Move to the Netherlands for Free Rent and 100 Year Old Roomates!

In a heartwarming social experiment, a Dutch retirement living home has offered free rent to students with one stipulation: they spend at least 30 hours a month socializing with the elderly residents and working at the facility.

As the costs of both aged care and student housing rises exponentially, this Netherland institute has bridged the gap to find a mutually beneficial compromise that allows the young to learn from their elders and the elders to feel young again.

The conversation at the home has shifted from death and sickness to parties and girls and crushes. A welcome departure from the more morbid theme of old age, and as one student renter notes, the residents act much like high-schoolers themselves! There are friend groups and popular girls and flirting all the time: the addition of students more than half their age has just added to the fun!

Besides creaky limbs and the onset of a slew of health problems, loneliness and isolation in itself actually have been proven to lead to early mortality, so Humanitas retirement home in Deventer is hoping to add some needed spark back into the day to day lives of people there with lots of life left to share.

Currently 6 students live in the home of 160 seniors, studying and just being ‘good neighbors.’

This program has caught the attention of many around the world and hopefully will inspire to more like it!

Everyone go call your grandparents, they miss you!