Celebrate Connection During National Cohousing Week

April 28–May 4, 2025

By Trish Becker-Hafnor

At a time when so many are feeling isolated, overwhelmed, or simply hungry for meaningful connection, National Cohousing Week offers a powerful reminder: we don't have to go it alone.

This annual celebration—happening April 28 through May 4, 2025—is a chance to highlight a different way of living. A way that centers connection, cooperation, and belonging. Whether you’re living in cohousing, dreaming of it, or just curious about what community can look like in practice, there’s a place for you in this week’s events.

Open House Weekend: Walk Into a New Possibility

The week culminates in National Cohousing Open House Weekend (May 3–4), when communities across the country open their doors to the public. Visitors can tour homes, chat with neighbors, and get a firsthand glimpse of what everyday life in cohousing really feels like.

If you live in cohousing, hosting an open house is one of the most impactful things you can do to grow the movement. Your story—your life—might be the spark that ignites someone else’s path toward community.

And if you’re someone who's been wondering if there's another way to live: this is your invitation to come see it for yourself. Check out our always-growing list of Open House events across the country.

A Week of Virtual Events

Leading up to the big weekend, CohoUS is hosting a series of regional spotlights and themed conversations—covering everything from cohousing research and affordability to aging in community and storytelling. These sessions offer fresh perspectives and shared wisdom from across the movement.

👉 Full schedule listed below!

Why It Matters

Right now, people across the country are asking big questions about housing, connection, sustainability, and how we care for one another. From the housing crisis to climate anxiety to the simple desire to know your neighbors—cohousing offers hopeful, tangible answers.

By showing up—whether as a host or as a guest—you’re helping build something better. You’re part of a growing network of people committed to living with intention, generosity, and joy.

Ready to get involved?

👉 Find or register an event: cohousing.org/open-house-2025

National Cohousing Week Event Schedule:

• Monday, April 28 – East Coast Spotlight + Cohousing Research
• Tuesday, April 29 – Midwest Spotlight + Cohousing Adjacent Models
• Wednesday, April 30 – PNW Spotlight + Seniors in Cohousing
• Thursday, May 1 – West & Southwest Spotlight + Storytelling in Community

Let’s make this the most connected week of the year.

Upcoming Events

Translating Cohousing Lessons from Abroad

Thursday, April 17th, 3-4:30pm MT

The internet is full of compelling collective housing projects from around the world. With inflation, a lack of government subsidies, and exclusionary zoning those visions can feel out of reach. What, if anything, can we learn from those projects? What lessons may be relevant to the US context? 

This session will walk participants through progressive collective housing models from Europe & Australia that the presenter toured in 2022 & 2023. It will distill their lessons into over twenty actionable principles for: promoting community, honoring resources, decreasing cost, & reducing maintenance in ground-up cohousing communities. 

Why Some Americans Are Looking to Greece for Their Next Cohousing Home

As housing costs soar and political uncertainty lingers, more Americans are turning to cohousing abroad, not just for adventure travel, but for the support of community when migrating. For a growing number, Greece is calling. And for some, cohousing may be the key to making a move abroad possible.

Years of pandemic-fueled reflection and rising unaffordability have driven many to search for alternatives. In the wake of the recent U.S. election, record numbers of Americans are moving to Europe. With Spain and Portugal ending their Golden Visa programs for real estate, they are no longer options for investing in intentional community and living there past 90 days. Greece has become the last—and best—option in Europe for Americans to gain residency, and all its benefits, through intentional community homeownership.

Read the rest on our blog!

Join us for our free monthly events to learn more about cohousing!

The Commons

Curious about cohousing but don’t know where to start? Want to meet with cohousing newbies and experts alike?

This (free) monthly gathering will include a Cohousing 101 presentation and ample time to connect and ask questions. Join us once, or every time – we’ll be here every month on the 10^th at 10am MT.

Senior Cohousing Q&A

Want to learn more about what it's like to build, join, and participate in cohousing as you age?

The Senior Cohousing Advocates Committee will be facilitating an informal conversation for those interested in senior cohousing and/or senior living in intergenerational cohousing. This (free) event will take place every month on the 20th at 10am MT.

