the new SMALL TOWN

The latest real estate trend: quaint communities with all the amenities, designed to support your physical, mental and emotional well-being- and help you get to know your neighbors.

- ALYSSA GAUTIERI

Imagine an idyllic community that allows you to stroll miles of wooded trails, practice yoga in nature and enjoy free cultural offerings like art galleries and outdoor concerts just steps from your front door. Plus, you can drop by small boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants and then spend your evening with neighbors.

Welcome to Serenbe, a planned community in Chattahoochee Hills, GA, that's home to more than 1,000 residents, from individuals and young families looking for a respite from city life to relatives from multiple generations who want to live near them as well as retirees and empty nesters seeking a sense of community.

Serenbe (serenbe.​com) was founded in 2004 by Steve Nygren and his wife, Marie, a couple who retired to the Georgia countryside in the early 1990s. Nygren, who previously worked in the restaurant business, dreamed of building a community that encouraged interaction with nature. That was why after he initially purchased 2,000 acres for Serenbe, he kept 70% of the 40,000 acres of Chattahoochee Hills wild while building on the remaining land. He left room for green space, parks and farms for all to enjoy.

"Serenbe combines access to undisturbed nature with the qualities of a small town, like truly knowing your neighbors," Nygren says. "It's where my three daughters grew up, and now they're raising their families, including my six grandchildren, here."