• To become homeowners sooner, my wife and I bought a house with her parents.
• At first, navigating the space wasn't easy, but we're still able to have ample privacy.
• Living with my in-laws has its challenges, but I can't imagine living anywhere else.

I've known my wife's parents for nearly a decade, and we've always gotten along, but I never imagined sharing a roof with them. That all changed last year, when my wife suddenly popped the question: "How would you feel about buying a house with my mom and dad?"

We knew it would be years before we could afford the down payment on a house, particularly anywhere near Frederick, Maryland, where we wanted to live.

Even though we were both lawyers in our late 30s, we didn't have as much saved as we should have. We had each chosen lower-paying work over big-firm jobs and lost financial ground during our divorces in the late 2010s.

Without the help of my in-laws, my wife and I would've had to wait another decade or so to buy a house. But if we purchased a place together, her parents would provide the down payment, and we would cover more than half of the mortgage.

So, just like that, I agreed to become roommates with my in-laws.

The house gave all of us the space we needed, but we still had to learn how to share it

When we began our search, we envisioned a duplex — two separate living spaces joined together — but we had a hard time finding one.

We struggled even more to find a house with bedrooms on both the first and second floors, something crucial for my in-laws, since they're in their late 60s, and we didn't want them worrying about climbing stairs now or as they get older.

After several months of looking, we finally found a place that checked all the boxes: a 1950s one-story house that the previous owner had renovated to add a second floor and a finished basement.

The upstairs, where my wife and I would live, had three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a laundry space. Downstairs, where my in-laws would live, was the main kitchen and living room, a small den, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small back kitchen.

There was enough space for all four of us — along with our two cats, our dog, and their dog — so we put in an offer.

For the first couple of months after moving in, the house was a sea of boxes, and it seemed almost impossible that we could cram all four lives into one place.

My wife and mother-in-law argued about the furniture we needed to get for the shared spaces, and we debated back and forth about what to do with the back kitchen, which we ultimately decided to convert into a laundry/mud room.

As time went on, we also had to get used to the quirks of living together. My wife works from home, which means she has to go downstairs to the main kitchen and interact with her parents before she can fully wake up. Luckily, we've just converted the upstairs laundry space into a little kitchenette, so now she can make her morning smoothie in peace.

Additionally, I learned to put on my dress shoes only when I'm on my way out of the house in the morning, as I had previously been startling my in-laws awake by clomping around in the closet just above their bedroom.

But even though we're all in the same house, my wife and I still feel like we have ample privacy. Our bedroom is large, and my in-laws don't really spend much time in the basement, so sometimes, we like to hang out there as well.

Thankfully, expenses haven't been an issue, since we split most day-to-day purchases right down the middle by contributing to a joint bank account.

Living together has made everyday life easier in ways I didn't expect

Despite the challenges, sharing a home with my in-laws for the past eight months has been great.

My mother-in-law graciously offered to make dinner most nights, so we can all sit down and have a home-cooked meal as a family. When we go out of town, my in-laws watch our dog and our cats.

Once we have children, grandma and grandpa will be right there to help, and as my in-laws get older, we'll be right there to assist them.

Obviously, there are times when we annoy each other, but I've gotten to know my in-laws much better since we became roommates. The arrangement has turned us into a family and given us more financial security, and the plan is never to move again.

• US News & World Report released its list of the best places to retire in 2027.
• Affordability is one of the most important factors for retirees in choosing where to live.
• Texas has six cities in the top 15, but the top city is in the Midwest.

There are a lot of financial concerns surrounding retirement, and choosing where to live might be one of the biggest challenges.

Unless you've managed to stockpile a large sum of money for retirement, the everyday costs of living could factor into your decision to retire altogether.

US News & World Report analyzed over 850 cities based on quality of life, affordability, healthcare, retiree taxes, job market, and population and migration for retirees 55 and older to rank what cities work best for retirees.

Affordability was a key factor in this year's list, as the pathway to a comfortable retirement isn't smooth for everyone.

"It's no secret that affordability is top of mind for Americans this year, which is why US News updated its weighting criteria to better align with what retirees prioritize," US News & World Report assistant managing editor Megan Wood said. "The 2027 rankings reflect key metrics used to highlight the places that best suit retiree needs."

The six factors used when ranking each city came from a survey of Americans 45 and older to determine what mattered most to them when considering where to retire.

The cliché of retiring to Florida still holds true, as two Florida cities ranked in the top 15. But Texas has become an even hotter spot for retirees. While last year's list included three Texas cities, this year's list has six, with two in the top five.

Texas' overall affordability makes it a popular choice not only for retirees but for other generations as well.

"Retirees are seeking a place that gives them a sense of security and comfort as they live out their golden years," Wood said.

While cities in Florida and Texas account for more than half of the top 15, neither city holds the top spot. Below, the best cities to retire in for 2027.

15. San Angelo, TX

Housing costs 2025: $191,261

Value index: 9

Population 65+: 17%

14. Conroe, TX

Housing costs 2025: $323,622

Value index: 7.9

Population 65+: 15%

13. Pearland, TX

Housing costs 2025: $343,369

Value index: 8

Population 65+: 13%

12. Victoria, TX

Housing costs 2025: $200,767

Value index: 9.3

Population 65+: 17%

11. Bismarck, ND

Housing costs 2025: $290,274

Value index: 6

Population 65+: 21%

10. Palm Coast, FL

Housing costs 2025: $380,019

Value index: 7.5

Population 65+: 30%

9. Lynchburg, VA

Housing costs 2025: $222,789

Value index: 7.5

Population 65+: 15%

8. Paducah, KY

Housing costs 2025: $161,025

Value index: 9.2

Population 65+: 19%

7. Altoona, PA

Housing costs 2025: $115,035

Value index: 8.1

Population 65+: 19%

6. Rio Rancho, NM

Housing costs 2025: $311,135

Value index: 6.2

Population 65+: 19%

5. Spring, TX

Housing costs 2025: $249,404

Value index: 8.6

Population 65+: 12%

4. The Woodlands, TX

Housing costs 2025: $472,814

Value index: 6.6

Population 65+: 15%

3. Weirton, WV

Housing costs 2025: $124,681

Value index: 7.6

Population 65+: 26%

2. Homosassa Springs, FL

Housing costs 2025: $219,352

Value index: 8.8

Population 65+: 30%

1. Midland, MI

Housing costs 2025: $206,176

Value index: 8.7

Population 65+: 21%

• My husband and I live in a separate house on the same property as my parents and siblings.
• Our unique living arrangement has come with lots of surprises along the way.
• Even though we live so close to each other, we have boundaries and our own separate lives.

