In Texas, a women-only tiny-home community draws attention for drama-free living

An all-women tiny-home community in Cumby, Texas, is drawing national attention for a life described as peaceful and drama-free. The Bird’s Nest sits on five acres about 65 miles northeast of Dallas and is home to 11 women who live on 10-by-30-foot concrete pads. Each pad rents for $450 a month and includes water service, with the broader property featuring a landscaped, gated environment and a handful of communal amenities. Residents range in age from 33 to 78, and nine dogs share the enclave with their owners. Its founder says the motto that guides life there is simple: no men and no drama.

In Cumby, the community emphasizes safety, affordability and mutual support. The women cook and eat meals together in a shared outdoor kitchen, and the group strives to look out for one another, from helping with transportation to doctor’s visits to checking on neighbors who are ill or recovering from surgery. The property is described as a tightly managed, self-contained micro-neighborhood where neighbors keep an eye on one another and lend a hand as needed. While the project may be small in size, it has a large footprint among potential residents and observers.

The Bird’s Nest’s homes are arranged on concrete pads with small decks and garden plots, and the entire site is fenced and gated to limit access. Each resident has her own space but participates in a community routine that blends social connection with practical support. The arrangement has become a talking point for advocates of affordable housing and elder-care-style community living, who say it offers a model for independence with built-in security and companionship.

The founder, Robyn Yerian, is a former radiology technologist who now identifies as the driver behind a growing, female-centered micro-commune. Yerian, who is 70, started the Bird’s Nest in 2022 using funds from her retirement account. She bought five acres of land in Cumby for about $35,000 and moved her own tiny home onto the property as a test of the concept. She had previously lived in a different tiny home and faced challenges funding retirement living, which inspired her to create a venue where women could generate passive income while maintaining a safe, supportive environment. In launching the project, Yerian invested roughly $150,000 to develop the site, installing electric, water, and septic systems and paving roads. The property was initially zoned as an RV park, a designation that helped pave the way for the kind of modular, temporary housing the community uses. Yerian notes that the investment was as much about security and community as it was about bricks and mortar, and she moved her own tiny home onto the land to demonstrate the project’s viability.

The Bird’s Nest is highly curated, with an emphasis on compatibility and long-term stability. The interview process for prospective residents is described as rigorous, beginning with a phone call and culminating in several days of visits to ensure a good fit with the group’s ethos. Beyond shared meals and social activities, residents depend on each other for practical needs, including rides to appointments and help with maintenance tasks. Yerian stresses that the emphasis is less on accumulating wealth and more on creating a dependable, supportive cushion for retirement years. “Quit saving that little bit of money and invest in a community. You will not get rich doing this, but it is a nice little cushion and the sense of community is everything,” she told Realtor.com.

The Bird’s Nest has been described by Realtor.com as a tightly knit, affordable and empowering space for women who want financial independence and a degree of autonomy combined with communal support. As of August, there was one opening, and interest poured in from hundreds of would-be residents—about 500 people seeking to claim the spot. The scale of demand highlights a broader appetite for alternative living arrangements that combine affordability with security and social connection, particularly among retirees and single people who may feel underserved by traditional housing markets.

The concept did not begin as an all-women project. Yerian has said the community’s gender composition evolved as she observed how many women in retirement faced unique challenges—loneliness, safety concerns and financial constraints—that were not being fully addressed by mainstream housing options. Her aim is to show that small, well-managed groups can provide meaningful social support, even as they offer tangible financial benefits through shared housing costs. Yerian has encouraged others to pursue similar builds, stressing that replication is possible with careful planning and a clear commitment to community-wide values.

Beyond the personal stories of the residents, the Bird’s Nest has begun to generate broader conversations about housing, aging and social isolation. The model combines the practicalities of tiny-home living—decentralized space, low overhead and flexibility—with the social capital that comes from a close-knit group that shares meals, runs errands for one another and maintains a collective sense of purpose. Supporters say this kind of living arrangement could offer a blueprint for communities seeking to expand affordable options for seniors or adults transitioning to retirement who want companionship without sacrificing independence.

The Bird’s Nest sits within a larger national conversation about alternative housing and care arrangements. For residents and supporters, the project’s appeal rests on more than the novelty of tiny homes. It represents a tangible path to financial resilience and emotional security in an era of rising housing costs and evolving retirement expectations. As the community continues to grow—whether through evolving dynamics among the current residents or the possible addition of new members—it stands as a case study in how a small, purpose-built neighborhood can create a social and economic lifeline for its residents. The story of Bird’s Nest is still unfolding, but its early years have already offered a hopeful glimpse of what collective living can look like when guided by shared values and a clear commitment to support one another.