The best parties end at 20:00: Why are students living with the elderly?
No parties, no alcohol, and no shared apartments: young people in the USA who are tired of paying exorbitant rent have found the most unusual solution available, for only 500 dollars.
The unbearable housing crisis and record-breaking rental prices are leading many students in the USA and around the world to take a radical and surprising step: abandoning student dorms and shared apartments in favor of moving into nursing homes and assisted living facilities. According to an investigation published in the economic magazine MarketWatch, this is not just a solution for financial distress, but a widespread phenomenon that is changing the rules of the game for young people.
For example, 25-year-old Deja Holiday from Wisconsin left her regular housing and moved into a nursing home that houses hundreds of elderly people. For her private apartment, she pays only about 500 dollars a month – a third of what she would have paid elsewhere. In exchange for the low price, she volunteers for about eight hours a week with the residents of the facility and enjoys the amenities of a luxury hotel: a swimming pool, a cinema, and a gym. In other institutions around the world, such as the "Humanitas" project in the Netherlands, young people even receive housing completely free of charge in exchange for a few hours of companionship for the elderly.
Alongside the huge financial savings, the students testify to a surprising emotional gain. Shojin Samson, a student from India, said that the move helped him overcome the loss of his grandfather:
«Today I have dozens of new grandfathers and grandmothers».
The managers of the institutions report that the young presence breathes life into the corridors and helps defeat the loneliness of the elderly. The only downside? At eight in the evening, the entire complex enters into complete silence.