In 2024, my husband and I began building our own house on the same property as my parents, siblings, and sister-in-law, creating a "family compound." In total, there are two separate houses, nine family members, and three adorable golden retrievers on the property.

Our family has always spent a lot of time together, but before moving into our new home in April, I don't think I truly understood what day-to-day life would be like.

Here are the biggest surprises I've encountered so far.

My family and I still have our own separate lives.

Although my husband, daughter, and I live next door to the rest of my family, we still have our own houses, routines, and lives. Some days, when we all happen to be on different pages, we don't see each other at all.

I think this balance is a huge part of what makes our setup successful. No one feels as though they are on top of each other, and my husband and I can simply take our daughter to our house, close the door, and be our own little family.

Privacy and boundaries are still possible, even when living so close together.

For us, one of the keys to making our living arrangement successful is respect for personal space and boundaries.

For example, my younger siblings don't come over to my house after about 8:00 p.m. because they know my daughter is asleep and my husband and I are likely settling in for the night. This isn't something we ever had to ask them to do, they just respect our privacy and nightly routine.

The same goes for my parents. They text my husband and me before popping over to visit and always avoid walking into our house unannounced.

A lot of people don't seem to understand multigenerational living.

Since sharing our family compound on social media, I was taken aback by how many people assumed that our family was part of a religious group or separate "community," rather than our setup being an example of multigenerational living.

I knew that "family compounds" aren't incredibly common nowadays, at least in the United States, but I definitely didn't think they were so widely misunderstood.

People appear to confuse our setup with communal living, rather than our family simply living as neighbors next to each other.

Casual get-togethers and dinners happen spontaneously.

I've been pleasantly surprised by how much easier casual get-togethers, dinners, and hangouts are.

I can just pop over to my parents' house and then "head home" whenever I want to. I don't need a reason to leave or an excuse to use if I'm just not feeling social.

We also don't typically find ourselves planning get-togethers; they just kind of happen. I can wake up on a Saturday morning with no plans, and within an hour, everyone is hanging out by the pool, playing yard games, and cooking food together.

Having my family around has really improved my mental health.

As a stay-at-home mom, having my siblings and parents around throughout the week makes day-to-day life with a toddler so much more enjoyable.

Our setup gives me other adults to interact with, another set of hands when I need them, and simply remedies any of the aspects of motherhood that can otherwise feel lonely.

It's also a game changer for me to have my own mom as a resource. Rather than turning to Google, I can walk across the driveway and pick my mom's brain for parenting advice as a first-time mom.

My marriage has actually gotten even stronger since living here.

One of the many perks that I did not anticipate was how much the support of a village would benefit my relationship with my husband.

With other people around to lend a hand with our daughter, direct access to girl time with my mom and sister, and my husband having the ability to go watch a football game with my dad or play basketball with my brothers, we have easier access to hobbies and self-care outlets as parents. This leaves more quality time for us as a couple.

Our setup felt 'normal' pretty quickly.

It's taken me by surprise how after only living in our home for six months, this setup already feels so natural and "normal." I can't imagine going back to living even 15 minutes down the road from our family.

Sometimes it takes people asking questions or sharing their opinion on our living arrangements to remind me that our setup is a whole lot less common than I think.

When I think back to my expectations surrounding a 'family compound' prior to moving into our home, I had only really envisioned the more overarching concepts such as family dinners, lots of quality time and no longer having to drive to visit each other.

However, I didn't realize how many of the small details would make such a positive impact on our day-to-day lives.

• US Census data shows population growth in small towns across every state from 2020 to 2025.
• Many of the towns are in proximity to major cities, often within 25 miles.
• They range from rural mountain towns to desert communities.

The US population has grown by roughly 58 million since 2000, but the nation's biggest cities aren't the only areas seeing increases.

Whether it's suburbs next to urban areas or towns that have become hot spots in their own right, all 50 states are seeing population growth in small- and medium-sized towns.

Business Insider used the latest five-year Census population estimates, covering July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025, to calculate the population growth percentage for each state's towns and cities over the period.

Census population estimates are revised every year, so some 2020 figures differ slightly from estimates published in previous years.

To avoid municipalities with negligible populations, we considered only places with more than 1,000 residents in the 2020 population estimates. We also excluded unincorporated areas and Census-designated places belonging to a larger city. Of the 50 places, most have populations under 20,000.

Here's each state's fastest-growing city or town.

Triana, Alabama

2020 population: 3,003

2025 population: 5,244

Percentage growth: 75%

Sitting in the northern region of Alabama along the Tennessee River, Triana was named the fourth-best suburb to live in Alabama by Niche, a real-estate and education ranking platform.

Wasilla, Alaska

2020 population: 9,113

2025 population: 10,556

Percentage growth: 16%

Wasilla sits roughly 40 miles north of Anchorage, the state's largest city. As of 2020, Wasilla had just 732 residents per square mile, according to Census data.

Coolidge, Arizona

2020 population: 13,425

2025 population: 19,959

Percentage growth: 49%

Coolidge sits between Phoenix and Tucson and is home to the site of the Casa Grande Ruins, containing fragments of Native American structures. Sitting in the Sonoran Desert, the town sees frequent daily temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

Highfill, Arkansas

2020 population: 1,672

2025 population: 3,676

Percentage growth: 120%

Highfill is about 15 miles away from Bentonville, Arkansas, and is near the Northwest Arkansas National Airport.

Paradise, California

2020 population: 5,090

2025 population: 10,023

Percentage growth: 97%

The rapid growth can largely be attributed to Paradise's recovery after the 2018 Camp Fire, which ravaged the community. Per the Census, the town had over 26,000 residents in 2010, and is still rebuilding after being at the heart of the deadliest fire in the state's history.

Elizabeth, Colorado

2020 population: 1,710

2025 population: 2,957

Percentage growth: 73%

Elizabeth is about 40 miles from Denver, making it popular for those seeking a rural life while living within commuting distance of Colorado's economic hub, according to a report by Outside.

