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Co-Living and Community with Maggie Byrne
(The Open Nesters Episode 27)
Co-Living and Community
I [Tessa] reached Maggie in Malaga City in Spain. She is there to set up a co-living business. Originally from London, Maggie was able to leave during a “break in the pandemic” in December of 2020. She sold her car and possessions and jumped on this big adventure in Spain. Now more than half a year later she is well underway in building her dream.
But what is this co-living thing? Maggie originally was simply interested in real estate and while she was pursuing various opportunities in that area she came across this idea of co-living and began Cosy Quarters. She had just called it a day on a relationship. And at 54 she decided that her “prince charming wasn’t coming.” It was “now or never” for the start of Maggie’s dream.
Cosy Quarters matches you with people in your local area. Use a secure platform to interact with matches, Cosy Quarters arranges online face-to-face meetups. Her customers find the perfect 40+plus house share.
Maggie helps people find the perfect property for their co-living home, as an additional service. She only select those that fit this vision for an enhanced lifestyle. You can explore here: Cosy Quarters.
About Maggie Byrne
Cosy Quarters was founded in 2020 by Margaret Byrne, whose values of community have been shaped for many years. When Margaret became a single mother thirty years ago, she formed friendships with mothers who eventually became an extended family to Margaret and her son.
Christmas, birthdays and holidays were shared together, good times and bad times. Margaret’s son grew up with cousins, aunts and uncles from around the world – Irish, Caribbean, South African, Greek Cypriot and mixed race Jamaican/Scottish. They had a rich sense of belonging.
This strong feeling of family and connection has driven Margaret to help others find a place where they belong. After her son left home, coliving became Margaret’s passion, as she wanted to find an alternative solution to living alone. She prefers to colive with like-minded people and she understands the importance of finding the right match for long-term coliving as well as the right property.

Margaret has spent most of her career working as a teacher for children with special educational needs, specialising in autism. She has lived in Italy and Spain and loves travelling, walking, art and good conversation. She also loves dogs and spending time in nature.
Resources for You
We want to provide you with support and many many resources for your own Open Nesting Journey. Our resource page has so much to offer as does our private discussion group on Facebook about queerness and other topics of interest:
The Open Nesters Private Facebook Group
- ask to join and we’ll let you in
