A 19-year-old accidentally moved into a senior living facility

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 4, 2021. It has since been updated.

Madison Kohout was absolutely thrilled with her new apartment in Piggott, a town in northeast Arkansas. It wasn’t until a week after moving there from Oklahoma that the 19-year-old realized what her neighbors in the 10-unit apartment complex really had to offer. “I was looking around my neighborhood to see what I could do here and I saw the sign that said ‘Senior Living Apartments’ and I realized I should move into a senior living community,” the teenager told the New York Times. “When I saw the sign, something clicked for me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe I did that.'”

Madison’s move to Arkansas came about a year after she connected online with Piggott resident Lori Parker, a TikTok user who describes herself to her more than 65,000 followers as “a preacher’s wife, a mother and a nonna.” The two quickly developed a rapport on the social media platform by commenting on each other’s videos. “She just touched my heart,” Parker said of Madison. “I felt like I’d known her for a long time.” After leaving home at age 17 following a childhood she described as “full of challenges,” Madison reportedly grew up fending for herself.

Parker invited the teen to his home in Arkansas after Madison said in a video that it had been a long time since she celebrated Thanksgiving with family. Although those plans fell through, Madison later met the Parker family in February. “I just fell in love with her family and they were so good to me,” she said. Parker eventually suggested the teen move to Piggott so she could be closer to family – which includes Parker’s husband, Shawn, and their four children.

Madison moved to Piggott from Norman, Oklahoma, in March and began searching for apartments online. Because there wasn’t much information about apartments in Piggott, when the teen finally found an apartment and signed a month-to-month lease, she had no idea what to expect. “She knew I was 19, but never said anything,” Madison said of the landlord. “The landlord really liked me.” She explained that while the complex was designed for older adults, it was “equal opportunity housing,” meaning tenants were not legally allowed to be discriminated against.

Madison now remembers a strange comment from the landlord when she signed the lease. It was already after sunset and the landlord told her she could move in that same evening if she wanted. “Nobody will hear anything,” Madison recalls the landlord saying. “They can’t really hear very well.” This neighborhood trait is just one of many benefits that living in an apartment complex brings to the elderly, the nursing assistant explained on TikTok, where her updates from the apartment complex are a big hit.

“It’s like having extra grandparents,” Madison said of her neighbors, revealing that some of them check on her, invite her over for dinner and sometimes even leave snacks on her doorstep. For now, Madison plans to continue living in the complex. She hopes to one day write a book about what she’s learned from her new neighbors, she revealed. “They have a lot of stories that have definitely shaped and touched my heart, and I think a lot of people would benefit from hearing them,” she said. “I’ve been lucky enough to be able to hear them all.”

You can follow Madi Ann (@itsme.madiiii) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.