Woodmont, Connecticut

2020 population: 1,554

2025 population: 2,391

Percentage growth: 54%

Woodmont, a borough of Milford, is a popular summer destination, according to the Connecticut Tourism Office. It is about 7 miles away from New Haven.

Cheswold, Delaware

2020 population: 1,938

2025 population: 2,653

Percentage growth: 37%

In 2000, Cheswold had just over 300 residents, per the Census.

Westlake, Florida

2020 population: 1,048

2025 population: 9,042

Percentage growth: 763%

Westlake was formerly farmland before the land was purchased by Minto Group, a real-estate company with development plans for the area. The town only officially became a municipality in 2016.

Occupying over 6 miles of land, Westlake has thousands of single-family residential homes with more under construction, according to the town.

Hoschton, Georgia

2020 population: 2,775

2025 population: 8,623

Percentage growth: 211%

Hoschton lies about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta and 30 miles northwest of Athens.

Hawai'i County, Hawaii

2020 population: 200,744

2025 population: 210,043

Percentage growth: 4.6%

Hawaii holds the distinction of being the only US state without official incorporated municipalities. The state's towns are governed at the county level.

Of the five counties — Hawai'i, Honolulu, Kalawao, Kaua'i, and Maui — Hawai'i County, commonly known as the "Big Island," reported the largest population growth from 2020 to 2025.

Star, Idaho

2020 population: 11,488

2025 population: 20,874

Percentage growth: 82%

Star is located just 15 miles northwest of Boise.

Wonder Lake, Illinois

2020 population: 4,004

2025 population: 5,593

Percentage growth: 40%

Wonder Lake sits just below the Illinois-Wisconsin border, about 65 miles between Milwaukee and Chicago.

Whitestown, Indiana

2020 population: 10,383

2025 population: 15,767

Percentage growth: 52%

Whitestown, which is just over 20 miles northwest of Indianapolis, is home to more than 50 acres of parks and 13 miles of trails.

Tiffin, Iowa

2020 population: 4,625

2025 population: 7,156

Percentage growth: 55%

The fast-growing suburb sits F. W. Kent County Park, a sought-after destination in the state for outdoor activities. Tiffin is located 22 miles south of Cedar Rapids.

Maize, Kansas

2020 population: 5,818

2025 population: 7,853

Percentage growth: 35%

It takes under 20 minutes to drive from Maize to central Wichita.

Elkton, Kentucky

2020 population: 2,061

2025 population: 2,387

Percentage growth: 16%

Nashville is the nearest major city to Elkton, located about 60 miles south of the town.

Maurice, Louisiana

2020 population: 2,185

2025 population: 3,215

Percentage growth: 47%

Maurice is just southwest of Lafayette, Louisiana's fourth-largest city.

Greenville, Maine

2020 population: 1,440

2025 population: 1,743

Percentage growth: 21%

Far from the cities of Portland and Bangor, Greenville is located further inland at the southern tip of Moosehead Lake, the state's largest freshwater body, according to Visit Maine. Greenville sits roughly 60 miles from the US-Canada border.

Trappe, Maryland

2020 population: 1,177

2025 population: 1,517

Percentage growth: 29%

Trappe has seen growth in population in part because of a modern housing development, Lakeside at Trappe.

Bolton, Massachusetts

2020 population: 5666

2025 population: 6477

Percentage growth: 14%

Bolton is about 18 miles northeast of Worcester and about 40 miles west of Boston.

Editor's Note: Amherst had the largest estimated population increase from 2020 to 2025, but Business Insider chose second-place Bolton because Amherst’s unusually low 2020 estimate could have been distorted by pandemic-era student departures.

Manton, Michigan

2020 population: 1,271

2025 population: 1,626

Percentage growth: 28%

Manton was a finalist in Reader's Digest's "Nicest Place in America" ranking in 2021.

Dayton, Minnesota

2020 population: 7,432

2025 population: 11,402

Percentage growth: 53%

Dayton is a relatively wealthy suburb, with a high homeownership rate and a median household income of $148,947 in 2024, per 2024 Census data. Dayton is under 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Sumrall, Mississippi

2020 population: 1,777

2025 population: 2,299

Percentage growth: 29%

Sumrall sits just over 15 miles northwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi's fifth-largest city.

Rogersville, Missouri

2020 population: 3,897

2025 population: 5,754

Percentage growth: 48%

According to 2024 Census data, there are about 2.98 households per resident in Rogersville, which is above the national average.

The town is located 20 miles east of Springfield.

Kalispell, Montana

2020 population: 25,263

2025 population: 31,851

Percentage growth: 26%

According to the 2024 Census data, Kalispell is the seventh-largest city in Montana by population and the eighth-largest by land area.

Hickman, Nebraska

2020 population: 2,655

2025 population: 3,663

Percentage growth: 38%

Hickman's population has more than tripled since 2000, per the Census. The town is under 20 miles south of Lincoln, the state's capital city.

Mesquite, Nevada

2020 population: 20,608

2025 population: 24,001

Percentage growth: 16%

Mesquite sits in the Mojave Desert and borders Arizona. The nearest major city is Las Vegas, roughly 80 miles southwest of Mesquite.

Epping, New Hampshire

2020 population: 7,153

2025 population: 7,973

Percentage growth: 11%

The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute attributed Epping's population growth to its proximity to major state highways and economic hubs in the Seacoast, Merrimack Valley, and Boston.

Seaside Park, New Jersey

2020 population: 1,445

2025 population: 2,135

Percentage growth: 48%

Seaside Park neighbors Seaside Heights, a popular Jersey Shore destination known for its amusement park.

Los Lunas, New Mexico

2020 population: 17,454

2025 population: 20,572

Percentage growth: 18%

Los Lunas has held significance at different points in American history, including its use as a bombing range after World War II, according to the Center for Land Use Interpretation.

The town is about 20 miles south of Albuquerque.

Kiryas Joel, New York

2020 population: 33,507

2025 population: 47,147

Percentage growth: 41%

Kiryas Joel, coterminous with the town of Palm Tree, has a predominantly Hasidic Jewish population and covers only 1.46 square miles, according to the 2020 Census.

Wendell, North Carolina

2020 population: 9,997

2025 population: 19,687

Percentage growth: 97%

Wendell is within 20 miles of Raleigh, North Carolina's second most populous city. The growth is expected to continue, with 1,900 new homes under construction in the town, the area's ABC 11 reported.

