How I relocated to NYC and moved in with a 76-year-old stranger

A move back to South Florida

After graduating from college in New York City, she hoped to begin a career in television. Instead, she returned to her parents’ home in the South Florida suburbs while she worked on her finances and considered her next step.

She found a job in Miami, but the two-hour commute left her tired and less likely to see friends. Living at home also kept her within familiar routines, while the housing market made an affordable, flexible place to live important.

A room in Queens

A family friend told her about Carmelina, a 76-year-old Colombian woman who had rented a spare bedroom in Queens while the friend studied for a master’s degree in New York City. She contacted Carmelina, and their first call lasted about four minutes.

Carmelina offered a monthly rent of $700, a special rate because the family friend had recommended her. On arrival, the new tenant was welcomed with a Colombian dish Carmelina had made to mark the occasion, making the city feel like home.

Encouragement and opportunity

Carmelina encouraged her to take a work opportunity despite her doubts. The advice proved useful: people she met during the gig introduced her to further opportunities. The experience also helped her address a loss of confidence that had developed during college. Though she had been outgoing as a child, she had grown cautious about how others might judge her actions.

Care and lasting friendships

Carmelina’s everyday gestures include setting out fruit, leaving Spanish notes about food and her neighborhood errands, and sharing leftovers. She also buys groceries and sweets for her housemate, despite being told that she is cutting out sugar.

Seeing Carmelina sustain friendships over many years has prompted her to give her own relationships more time and attention. Carmelina has also filled a sense of missing out on a relationship with a grandmother that the younger woman felt when she saw friends with theirs.