Just days before I accepted a job offer with Savinly in sunny St. Petersburg, Florida, I found myself shoveling snow at my grandmother’s house in East Orange, New Jersey, where I was living at the time.
Rather than doing the familiar millennial boomerang of moving back in with my parents, I spent time living with both sets of grandparents and a close family friend in their 80s.
This arrangement cut my rent and let me pitch in around the house by doing laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning.
So when I learned about a new home-sharing app called Nesterly, it felt very familiar.
Matching Different Generations as Roommates
Developed by two MIT-trained urban planners, Nesterlyconnects college students with baby boomers who are open to hosting tenants, City Lab reported. The younger roommates can access reduced rent in exchange for carrying out agreed-upon household tasks to assist the homeowner.
“We’re thrilled about the chance to help the rapidly aging population in the U.S. remain in their homes, and one way to do that is by helping them secure household assistance like changing a light bulb or shoveling snow,” Noelle Marcus, Nesterly’s co-founder, told Apartment Therapy. “Small chores students can handle can make a huge difference for older households.”
The app’s site indicates the service will run a pilot in the Northeast this summer, with broader availability planned for September.
An Expanding Pattern of Shared Housing
Pairing older adults with younger people in shared homes is not an entirely new idea.
In 2015, a Cleveland retirement community welcomed a small group of college students studying the arts, Smithsonian Magazine reported. The students lived rent-free in return for performing recitals, leading art therapy sessions and being available to socialize and help around the residence.
In 2016, CNN covered senior centers in Finland and the Netherlands inviting young people to live among older residents at low rent; the arrangement required the younger tenants to contribute time supporting their elderly housemates.
Not all experiences with intergenerational home-sharing have been positive, though. Writer Nicola Slawson recounted in The Guardian how her situation deteriorated when she was asked to provide more caregiving than she had anticipated.
If living with someone from a different generation doesn’t appeal to you, you might consider renting with friends to reduce housing expenses.
Or if you already have your own place, leasing out a spare room can help you keep more cash each month.
Maria Lopez is a staff writer at Savinly.
