US students are cutting their rent by two-thirds by living among retirees

Daija Holliday, a 25-year-old from North Carolina, relocated to Milwaukee to study counseling psychology at Marquette University. She chose to reside at St. Camillus Life Plan Community, a residence for over 600 seniors, due to its safety, affordability, and community-building environment. Holliday pays $500 monthly for her independent apartment, dedicating her volunteer hours to socializing, running errands, leading fitness classes, and organizing game nights.

She perceives this living arrangement as akin to her grandparents' home, where she feels secure and supported.

Marquette University initiated the Students in Residence program in 2022, placing five students at St. Camillus this fall. Shojin Samson, a 23-year-old Indian student studying crime analysis, likened St. Camillus to the mixed-generational community he previously experienced. Stacy Barnes, director of the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center, founded the program, emphasizing the need for students to be mature and open to genuine social interaction with older adults, rather than merely seeking cheap rent.

Students enjoy access to campus amenities, including a gym, swimming pool, movie theater, restaurants, lounges, and a pub. St. Camillus also provides a monthly restaurant credit to encourage residents to dine together.

This living model is gaining traction as Americans grapple with both affordable housing shortages and the loneliness epidemic. Jennifer Molinsky, director of the Housing and Aging Society Program at Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, explained that housing the two groups together combats stereotypes and infuses the building with energy and skills that would otherwise be lacking.

Marquette University modeled its program on Humanitas, a care home in Deventer, Netherlands, which began accepting students in 2012. Residents at Humanitas perform neighborly duties such as watching sports with residents and marking birthdays, and staff emphasize the value of sitting with ill residents to alleviate isolation during sickness.

St. Olaf College in Minnesota adopted a similar approach during the 2024-2025 academic year, housing students in retirement-community townhouses alongside senior residents. Originally conceived as a temporary solution during dormitory renovations, the arrangement was subsequently made permanent as students requested to continue living there.

The Olaf Messenger, the college's student newspaper, reported on this development. Judson Manor, a senior living campus in Cleveland, has hosted music students as artists in residence since 2010, providing them with free room and board in exchange for performances, errands, and interaction with neighbors. This initiative emerged to address a housing shortage at the nearby Cleveland Institute of Music, drawing at least four times the number of applicants as available spaces.