Horace, North Dakota

2020 population: 3,249

2025 population: 7,001

Percentage growth: 115%

Horace is a suburb of Fargo, North Dakota's largest city by population, and is itself the 13th most populous city in the state.

South Bloomfield, Ohio

2020 population: 2,147

2025 population: 4,164

Percentage growth: 94%

South Bloomfield is located 20 miles south of Columbus.

Newcastle, Oklahoma

2020 population: 11,171

2025 population: 15,198

Percentage growth: 36%

A suburb of Oklahoma City, Newcastle appeared on 24/7 Wall St.'s "The Best City to Live in Every State" list in 2019.

Estacada, Oregon

2020 population: 4,531

2025 population: 5,814

Percentage growth: 28%

Estacada is roughly 30 miles southeast of Portland.

Lancaster Township, Pennsylvania

2020 population: 2,765

2025 population: 3,734

Percentage growth: 35%

Lancaster Township is a small municipality in Butler County, western Pennsylvania, and is separate from the much larger city of Lancaster in southeastern Pennsylvania. It's about 34 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Glocester, Rhode Island

2020 population: 9,984

2025 population: 10,612

Percentage growth: 6.3%

Glocester, seated 20 miles northwest of Providence, contains the villages of Harmony and Chepachet.

Hardeeville, South Carolina

2020 population: 7,764

2025 population: 16,459

Percentage growth: 112%

Located under 20 miles north of Savannah, Georgia, Hardeeville has historically had the nickname "The Lowcountry Host" for its many hotels and accommodations for travelers, per the Hardeeville Police Department.

Harrisburg, South Dakota

2020 population: 6,845

2025 population: 10,405

Percentage growth: 52%

Harrisburg, just 10 miles south of Sioux Falls, has 3.7 miles of land area, per 2020 Census data.

Lebanon, Tennessee

2020 population: 38,908

2025 population: 53,412

Percentage growth: 37%

Located 30 minutes east of Nashville, Lebanon is becoming a population hub in its own right. The town is home to the Nashville Superspeedway and Cumberland University.

Josephine, Texas

2020 population: 2,283

2025 population: 10,208

Percentage growth: 347%

Josephine, 40 miles northeast of Dallas, is experiencing a major housing boom. Companies like D.R. Horton are constructing developments with hundreds of homes, and the low cost of living in the area is attracting a lot of millennial first-time homebuyers, Business Insider's Alcynna Lloyd reported.

Saratoga Springs, Utah

2020 population: 38,318

2025 population: 61,397

Percentage growth: 60%

Saratoga Springs sits along Utah Lake and is among Utah's 15 most populous cities. Saratoga Springs has a reputation for safety, with its total crime rate 69% below the national average, per Best Utah Real Estate.

Newport, Vermont

2020 population: 1,581

2025 population: 2,583

Percentage growth: 63%

The town, a distinct municipality from the neighboring city of Newport, is just over 5 miles south of the US-Canada border and is one of Vermont's least populous municipalities.

Louisa, Virginia

2020 population: 1,993

2025 population: 2,244

Percentage growth: 13%

Louisa is located roughly 50 miles northwest of Richmond.

Ridgefield, Washington

2020 population: 10,875

2025 population: 16,132

Percentage growth: 48%

Located near Vancouver, Washington, Ridgefield has a history as a Native American village site, which was visited during the Lewis and Clark expedition, the city says.

Charles Town, West Virginia

2020 population: 6,529

2025 population: 9,329

Percentage growth: 43%

Charles Town was notably founded by Charles Washington, the youngest brother of President George Washington, according to the city.

Lannon, Wisconsin

2020 population: 1,419

2025 population: 2,057

Percentage growth: 45%

Lannon's growth can largely be attributed to new investments in the town, such as housing developments, TMJ 4 Milwaukee reported. Lannon is located about 20 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

Alpine, Wyoming

2020 population: 1,229

2025 population: 1,382

Percentage growth: 13%

Alpine sits on the Idaho-Wyoming border and is near Jackson, one of the state's 10 most populous cities.

• Oheka Castle, the second-largest private home in the US, has been sold for $72 million.
• The estate is said to have inspired "The Great Gatsby" and has been used in film and TV.
• It's also a favorite wedding venue for celebrities, such as Kevin Jonas, Megyn Kelly, and more.

If you've ever read or seen "The Great Gatsby," you know 1920s New York was home to extravagant mansions with owners who hosted lavish parties — and if you've watched "The Gilded Age," you know those parties began decades earlier in the 1870s.

And if you're a really dedicated fan, you just missed your chance to own a piece of F. Scott Fitzgerald history yourself. Oheka Castle, a sprawling, century-old estate said to have inspired the parties in "The Great Gatsby," went up for auction on October 27, via Concierge Auctions and Adam Modlin of The Modlin Group.

Its original homeowner was financier Otto Hermann Kahn, who built Oheka Castle — named after its owner (Oh-He-Ka) — in 1919 on Long Island.

Kahn's wife used to call the home "Otto's zoo," and it seemed to be an accurate description. A-listers of the time used to party at the 109,000-square-foot home, with Kahn as a Gatsby-like figure entertaining all his guests.

But Oheka's journey didn't end there. After Kahn's death in 1934, the property changed hands numerous times until it was abandoned in the '80s. Fires, vandalism, and theft devastated it.

According to Oheka Castle, land developer Gary Melius then purchased the estate and spent $40 million restoring it to its former glory. He defaulted on a loan over a decade ago, Forbes reported, and declared bankruptcy in July 2025 to forestall what happened this week: Oheka on the auction block.

Per Concierge Auction, seven bidders were competing for Oheka, but the eventual winner, Gold Coast Property & Estate Management LLC, is set to pay $72 million for the property, pending approval. The sale also includes a pre-approved plan to build a four-story condo building.

"This sale marks an exciting next chapter for Oheka and an opportunity for its next owner to preserve that legacy while bringing a new vision to the estate," said Modlin.

Today, Oheka is the second-largest private home in the US, behind only the Biltmore House in North Carolina. It's a popular venue for weddings, a restaurant, and a hotel, and has been featured in movies, TV shows, and music videos. Taylor Swift even filmed the "Blank Space" video there.

