Real Estate
As the last era to gain a foothold in the housing market, some Gen Xers are creating multigenerational living arrangements.
When the film “Reality Bites” premiered in 1994, its characters became cultural symbols of Generation X’s youthful disaffection. Now 31 years later, some Gen Xers are nearing retirement.
Those born between 1965 and 1980 are now the “sandwich generation.” They’re in a hinge position, caring for both their parents and their children. And as the last generation to gain a foothold in the housing market, some of those are using that buying power to transition into age-friendly housing and configure family units into multigenerational living arrangements.
Sutton resident Jessica Bruno, 53, first set up her multigenerational home 14 years ago. It wasn’t a novel concept for her at the time; she was living in her childhood home with her grandparents, parents, and child, amounting to four generations co-living. Now down to three generations, Bruno and her fiancé Jim Lenihan, a contractor, occupy a new house, which over time they have modified to create individualized spaces for different members of the family. They have plans to build a new multigenerational home for themselves in 2026.
She’s chronicled their home through her blog, Four Generations One Roof — reaching and advising over 45,000 followers on Instagram.
“Multigenerational living is not a setback. Learning how to build smarter, live connected, and design for what actually matters. It took me a while to figure that out. We created a second master suite in our multigen home —…