Page 13 - C.A.L.L. #47 - Winter 2020/2021
P. 13
Communal Living in Finland
When musician Henrica Fagerlund separated from the father of her daughter five years ago,
she didn’t want to move into a small apartment and live alone with her daughter; instead she
decided to start up a family commune where everyone is welcome, writes HS.
"I tried to find a family commune via
Facebook, but as nothing suitable
came up, I decided to start a commune
on my own," Fagerlund tells HS.
When she found a large eight-
bedroom house in Vantaa’s Vapaala,
she took on the lease and sublet rooms
to other tenants, some of who are
divorced or separated and have
children, and others who are single.
Currently, 14 people – five children and nine adults - live in the two-storey house, which
covers 300 square metres and has a yard. The average rent per person is about 500 euros.
"One of the benefits of this way of living is that there are always other people around and a
babysitter is easy to find, " Fagerlund tells HS.
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