You can also tour the grounds for $30. I took the tour in April 2024 and was astonished by the beauty of Oheka Castle. Here's what it was like to visit.

Oheka Castle was built in 1919 by German-American financier Otto Hermann Kahn.

He spent about $11 million, or about $213 million in today's currency, to build Oheka on 443 acres of land in West Hills, New York.

Oheka Castle has seen a lot in its 100-plus years, and for anyone who wants to learn more, tours are offered twice daily.

So, I decided to visit. All I knew about Oheka was that Kevin Jonas got married there and Taylor Swift filmed the "Blank Space" music video there.

But Oheka has a rich history. I learned all about it on a beautiful afternoon in April 2024.

When you drive to the entryway, it's a bit intimidating. There's someone working the gate who must let you in.

Then comes a long driveway. I felt like I was going back in time to the Gilded Age.

My first look at the main house was astounding — and yes, I mean house. Oheka Castle is the second-largest private residence in the US.

It's also on the National Register of Historic Places. It was added in September 2004.

When Kahn built this house, he had three requirements: He wanted to be high up, he wanted a view of the water, and he needed the house to be fireproof.

His previous house in New Jersey had burned down. Oheka, in contrast, is built largely out of stone.

I went inside and waited in front of a grand staircase with the rest of my group for our tour to begin.

When it began, we saw photos of how the house looked before its current owner restored it. We'd learn more about this later.

The first room we entered was this beautiful entryway with a mural of the sky on the ceiling.

The house itself is 112,895 square feet today and has 127 rooms.

Many of the rooms are dedicated to showing off the home's history, like the Chaplin Room.

Charlie Chaplin was just one of the many '20s A-listers who hung out at Oheka. This photo shows Chaplin (right) with Kahn (center) and actor Douglas Fairbanks (left).

In fact, according to my tour guide, Jay Gatsby's wild parties in "The Great Gatsby" were inspired by what was going down at Oheka in the '20s.

This was Kahn's wife Adelaide's favorite room. Adelaide wasn't as big of an entertainer as her husband, but this sunny room was perfect for guests.

This ballroom is the only room that's not original to Kahn's time inside Oheka today.

But as you can see from the ballroom's windows, Oheka met Kahn's requirement for a view of the water. He used to dock his yacht there.

Kahn, who was Jewish, also built a golf course on his property — country clubs at the time wouldn't admit Jewish people or allow them to play.

After Kahn's death in 1934, the property was shuffled between owners. From 1948 to 1979, it was the Eastern Military Academy.

During those days, what is now the breakfast room was used as a gym.

From that room, we made our way to this huge library.

A portrait of Kahn hung above the fireplace.

Our final stop on the first floor was this room, which also houses a bar. Press clippings about Oheka adorned the walls.

Among the displayed articles was Danielle and Kevin Jonas' wedding spread in People. They got married at the estate in 2009.

Then we went upstairs to check out the hotel and bridal suite.

The bridal suite, which is on the fourth floor, opens with this mural-covered entryway.

A beautiful open room with windows allows wedding parties to take in the view of Oheka's well-manicured grounds.

The gardens at Oheka are breathtaking from above.

Here's the main bedroom of the bridal suite.

The primary bathroom has a bathtub and a shower.

Then it was time to check out the gardens — and to learn what happened to Oheka.

When the Eastern Military Academy went bankrupt and vacated its premises in 1979, Oheka was left abandoned.

Residents who lived nearby were concerned about vandalism. One neighbor even took this statue for safekeeping and returned it when Oheka was restored in the '80s.

Land developer Gary Melius purchased Oheka in 1984 and spent $40 million restoring it to its former glory.

The gardens were originally designed by the Olmsted Brothers, best known for helping with Central Park.

Melius used those original sketches to restore Oheka.

These statues were tracked down at an auction and are thought to date back to the Renaissance.

Now, it's a beautiful wedding venue, hotel, restaurant, and home — Melius keeps an apartment on the third floor.

As I left the grounds, I got one more look at the restaurant and its courtyard.

I would highly recommend taking a tour of Oheka. As I viewed its stunning surroundings and learned about its unique history, I felt like I was traveling back in time.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published in September 2026 and most recently updated in October 2026.

From a young chef and a single father to business owners and a pensioner, Guardian readers reveal how John Healey’s measures will affect them

• What the budget means for you

Louie, 24, a chef living in London, says a lot of people have “written off the idea of even considering getting a property” in their 20s.

Few surprises as chancellor uses low-key speech blaming ‘global economic storms’ for stoking energy prices and cost of living crisis

• Budget 2026: key points at a glance

• Briefing: key questions answered by Heather Stewart and Pippa Crerar

• Editorial: Budget’s bold ambitions and welcome first steps

John Healey raised taxes on banks and landlords to fund a £100 winter handout for 20 million families as official forecasts made clear there is no end in sight for the cost of living crisis.

In his first budget, the chancellor blamed “global economic storms” for the grim outlook, as the war in Iran drives up oil and gas prices.

• Beyoncé and Jay-Z purchased a home that set a record for the priciest home in California in 2023.
• The $190 million Malibu mansion is just one of the many properties they own around the country.
• Here are the homes they're linked to, from a former church in New Orleans to a Hamptons estate.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z break music records — and real-estate records.

The couple, whose combined net worth is nearly $4 billion as of publication, according to Forbes, is linked to numerous partnerships and deals, including Jay-Z's upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance, as well as several multimillion-dollar homes across the United States.

In 2023, they bought a 42,000-square-foot Malibu estate with a minimalist concrete aesthetic, designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The price? $190 million — one of the largest sums in California history.

In New Orleans, the "Cowboy Carter" singer and the rapper-turned-entrepreneur have been linked to a former Presbyterian church that has been transformed into a mansion.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z's impressive property portfolio also includes another mansion in the Los Angeles area and several homes in New York. They are also reportedly in talks to purchase a 58-acre plot of land in the Cotswolds that they plan to develop in the future.

Take a look at Beyoncé and Jay-Z's homes across the country.

Beyoncé came from humble beginnings in Houston.

Beyoncé's rise to stardom began in a modest, middle-class neighborhood in Houston's Third Ward.

2414 Rosedale Street has three bedrooms and three bathrooms over 8,640 square feet, according to the listing from 2019.

According to the Associated Press, the Knowles family purchased the home in 1982, not long after Beyoncé was born, and moved out when she was about 5.

