Gen Zers are moving into retirement communities — and finding not only cheap rent but ‘family away from home.’ Is this a glimpse of housing’s future?

“It’s my family away from home. I always feel like they have my back,” she told MarketWatch.

Holliday now lives at St. Camillus Life Plan Community, which offers several levels of senior care, from independent living to memory care and hospice. Having grown up in her grandparents’ home, she said living alongside older adults felt surprisingly natural.

As housing costs continue to strain student budgets, could intergenerational living become Gen Z’s latest path to independence?

More than affordable housing

Going away to college is an expensive milestone. Between tuition, course materials and everyday living costs, the typical U.S. college student spends approximately $38,270 on their education each year, according to the Education Data Initiative.

Holliday pays about $500 a month for her private apartment in the retirement community, far below the national average rent of $1,663, per Apartments.com. In return, she spends roughly eight hours each week volunteering with residents while pursuing her degree in counseling psychology.

Her experience reflects a much broader housing challenge facing college students. The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs found that 48% of the more than 74,000 students surveyed had experienced housing insecurity.

Finding a more affordable place to live could also reduce how much students need to borrow. Among bachelor’s degree recipients who took out loans, the average amount borrowed was $29,560 during the 2023-24 academic year, according to the College Board. Cutting one of college life’s biggest expenses could help some students avoid adding thousands of dollars to that total.

Still, intergenerational living will not appeal to everyone. The arrangement works well for Holliday, but students searching for the traditional campus experience may find life in a retirement community a little too quiet.

“By 7:30 or 8, things get pretty quiet here. If you’re looking for more activity at night, this is not for you,” Holliday said.

But while the low rent may be the program’s most obvious draw, its benefits extend well beyond monthly savings. Stacy Barnes, director of the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center and founder of Marquette’s Students in Residence program, said it is designed for students seeking more than simply an affordable place to live.

“We’re looking for a level of maturity,” she told MarketWatch. “Someone who is motivated to live with 600-plus older adults and open to genuine social interactions and sees the potential value in connecting with older adults.”

A community that feels like home

For students who are open to the experience, the arrangement can work well. Or Re’em, a pianist pursuing a master’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music, lives for free at Judson Manor, a senior living community in Cleveland that is home to roughly 300 older adults. In exchange, he performs for residents, helps with errands and spends time getting to know his neighbors.

“Here I get a much stronger sense of community and family,” he told AARP, comparing the experience with his undergraduate years living in a dorm at the Juilliard School.