A Canadian family bought a CA$2.6 million ($1.9 million) 100-acre compound to all live and raise their children together.
Danielle Schleese, 33, has always dreamed of being able to live with her sister, Samantha Schleese, 34, and their parents so they could raise their children all together.
Now her vision has been made a reality after Ms. Danielle Schleese, an artist, and her fiancé, website developer Gabe Mazza, 34, stumbled across an 88-acre stretch of land for sale in Kilworthy, Ontario, for CA$1.1 million ($810,000).
The property is full of woodland and has two houses, two collapsed barns, a garage, and a Quonset hut, enabling them to live a stone’s throw from each other.
Soon the neighboring 12-acre property came up for sale, and Ms. Danielle Schleese and Mr. Mazza bought it for CA$1.5 million ($1.1 million) in September 2022.
The two families lived together under one roof until the renovation of a house for Ms. Samantha Schleese and her partner, Jordan Rothery, was completed in August 2022. The close-knit sisters even had their babies just 13 days apart and are now raising them together.
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“It was always Danielle’s vision to live as one big happy family—I wasn’t sure at first about us all living together,” said dancer Ms. Samantha Schleese.
“But after a hiking trip in Summer 2020, it made me realize how nice it would be to be somewhere surrounded by nature. We got so lucky when we found the place and had to jump on it. It’s perfect, and there is still so much of our land that we have yet to explore. I was nervous to live all together, but I’m loving it.”
Ms. Danielle Schleese said: “We joked about the fact that we’re all going to live on a ‘family compound’ ... and now we’ve made it happen. It’s interesting to go back in time and live together like when we were younger.
“We’ve had to relearn what it’s like to share a lot of things and create boundaries—this time as adults.”
Ms. Danielle Schleese started her search for the perfect property in January 2020. A year later, in January 2021, the family came across the perfect site in Kilworthy, Canada.
Ms. Samantha Schleese said: “Jordan, my parents, and I went to look at it straight away. We knew it was the one, so we went for it, and we got it.”
Ms. Danielle Schleese and Mr. Mazza moved up from Scarborough, Toronto, in May 2021, followed by Ms. Samantha Schleese and Mr. Rothery from their home in Scarborough, in July 2021.
The two couples shared a three-bedroom home for a year while the other buildings were renovated.
Their sanctuary—which they have yet to agree on a name for—is close to the town, a local beach, and a lake and has plenty of woodland to explore.
Ms. Samantha Schleese said: “I thought it might be intense all living together, but it’s been great, and there is enough room if you need some air.
“We make sure we are unanimous on every decision and have weekly family meetings for decisions. We’re very diplomatic about it all and hear everyone’s opinions. ... It’s a really simple lifestyle now, and we can all work from home. There is just so much of our garden to explore.
“We have meal nights twice a week and sometimes more. It’s a dream setup. It’s a sanctuary.”
Ms. Danielle Schleese said: “I’m excited for my children to form a close bond with their grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.”
They hope that once Ms. Danielle Schleese and Mr. Mazza’s house is renovated, their parents can join them. They want to turn the remaining barns into an event space and want to build a greenhouse to become more self-sufficient on their land.