In 2019, the home was listed for sale for about $500,000. Because Texas is a non-disclosure state, it's unclear how much it sold for.

Beyoncé was spotted taking photos of the home in September 2023 during the Houston stop of her Renaissance World Tour, the AP reported.

The couple is linked to a Tribeca penthouse, where they married in 2008.

In September 2004, Jay-Z, who voiced his aspirations for success in his hit rap song 'Big Pimpin', made one of his first big real-estate purchases.

The native New Yorker, who was about 34 at the time, spent $6.85 million on a penthouse at 195 Hudson Street in the downtown Manhattan neighborhood of Tribeca.

Architectural Digest reported that the 8,000-square-foot apartment has an additional 3,000 square feet of outdoor terrace space. It's in a 27-unit building that was converted from a 1929 brick warehouse in 1999, real-estate listings site StreetEasy reported.

In 2008, he and Beyoncé held an intimate wedding ceremony at the penthouse, with 40 people in attendance. Architectural Digest reported in 2024 that the couple is believed to still own the home.

The couple rented out a Los Angeles mansion for $150,000 a month

In 2014, the Carters house-hunted on the East Coast, considering several properties. One was an eight-bedroom, 15-bathroom Beverly Hills mansion that they were outbid for by Markus Persson, the billionaire creator of the video game Minecraft. (Persson listed the mansion for sale in October 2026 for $70 million.)

After being outbid on several other properties, the couple decided to rent a home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Holmby Hills, Architectural Digest reported. The 20,000-square-foot estate was valued at $4 million in 2015, according to Realtor.com. At the time, the couple paid a whopping $150,000 a month in rent. When the property was eventually sold in 2015, they moved on.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are also linked to a home in New Orleans that used to be a church.

Louisiana is where Beyoncé's mother, fashion designer Tina Knowles, was born and raised.

In 2015, multiple news outlets reported that the couple purchased a Spanish Baroque-style mansion in New Orleans' Garden District. The house on Harmony Street, locally known as La Casa de Castille, was listed for $2.6 million at the time of its purchase, but the exact sales purchase price remains a mystery due to Louisiana's non-disclosure policy.

NOLA.com outlined how the church became a residence: In the 1920s, Westminster Presbyterian Church built it, and 38 members of the Ku Klux Klan allegedly attended its groundbreaking ceremony. Following years of vacancy, dancer Harvey Hysell transformed it into a ballet theater in 1977. Finally, in the early 2000s, it was purchased and extensively renovated.

According to the old Zillow listing, it still has 16-foot ceilings and stained-glass windows. The 13,300-square-foot, three-story property, made up of a main residence and three separate apartments, has a total of seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and a rooftop garden.

In 2021, there was a fire on the property, and it was listed for sale shortly after at $3.5 million, later increased to $4.45 million, TMZ reported. However, it was later taken off the market, according to Architectural Digest.

On Google Maps' Street View, La Casa de Castille is blurred, suggesting that it may still be a private residence.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z own a home in the Hamptons.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z have a New York state of mind when it comes to real estate.

In addition to the Tribeca penthouse and a midtown Manhattan condo — which Beyoncé owned prior to their marriage and sold in 2017 for $10 million — they have rented and owned several homes in the Hamptons.

In 2012, the year their daughter Blue Ivy was born, they leased a 31,000-square-foot vacation home in Bridgehampton for $400,000 a month.

Beyond the standard luxuries like a bar, a pool, and a tennis court, that mansion also featured a bowling alley, rock climbing wall, and skateboard half-pipe, according to Architectural Digest.

In 2017, the couple purchased the Pond House in East Hampton for $26 million.

Located at 81 Briar Patch Road, the 12,000-square-foot mansion with seven bedrooms, seven bathrooms, and a separate cottage was designed by architect Stanford White, whose work includes the arch in Washington Square Park.

The couple's waterfront property sits across from Georgica Pond and a 17-acre meadow preserve, offering unparalleled privacy.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z purchased a 34,000-square-foot estate in Bel Air in 2017.

Also in 2017, Beyoncé and Jay-Z bought an $88 million mansion in Bel Air. They welcomed twins Rumi and Sir that year, too.

The ultramodern 34,000-square-foot estate has eight bedrooms, 20 bathrooms, and a 90-foot infinity pool, according to its Zillow listing.

It has more than 10,000 square feet of outdoor living space and offers panoramic views of the Angeles National Forest.

In 2023, Beyoncé and Jay-Z bought the most expensive home in California history.

In 2023, Beyoncé and Jay-Z purchased a 40,000-square-foot mansion in Malibu's exclusive Paradise Cove neighborhood, which some have dubbed "Billionaires' Beach," for $190 million.

The sale set a record at the time for the most expensive property transaction in California. It was also the largest residential sale nationwide that year.

The estate's record-breaking price tag is attributed in part to its high-pedigree design and extensive array of amenities.

According to Architectural Digest, it took the previous owners, art collectors Bill Bell and his wife Maria Bell, a decade and a half to complete the building.

Spanning more than 8 acres, the compound is designed in the Japanese minimalist style for which its architect, Tadao Ando, is known.

According to E! News, the main residence has 8 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, while its living room features custom-made fixtures imported from Italy. Outside, there are four separate pools, a bar, and a private helipad.

The couple is reportedly in talks to purchase a 58-acre plot of land in the Cotswolds in England.

The Cotswolds, a picturesque region spanning parts of southwestern and south-central England, is known for its rolling green hills, centuries-old villages, and historic estates.

With luxury properties often commanding multimillion-pound prices, the area has earned the nickname "the Hamptons of England." It has long attracted prominent British residents, including David and Victoria Beckham, actress Elizabeth Hurley, and supermodel Kate Moss.

More recently, the Cotswolds have also attracted wealthy Americans. Beyoncé and Jay-Z are reportedly among them, The Times reported in September.

According to the publication, the Carters are considering a £7.5 million ($8.54 million) 58-acre property in Wigginton, a village with fewer than 200 residents. Owain Jones, who is handling the sale, told The Times that their plans to develop the land could bring the project's total cost to about £18 million (or about $20. 5 million).

Should the Carters move forward with the purchase, they would not be far from the Beckhams and Simon Cowell, who reportedly own homes in the nearby village of Great Tew.

However, the proposed construction has upset some Wigginton residents, who are concerned about preserving the village's peace and quiet, House & Garden reported.