See below for local and national news coverage on the cohousing movement and community updates:

• First-of-its-kind Jewish cohousing complex breaks ground in West Berkeley featuring Berkeley Moshav
• 47 Anacortes seniors combat the loneliness epidemic through cohousing featuring Skagit Commons
• Cohousing ABQ :: A Vision of Village Life in the City featuring Cohousing ABQ
• Demolition starts for Milwaukee's River Trail Commons featuring River Trail Commons

Anything we missed? Send us an email and we'll include it in the next issue of our e-news!

Senior Community finds ways to foster wellness

Larry Beresford, a member of Phoenix Commons in Oakland CA, recently had an article published on the website Next Avenue*. Called “A Commitment to Aging Well,” the article talks about what this means and how his senior cohousing community has pursued this aim. Larry is a freelance medical journalist and a member of the community's Wellness Team. The article presented here is slightly edited and paraphrased.

As the community's founding members were busy planning for its opening in March 2016, they realized that it made sense to talk about health and wellness and what "aging well" might actually look like in their setting. Thus, they formed the Wellness Team, whose members agreed that residents would be eager to better understand the changes that come with aging. 

Read more on our blog



Upcoming events

April 20 — Seniors in Cohousing Q&A, an informal facilitated conversation for those who are interested in senior cohousing and/or senior living in intergenerational cohousing; 10 a.m. MST; repeats on the 20^th of each month; register here

Please see below for a list of upcoming events from our partners:

• April 26, 8:00pm MT: Creating Intergenerational Spaces and Communities - Successes, challenges and lessons: In this Global Intergenerational Week International Webinar, hear from international expert Dr Marlane Krasovitsky from WHO and Churchill Fellowship researcher Savannah Fishel, as well as local practitioners from our four host countries who share their insights around the successes, challenges and lessons learned. 

• April 30, 1:30PM MT: Global Intergenerational Week with the Intergenerational Housing Learning Network webinar: Savannah Fishel will be discussing her Churchill Fellowship research on intergenerational co-housing in the United States and Australia. 

• April 30, 5:30pm MT: Start Your Community with Sociocracy: How good governance can help your forming village thrive: This free, 1-hour info session is designed to support community-builders in learning about sociocracy as a governance option and how it can get your group moving. 5:30pm MDT.

• May 6, 9:00AM MT: HAPPI Hour Webinar – International and National Perspectives on Intergenerational Living: Join Housing Learning and Improvement Network (UK) to learn about key policy developments and research from the UK and internationally.

Interested in exploring ecovillages and traveling to incredible locations at the same time? We're excited to share the following opportunities from our friends at Ecovillage Tours! 🌱

This is your chance to immerse yourself in the most inspiring ecovillages and intentional communities across France, Portugal, and Vermont. Whether you’re looking to join a community, learn what it takes to start one, or simply experience a values-aligned vacation, now’s the time to reserve your spot on a guided group ecovillage tour.

Here’s what’s on the itinerary:

France Ecovillage Tour

📅 May 25 - June 5, 2025 (12 Days)

Wander through breathtaking eco-communities, regenerative farms, and intentional villages in the heart of rural France.

Portugal Ecovillage Tour

📅 June 7 - 16, 2025 (10 Days)

Explore Portugal’s thriving intentional communities, learn about permaculture, and soak in the stunning landscapes.

Vermont Ecovillage Tour

📅 July 19 - 26, 2025 (8 Days)

Discover New England’s most innovative ecovillages, where sustainability and cooperative living thrive.

🏷️ SAVE an additional $200 when you use this discount code at checkout: COHOUSING200

Take advantage of this opportunity to connect with like-minded travelers and experience the world of regenerative community living.

Will you share your community stories with us?

Submit anecdotes, photos, videos and stories so that we can help tell the story of life in community.

Cohousing is part of a more sustainable, democratic and connected future.

To date, CohoUS has helped enable the development of over 200 cohousing communities in the US. These communities serve as examples of the sustainable and community-based neighborhoods our country will need in the future. Please support CohoUS and help us double that number in the next few years.

Your monthly gift will both support new initiatives as well as the continued nurturing of our communities and growth of our movement. As an CohoUS Donor, you can take pride in creating a legacy that will live on to support future generations.

Donations, as a community or as an individual, are accepted year round and can be made to:

Cohousing Association of the US

3860 Chase St

Wheat Ridge, CO 80212

Professional Services

CoHousing Solutions

CoHousing Solutions provides development consulting and marketing services to help you create your cohousing community. 

Studio Co+Hab



Studio Co+Hab is an architecture firm focused on innovative and sustainably-built environments such as cohousing and other intentional communities.

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