A woman in her early thirties moved into a senior living community in Florida, USA, facing challenges, including a hurricane-induced renovation, but finding unexpected connections with the elderly, as well as experiencing mental growth amid the experience.
32-year-old Liz White visited her retired parents in Naples, Florida, in 2021, where they had been spending their winters.
Upon her visit, Liz reportedly became notified about an apartment becoming available in her parents’ building, prompting her decision to move in.
What made Liz’s decision unique was that the complex she decided to move into was a senior living arrangement, where most residents were at least 55 years old.
Liz, who works as a customer success manager at a tech company, paid around $2,000 a month in rent for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment for her first year in the building, CNBC reported.
32-year-old Liz White moved into a senior living community in Florida, USA
Image credits: Liz White
Her parents decided to buy the unit after the landlord put it up for sale, creating an arrangement where Liz lived there full-time while her parents would stay with her whenever they visited.
According to CNBC, Liz didn’t feel comfortable sharing how much her parents paid for her unit or the cost of the monthly Homeowners Association fees (HOA). However, she did say apartments in her building were put on the market for as much as $1 million.
The median listing price for a condo in Naples, Florida, is $950,000, according to RedFin.
Upon closing on the apartment in July 2022, Liz’s new homeownership was cut short due to Hurricane Ian flooding the unit that September.
Image credits: Liz White
As a result, the family had to choose between a complete remodel and putting the unit up for sale just three months after closing, CNBC reported.
Ultimately, the Whites chose the former, completely rebuilding the apartment while renting from another neighbor on a higher floor.
The property’s refurbishment took approximately a year and didn’t cost as little as Liz’s parents had originally planned.
As a result of the flood, the apartment’s doors and walls had to be cut almost in half, and nearly everything inside had to be thrown away, with the exception of a lamp and a table.
While Liz admitted that the renovation was challenging, she said it helped bring her and some of her senior citizen neighbors closer together.
"It’s been really good to have that sense of community and have people to grow you with different perspectives in life," Liz said
Image credits: Liz White
She said: “It’s been really good to have that sense of community and have people to grow you with different perspectives in life.
“It’s also made me more open to meeting new people and not sweating the small stuff.
“Life is hopefully going to be long and there’s a lot of phases to it.
“If you’re going through one hard phase, it’s not going to be forever.”
Liz reportedly recalled that after the hurricane, one of her neighbors told her that she would laugh at the situation one day, but she couldn’t believe it at that moment.
You can watch more about Liz's experience below:
She said: “I felt like it was the worst part of my life forever, but at the end of the day, I got through it.”
After three years living in the community, Liz confessed her biggest adjustment had been to be “people-ready at any time.”
She said: “When you live somewhere where you’re not around people, you can keep to yourself, and now, I have to be ready because I might have a conversation at any time.
“It was an adjustment at first but it’s become a joy of my life.”
Liz formed unexpected friendships, even traveling on a hiking trip in the summer of 2022 to Austria with two of her neighbors. Nevertheless, she has also found people her own age.
She said: “I think it’s in part because the area here is so much older, many of us young people just naturally seek each other out.”
Liz explained that living among senior citizens had been valuable in making connections with people who are so different from her.
She added: “I don’t just have to be friends with people who have lived the same kind of life I’ve lived.”
"This life sounds amazing," a reader commented