• I lived in Hawaii for 13 years and moved to the continental United States in 2021.
• Life on the mainland has come with many surprises, from heavier traffic to more air conditioning.
• Hawaii doesn't observe daylight-saving time, so the time change has taken some getting used to.

After living in Hawaii for 13 years — my entire adult life — I decided to move to North Carolina in 2021 for my MBA. While in school, I met my husband, and together, we relocated to Atlanta to pursue our careers.

However, after spending so much time in Hawaii, moving to the mainland came with some surprises. Here are eight of the biggest culture shocks I've experienced.

On the mainland, I spend much more time in my car.

When I lived on the Big Island of Hawaii, I rarely had to drive more than 30 minutes at a time. Everything from work to the grocery store to the beach was just a short car ride away. A trip across the island felt like a journey.

So, it took me some time to adjust to the longer commutes in mainland cities. Rush-hour traffic is now a regular occurrence, rather than something I see in movies. And now, driving an hour to work or to visit friends is standard where I live.

Even though driving isn't always my favorite activity, I love that I can get in my car and head to another state in just a few hours. It's given my husband and me a lot of fun weekend road trips.

Daylight-saving time is new for me.

Hawaii doesn't follow daylight-saving time, and instead stays on Hawaii Standard Time all year long. So when I first came to the mainland, the time changes twice a year really confused me.

I still have to look up when daylight-saving time begins and ends, especially when I'm referencing what time it is back in Hawaii. Thankfully, I keep a list of cities on my clock app to keep track of the time difference.

Experiencing four distinct seasons has changed how I observe time passing.

Moving to a place with seasons meant buying winter clothing and seeing the leaves bursting into bright oranges and reds in the fall.

This is different from the islands, where the seasons are largely the rainy season and dry season. I now look forward to seasonal transitions and the festivities that come with each one.

Air conditioning is much more common on the mainland.

Many homes in Hawaii, including the one where I lived, use the trade winds for cooling. My home had jalousie windows with horizontal glass slats that let the breeze pass through.

In contrast, buildings here in the Southeast are typically climate-controlled using air conditioning and heating units.

If I'm being honest, I still have to carry a sweater around to keep warm when the air conditioning is strong. However, dependable air conditioning is especially nice during hot, humid summers.

Locally grown fruit is now a summer staple.

In Hawaii, because the climate is pretty mild year-round, many fruits have multiple or continuous growing seasons. Plus, I always knew someone who was giving fruits away from their backyard.

Here in the Southeast, though, fresh fruits feel more seasonal. I now get excited for peach season and the long lines at local farmers markets.

On the mainland, the weather is harder to predict.

Where I lived in Hawaii, I'd look out over the ocean and be able to predict the next few hours of weather pretty accurately.

After years of living there, I understood the patterns of the clouds and wind, and could typically gauge the amount of time I needed to make it home from a run or the beach before the weather turned.

However, I have a much tougher time guessing what the weather will be like on the mainland. I now rely a lot more on weather forecasts to know what to expect.

The billboards took me by surprise.

Billboards aren't allowed in Hawaii, so when I first moved to the Southeast, I couldn't believe how many huge signs dotted the skylines.

Now I get a kick out of reading them and analyzing the marketing, but it's always interesting returning to Hawaii and seeing how open the landscape is without them.

Fast-food restaurants on the mainland are missing Spam.

Chicken and burgers are staples of fast-food restaurants on the mainland, but Hawaii's famous chains often feature rice and Spam.

Now, when I visit my favorite chains, I miss getting Spam musubi — Spam wrapped in rice and seaweed.

• Yolanda Williams, 46, bought 3 acres in Arkansas and moved there with her daughter.
• She invited another single mom she met online to live on the property with her two kids.
• They now share expenses, childcare, and emotional support in what they call a "mommune."

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Yolanda Williams, 46, who lives in central Arkansas with her 9-year-old daughter on a farm with another single mom and her two kids. They help each other with childcare, mental support, and more. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2021, after my daughter Gia and I got COVID, we decided to take a drive one day. I came across this one little road that I fell in love with.

We kept coming back, driving around this neighborhood in Arkansas, and it became our Sunday thing. We'd get in the car and get ourselves a sweet treat — me a coffee and her a cinnamon roll — and drive around for an hour looking at all the different farms and houses and really just visualizing the life we wanted.

We did that for two years before I found our 3.19-acre land in rural Arkansas. After visiting it, I purchased the land in 2023 on Facebook Marketplace, For-Sale-By-Owner. It cost $40,000 to buy, and I put down $12,000.

It was fully forested raw land, so I could only see part of it, but I used a real estate agent for the process. At the end of 2024, I secured a grant to help pay for the infrastructure, and I spent 2025 getting the land ready to move into. We didn't move until March 2026 because the land needed clearing and practical things such as a driveway and utilities.

The process was expensive because I didn't have much money left to build anything on the land. We got an RV as a place to stay, stash money, and build in the next five years.

Before I'm 50, I would like to have a permanent home built on the land

I'm from Southern California, and when I left in 2017, I was paying $600 to rent a guest room from my friend. Now, I pay $485 for my land mortgage and $400 for my RV payment a month. So, all in all, for me to be on this land, it's around $885 per month. Utilities run about $150 to $200 a month in the summer, and then $100 for water. It's exponentially cheaper to live like this, especially in Arkansas.

Here we have the freedom to roam and to be outside. I'm always in the garden. I've actually lost 30lbs since March because I move so much, and I didn't even realize it. I'm getting a lot more sun and exercise — so is my daughter. I feel more content, I feel more at peace.

However, this move has turned into so much more than that for us. I've been a single mom since my daughter Gia was born. She's 9 now, and I've never truly felt what it's like to have support, to have someone around all the time. By chance, that all changed this year.

I'm not sure who followed who first, but I met a single mom called Sunnie on Threads

She posted on the social media app Threads about wanting to buy land, and I commented back that she should consider Arkansas. I explained to her that land is cheap out here, and I gave her a bunch of information.

A few months later, I randomly saw her posting on Threads that she was in Arkansas with her two kids, who were 11 and 5 years old, looking for land, so I slipped into her DMs, and we exchanged numbers. I texted her to arrange a meet-up and to show her my land. Mind you, this was before I had actually moved onto the property.

