AI Summary
5 min read“There are 32 million empty bedrooms in the United States,” Chip Conley says near the top of this episode. Thirty years ago, that number was only seven million. That mismatch—between underutilized family homes and a growing population of midlife women who do not want to age alone—is the practical and demographic engine behind what Conley calls “Golden Girls living.”
Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy (MEA), started experimenting with shared housing for women in midlife less than a year before this conversation. The idea came from MEA alumni, especially women, who had been telling their college friends for decades: when we get old, we are going to live together. Men do not talk that way, Conley notes. Women do. And the housing stock already exists.
The housing problem that shared living solves
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:05) **The Origin of Golden Girls Living** - Chip Conley explains how he arrived at the concept of shared housing for midlife women, driven by conversations with MEA alums.
- 2 (01:34) **The Housing Crisis and a New Life Stage** - Chip frames the Golden Girls idea as a response to a structural housing shortage and a new demographic reality.
- 3 (06:35) **The Two Models: Sage House and Chrysalis House** - Chip details the two distinct housing options MEA is piloting in Santa Fe, each serving a different need.
- 4 (09:50) **Surprising Lessons from the Workshops** - Chip shares what he's learned from running four Golden Girls workshops, including the gap between enthusiasm and practical readiness.
- 5 (12:08) **The Key Questions for Prospective Housemates** - The conversation explores the critical questions that determine if someone is truly ready for shared living.
- 6 (14:31) **A DIY Model for the Broader Audience** - Chip explains that half of workshop attendees are not moving to Santa Fe, but are learning how to create their own Golden Girls arrangements back home.
- 7 (15:35) **The Vision: A Distributed Village** - Chip describes the long-term dream of creating a network of themed homes that function as a cohesive community.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
Growing older is changing. Maybe the way we live should change with it.
In this episode of Wisdom Wednesday, Chip Conley joins Derek Gehl to explore a new approach to later life: shared homes that combine independence, connection, and community.
Drawing on MEA’s growing Golden Girls experiment, Chip shares:
- Why traditional senior living and aging in place don’t work for everyone
- What MEA has learned from its first shared homes and Golden Girls retreats
- Why privacy, flexibility, and compromise are essential to making shared living work
- How shared homes can grow into vibrant “distributed villages” built around friendship, learning, and common interests
- How this model could inspire new approaches to housing and community far beyond MEA
Watch the full episode to discover a different way to think about home, community, and growing older.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday
(01:39) Rethinking How We Live as We Age
(05:05) The Golden Girls Shared Living Idea
(07:05) Sage House and Chrysalis House
(10:26) The Realities of Shared Living
(12:51) Are You Ready to Live With Others?
(14:46) Bringing the Concept to Other Communities
(16:38) Creating a Distributed Village
(19:09) The Long-Term Vision for MEA Homes
(22:09) What About the Golden Guys?
(23:05) How to Explore Golden Girls Living
Learn more about MEA at https://www.meawisdom.com/
#ChipConley #WisdomWednesday #ModernElderAcademy #MEA #GoldenGirlsLiving #SharedLiving #AgingWell #HealthyAging #PositiveAging #SeniorLiving #CommunityLiving #LifeAfter55 #Midlife #Longevity #AgingInPlace
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