents are from Los Angeles.
But you don’t have to flee the urban epicenters to go communal. As millions of Americans struggle to make ends meet, communal living projects offer an affordable alternative via shared resources and reduced expenses. It’s also a way to foster engagement at a time when socializing has become increasingly more difficult and dangerous. Communal living makes for the perfect setting.
And it’s not just for the kids. “Social connection is vitally important for older people, not just for emotional wellbeing but for overall health and quality of life,” holistic wellbeing practitioner Karen Whybrow told Good Housekeeping. But that doesn’t mean living in restrictive senior care homes. There’s a growing movement of active senior communities, known as integrated retirement communities, making the golden years some of the most meaningful. “A thriving community provides emotional, mental and physical benefits, creating a sense of belonging and support that can be truly life-changing. [It] isn’t just about connection, it’s about feeling seen, supported and empowered in a way that no longer makes you feel like you have to navigate life alone,” Whybrow said.
Intentional communities and your carbon footprint
“Many people are looking for antidotes to ever-increasing consumption and feelings of social isolation,” the World Economic Forum (WEF) notes. “There is no single solution, and we will need to look at all aspects of our lives, from the way we consume to day-to-day practices. But for some, the solution is to be found in communal living and intentional communities.”
The WEF suggests these communities may be one of our best avenues for reducing our carbon footprints, too, by adopting less resource-intensive practices.
“Today’s urban communities capitalize on urban cycle networks and public transport. They are also more likely to engage with green transport options such as electric carpooling and on-site workspaces to reduce travel entirely. And those within intentional communities “have been ahead of the curve on this for many years, with ideas such as vegetarianism and self-sufficiency often central to their way of life.”
Some of the ideas being tested in these communities “can create the blueprints for the towns and cities of tomorrow,” WEF notes.
Could communal living be the norm for the next generation?
Bloomberg reports that the pandemic resulted in a “huge surge” in interest in communal living. “Many of these communities are self-contained and self-reliant,” Cynthia Tina, FIC’s communications director said. “They grow their own food, produce their own renewable energy,” and offer a collaborative approach to “emotional support and child care.”
Are communes cults?
The answer isn’t an easy one. Cults call to mind restrictive, abusive, and dangerous situations like the Manson Family, Jonestown, and the Rajneesh Movement. Communal living is essential in these environments, making it easier to maintain control when nearer to the cult leader.
But communal living doesn’t have to be a cult. Often, they’re perfectly benign efforts where people come together for a common goal. Many communes or intentional communities are run by boards that distribute power and decision-making, unlike figurehead-led cults.
Still, today’s modern communes often shy away from language like “commune” for fear of hippie or cult connotations. “Many of the more ambitious projects aren’t listed [in the FIC],” Bloomberg notes, because “they’d rather not define themselves as intentional communities because of fears it sounds hippie-ish.”
But even that aversion could soon change as younger and the much older generations embrace communal living for their personal health and finances, the planet, and their communities.
“This community provides everything I need,” Bridget Dowsett, a resident at an integrated retirement community in Kettering told Good Housekeeping. “There’s a network of people here and we’re very welcoming to new people. We make each other feel less alone.”
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