The Golden Girls is a classic TV sitcom that has stood the test of time like few others. Watching it today, it’s amazing how well it has aged with its fully realized characters and pitch-perfect punchline delivery.

The show has also become a touchstone in the aging in community movement, frequently being cited as an example of senior coliving that resonates deeply for many of us. While living in shared housing can be more complex and challenging than the Golden Girls reflects, it’s also something that many elders have been able to work for them in real life, including myself.

But these women living in community in their Florida bungalow were ahead of their time in other ways as well. They took on the challenging issues of their day and shared points of view that are just as deeply resonate today as they were when they first aired.

Below are six great examples of The Golden Girls showing themselves to be a true example of women living in a healthy, nourishing community. Fair warning: A couple of these clips are real tearjerkers.

The community accepts a new community member with Sophia’s arrival in Episode 1.

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AIDS is not a bad person disease, Rose.

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Blanche thinks she sees what Sophia is getting at about gay marriage…

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Dorothy and Blanche confront Rose about her pain pill addiction.

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Sophia talks with someone considering suicide like a friend. Like a best friend.

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Condoms, condoms, condoms…

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The Golden Girls legacy is part of my story as well, which you can learn more about in this interview I gave with NBC a few years ago.

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If you have found these clips entertaining or have your own moments to share, join the conversation on Facebook.

Are you ready to take the next step in creating a real-life Golden Girls household of your own?

One common obstacle that I hear about from people who want to age in community but don’t know where to start is that they feel like they don’t know how to find the right people to live with.

That’s why I’ve put together the free download that you’ll find below, Casting a Wider Net in 4 Easy Steps.

In it you will find an exercise from my book, Your Quest for Home, that’s designed to help you think outside the box about how to find potential community members. It’s a simple guide for creating an expanding mind map of possibilities that you can complete in a single sitting.

If you’re up for the challenge, please take a moment to access the exercise now. And if you put it to work for yourself, please let me know!

While shared housing has a lot of perks, doing it right can be a daunting task.

Personally, I find it helpful to remind myself of all of the successfully shared houses that there are out there. I’ve lived in some myself, and they’re a ton of them out there that I already know about. I also find out about new ones that I’ve never heard of all of the time.

That’s part of why I wanted to share the videos below with you. They’re just inspiring. But there’s another reason too.

People who have had success with shared housing have already been down a road that you may just be beginning. And most of them have learned the hard way what it takes to make this work. By listening to their stories, we can learn what really matters with this sort of thing and get actionable advice to make our own dreams a reality.

Ready to get inspired?

Here are several uplifting stories about thriving shared houses from around the globe.

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This first video is of my friends and I living together in Asheville, North Carolina

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This video shows the impact that shared housing has on people facing hard times, including homelessness in Dallas, Texas.

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A beautiful example of multigenerational shared living from Australia

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Australian news report covering examples of senior shared housing in Tazmania

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A group of self-sufficient seniors living together in one of four shared homes created in Chicago by the nonprofit Senior Housing Share

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Three Boomers aging in community in Ontario Canada

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This Japanese example of a shared house features a younger set of housemates, but it’s pretty neat.

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There are also some broader discussions of shared housing that look at the movement more deeply.

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In Manchester, UK, people old and young discuss the desperate need for shared housing in their community.

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Organizers Pat Dunn and Louise Bardswich discuss shared housing within the Aging in Community movement in Canada.

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Margaret Manning and Bonnie Moore dig into why so many women over 60 are interested in shared housing.

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Finally, I recently filmed a short video of my own covering what I have found works and what doesn’t from my own experiences with shared housing.

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If you have found these videos helpful, join the conversation on Facebook.

And if you are ready to dig deeper, I have a next step for you to take.

I recently put together a FREE exercise just for you that I think you’ll find helpful. It’s actually repurposed from my book, Your Quest for Home.

It’s called Casting a Wider Net in 4 Easy Steps. It’s a mind mapping exercise designed to get you heading in the right direction when you are thinking of who might live in your shared house. While it’s designed for folks who are in the planning stage of creating their community, it should be interesting regardless of where you are in your journey.

To receive it, simply enter your email address below, and I’ll get it right to you. And if you decide to put it to work, please let me know! Seriously, I love that kind of feedback.

I have been collecting quotes lately related to shared housing from figures in the Aging in Community Movement, inspiring writers, and even a couple lines of my own.

If you could use some inspiration or just a shift in perception, I invite you to consider the quotes below. Please feel free to share them with others in your network if you think they’ll find them useful.

“We’re social beings – we’re really not meant to live alone.” – Kirby Dunn, Executive Director of HomeShare Vermont

“The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go and not be questioned.” – Maya Angelou, poet & activist

“The converging factors that are driving increased interest around boomers in shared housing include culture change, health, longevity, and demographics.” – Marianne Kilkenny, Trailblazer, Grand Nudge & Founder of Women Living in Community

“We realize that the prospect of a life change as dramatic as creating a cooperative household could be very scary. It is important to acknowledge your emotional responses from the outset, as you start planning your version of a cooperative household.” Karen M. Bush, Louis S. Machinist, & Jean McQuillin, Authors of My House, Our House

“Across the nation, from Baltimore to Washington State, homeshare programs are cropping up as a way both to provide affordable housing and to help people age in place without being isolated.” – Beth Baker, Author of With a Little Help from Our Friends

“The company, the conversation, the sharing, the communication, the knowledge that some is there. It must be psychological, because life seems easier if you have someone going through it with you.” – Eric Klinberg, Author of Going Solo

“She was struck by the simple truth that sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people.” – Nicholas Sparks, Author of The Lucky One

“I come home from a long trip to the West Coast exhausted from the time change and the joys of current air travel. As I turn into my driveway, I see that the lights are drawn. What a welcome sight for a woman living alone. I’m expected! Someone is welcoming me home.” – Marianne Kilkenny, author of You Quest for Home

“Expensive cities can be more affordable in groups.” – The Shared Housing Option

“Everyone has this universal understanding of roommate drama.” – Leighton Meester, actress

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If you have found these quotes inspirational and want to share your thoughts, join the conversation on Facebook.

But if you are thinking about living in a shared house or have one already, I have another step for you to take. I am just releasing a FREE exercise just for you. It’s an excerpt from my book on finding your ideal community, Your Quest for Home.

It’s called Casting a Wider Net in 4 Easy Steps. In the exercise, I walk you through a four-part process of creating a mindmap that identifies people in your network who could be a good fit for your community in ever-expanding circles. Even if you are further down the road than the brainstorming stage, you still might find it interesting.

To receive it, simply sign up using the form below, and I’ll get it right to you. And if you decide to put it to work, please let me know! Seriously, I love that kind of feedback.