Rethinking housing for the millions of us aging alone.
NUUage starts with us, with what we actually want and need as we age.
— WHAT IS NUUAGE?—
We start with who you are.
Not with a floor plan.
NUUage works with older adults aging alone to understand what they want from the next chapter of home and community and whether shared living is right for them.
We bring what we’re learning to the developers, architects, investors, municipalities and other partners who will shape the housing choices of the future.
—WHO IS A NUUAGER?
Could it be better?
You’re aging on your own.
Maybe you never married, by choice or by circumstance. Maybe you’re divorced or widowed. You may have adult children, but they’re not necessarily nearby or in a position to help. You’re living independently, perhaps managing a chronic condition or two with medication.
Life is mostly good. But lately, you’ve started to wonder, could it be better?
You ask yourself:
Do I want the next ten years to look like the last ten?
Could I have more connection without giving up my privacy?
Could I have more community without giving up my independence?
Is there a way of living that lets my resources go further without making my life smaller?
You don’t have to know the answer yet. That’s part of what we’re here to help you explore.
— SHARED LIVING MODELS —
Shared living isn’t one thing.
NUUage understands that you can want community without wanting cohabitation. Shared living can take many forms, with different balances of privacy, shared space, connection, and independence.
The question isn’t simply, “Would I live with other people?”It’s “What would I share, what would remain mine, and what kind of community would work for me?
Tiny Homes
Small footprint
Tiny homes, single or in clusters. Low cost, low upkeep, high freedom. For NUUagers ready to right-size what "home" actually means.
Private-Suite House
Under one roof
A Golden Girls–style home. Silver Nest pairings. One carefully chosen housemate, or several. Sharing the kitchen, keeping your door.
Compound/Campus
Chosen family · shared land
Friendly, attentive, and always ready to help, our customer service manager ensures every interaction is a positive one. They keep communication clear, timely, and human.
Parallel Living
Private within the walls
Your own private suite under a shared roof. Your door, your kitchen, your hours, and the people you chose, right there when you want them. Independence without isolation.
— Our Work —
What NUUage does.
We help you explore what’s next. Through workshops, meetups, conversations, essays, and other resources, we help people aging alone think through home, community, shared living, and whether a different way of living might be right for them.
We show you what’s possible. We find and spotlight innovative housing and community models around the country and the people creating them.
We bring your voice to the people shaping what’s next. We bring what we’re learning to developers, architects, investors, municipalities, and organizations creating new models for aging and shared living.
We are building the knowledge to shape the future of aging and shared living.
— Developers, Architects, Investors, Municipalities, and Organizations —
Before you build for this market, understand the people you’re building for.
Millions of older adults are aging alone, yet housing choices have not kept pace with the way we’re living, aging, and thinking about what comes next.
NUUage works directly with older adults to understand what matters to them: the balance between privacy and community, what they’re willing to share, what they won’t give up, how they think about cost and space, and what would make a new way of living feel possible.
Let’s build what aging and shared living need next.
— Stories —
LIVINGNUU with Elizabeth White
Elizabeth's writing. Conversations. The journey, told as it goes.
What we got wrong about senior living.
Three years of listening taught us what NUUagers actually need
Read More Here
The forgotten middle: who we really are.
27 million of us. Too much for subsidy, not enough for luxury…
Read More Here
Why I stopped trying to build buildings.
The pivot from developer to guide, and why it mattered…
Read More Here
— Founding Story—
MEET THE FOUNDERS
Elizabeth White
FOUNDERS
Elizabeth White is an age solutions advocate focused on older adults facing uncertain work and financial insecurity. She is co-founder of NUUage, a shared-living housing advocacy organization working to raise awareness, develop practical tools, and advance shared-living options for older adults aging alone.
White is the author of 55, Underemployed, and Faking Normal and a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops. She has been named one of the top 50 influencers on aging in the country. Her essays and work have appeared in Barron’s, Forbes, MarketWatch, Next Avenue, and The Washington Post, and she has been featured prominently in PBS NewsHour. Her TEDx Talk, “An Honest Look at the Personal Finance Crisis,” has garnered more than 2 million views.
White holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College.
Chido Samantha Mbavarira
FOUNDERS
Chido Samantha is a marketing and operations strategist and co-founder of NUUage, a shared-living housing advocacy organization working to raise awareness, develop practical tools, and advance shared-living options for e older adults aging alone.
Chido has spent a decade in marketing and operations, building the systems that connect people to what they need and keep organizations running, from experiential campaigns and event production to digital strategy and product development.
At NUUage she applies that work to housing in later life, leading marketing, product, and operations, and designing the experiences and tools that help people move from wondering about shared living to actually understanding what fits them.
NUUage exists so that the next chapter is one you design, with people you choose.
Stay Connected with NUUage
Get updates on meetups, new shared-living models and communities we’re discovering, practical resources for aging alone, and new ways to connect with others thinking about what comes next.
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