Is Wellness Commune Serenbe Actual Utopia?
Ever feel like you’ve had it with city living, but moving to the woods is a little… far away? If you’re not quite ready to forego modern conveniences and creature comforts, but long for a little more nature, take a trip with us to the Chattahoochee Hills of Georgia to visit Serenbe. Founded in 2004 by Steve and Marie Lupo Nygren, Serenbe is an intentional living community with over 650 residents, situated on rural land just outside of Atlanta. Dubbed “the new urbanism,” Serenbe provides those with an intuitive sense an ability to return to nature while still enjoying all the amenities of modern living. The Nygren’s vision for an intentional lifestyle is based on communication with and a respect for nature. Indeed, there isn’t much to want for along the community’s four expansive hamlets — five star bistros, craft coffee shops, sprawling organic gardens, yoga classes, and artistic opportunity line the streets of Serenbe. Carefully conceived of through intention, Serenbe has manifested into what is now a sustainable model for life laid out according to patterns of sacred geometry. To avoid unnecessary land or animal disturbance with reverence to the agricultural history of the Chattahoochee Hill Country, Serenbe’s housing and surrounding buildings were mapped to reserve expansive areas of green space. It was the Nygren’s fear of urban sprawl that led them to create the Chattahoochee Hills Country Alliance to bring together landowners, developers, and conservationists to find a mutually-agreed upon solution of balanced growth for 40,000 acres on Atlanta’s edge. In 2004 they began developing the Serenbe community to merge centuries-old world communities in a way of life similar to the Blue Zones, those regions of earth with the longest living populations.
Based on research that humans thrive when living amongst others with a shared purpose and life goals, Serenbe planned every detail to offer their residents an opportunity to naturally interact.
If the vibe of the crowd and community is what you’re manifesting, you and your family can participate in classes, special events, or small festivals. And when you’re craving alone time, the surrounding landscape is an invitation to meditate, explore, and retreat. From townhouse living to large family homes to intentional farmettes, any style of housing is available at the retreat, which also includes a sprawling 25-acre organic farm, a Saturday Farmer’s Market, edible landscaping along paths and sidewalks, an outdoor theater, a robust art scene (including art galleries and an Artist in Residence program featuring dinners and talks), and culinary workshops and festivals. Brimming with more questions, and can’t wait to visit? Dive in and explore the community or book a stay at the Serenbe Inn. Or, if you’d like to fully commit and start your own intentional community, Steve Nygren even offers consultation through his Placemaking consultancy within Serenbe. Christine Dionese, co-founder of flavor ID is an integrative, epigenetic health and food therapy specialist, as well as a wellness, lifestyle, and food writer. She has dedicated her career to helping others understand the science of happiness and its powerful effects on everyday human health by harnessing the power of the epigenetic landscape. Christine lives, works, and plays in Southern California with her daughter and husband. Her fullest produced podcast, Well Examined explores the depths of personalized wellness and sovereignty for modern living.