The first time we met, we had pizza with the kids. They had a look around, and the kids played really well together. Gia likes the pizza crust but not the actual pizza, and one of Sunnie's kids likes the pizza but not the crust, so it worked out perfectly.

They helped me around the property as I was in the main stretch of getting everything ready for me to move on to. That's when we got to talking about her potentially living here while she searched for her own land.

Sunnie lived in a different city about an hour from me, and she didn't know anyone in Arkansas. I offered her the chance to stay with us to avoid spending money on hotels and Ubers. Although she wanted to buy her own land, I made it clear that she was welcome to stay with me as long as she wanted to. We now split the mortgage and utility costs in half.

That's how our "mommune" started.

Although we didn't know each other for long, I felt a strong connection and vibe

I loved that she was very much like, "I want to put my gloves on, and I want to help you," when it came to laying the foundations around the property, such as weeding, spraying for ticks, building planters, and sowing seeds. Now we garden together and grow as much as we can — like comfrey, lemon balm, mint, and basil. We even make our own fertilizer.

And you know, that's what's missing. A lot of people want this life, but they don't want to actually roll their sleeves up and get dirty to help one another.

Sunnie was essentially a complete stranger. But what I've been trying to do is listen to myself and trust myself. I really felt a great vibe from Sunnie, and my daughter really took to her. We got along, and it just felt right.

Yes, it's hard to build trust because you can't really trust anyone until you start to be around them all the time, but the whole thing with Sunnie is she came, and we sat, and we had a discussion about money and about expectations and about childcare. You just have to be willing to have the hard conversations in order to build a community, and I want to be around people who understand me.

We're now growing food together and raising wildlings.

This is our matriarchal community

What I always try to tell people is we need to decenter and deprioritize romantic relationships and just focus on relationships in general, whatever that support looks like.

Whether that's friendship or family, focus on building that community, and we will get the support we're looking for, but if you're only focused on needing a man or a husband or partner to have security to feel supported, then a lot of people will miss out on invaluable support with friends or other women.

For example, I was having a really hard time this Mother's Day — it's just a hard day for me. Sunnie saw that I wasn't in a good space, so she took the kids and left so I could get some alone time. Having that support and knowing that I can say "hey, I'm having a hard time with motherhood right now" and someone will not only understand but will help me through that by watching my kid for me, taking her to the park, or giving me some space — it has been life-changing. It's the support that I need.

We really just help each other out. When I have to leave and go somewhere, I'll ask her to come inside the RV or to watch Gia play outside, and she does. Vice versa — if she needs me to watch her children, it's really not a big deal. We just ask each other for favors like: "If you're out at the store, can you get me this?"

We communicate really well with each other, and we help each other out any way we need to, and that includes having dinner together sometimes, watching TV together, and I will let her kids come over here so she can have a break and be able to be in her RV by herself, or we'll go to the park so she can be by herself sometimes.

Ever since I met Sunnie, I can just tell there's a change in my nervous system. Having someone here means I can tap out. I'm 46 this year, and I wouldn't trade this mommune we've built for the world.

HOA president was not on the list of titles Lana Martin ever planned to hold, but it's one that's befallen her.

Martin bought a townhouse in a 13-unit complex in Los Angeles in 2022. She quickly realized that the leaders of her homeowners association were ignoring a number of unaddressed issues, including a leaky decades-old roof that was flooding her neighbors' living rooms. Martin, who works for the California state government, decided to join her complex's three-person board to help out.

As the saying goes, no good deed goes unpunished.

The other two board members aren't very involved, so "everything falls on me," Martin says. She handles vendor calls, fields resident complaints, and babysits a low-budget property manager. Residents raised hell about the roof replacement project — they didn't want to stomach the roughly $160,000 cost that meant a painful $13,000 assessment for each unit. Some of them accused the HOA board and management company of acting illegally and threatened to lawyer up. Martin has had to block some of her neighbors' phone numbers.

"They wanted to second guess everything, Monday-morning quarterback everything, rather than just become involved," Martin says.

The reluctance to participate is understandable. It's also part of what's left Martin holding the bag.

HOAs are easy to hate. They are private mini-governments made up of non-expert volunteers who happen to live in proximity with one another. Across the country, millions of Americans have bought into condos, co-ops, and subdivisions governed by these associations, tethering their largest financial asset to an amateur bureaucracy. Most HOA stories are told from the outside looking in: a beleaguered resident hit with a ridiculous fine over a rogue garden hose or an overgrown lawn. Talk to the people who've ventured into the belly of the beast, and the picture gets gnarlier: You give up a ton of time, don't get paid, and everybody's always a bit mad at you.

And yet, HOA setups are growing. There were 373,000 community associations in the US in 2025, covering 29.6 million housing units and 78.1 million residents. By comparison, there were 222,500 in 2000. These entities collected $124.2 billion in assessments last year — about 1.5 times New York City's total tax revenue for the same year. You can see why things get so heated, and not just about money.

"HOAs are the ultimate pressure cooker environment for human interactions," says A.J. Steigman, a Florida real estate investor who currently sits on two boards. "You can cure cancer, you can pave the place in gold, you can even lower the HOA fees, and yet you're still going to have some elderly couple constantly complain about their flower patch."

Why would anyone in their right mind raise their hand for this?

HOAs typically attract two distinct archetypes, says Evan McKenzie, a political science professor at the University of Illinois Chicago and author of "Privatopia: Homeowner Associations and the Rise of Residential Private Government." On one side are the reluctant pragmatists — people who step up out of civic duty or sheer self-defense. On the other are what McKenzie calls the "condo commando" types who have some pretty strict ideas about how the people next door ought to live. For them, the board is a badge of domestic authority. Once they wind up in the same room, these groups inevitably clash — or, perhaps even worse, they run up against the paralyzing apathy of everyone else.

The paradox of HOA leadership is that the moment an owner displays basic competence, the rest of the community often abdicates. That's how James, a product designer in LA, landed in his current situation. He asked me to withhold his last name in order to protect his privacy — and keep from ruffling feathers among his neighbors.

HOAs are the ultimate pressure cooker environment for human interactions.

Back in 2021, a couple of people in his complex asked him to help out since he works from home and could keep an eye on things. He officially joined the board in 2023 and now acts as an unwitting customer service desk. Residents email the board about petty issues like intercom numbers and rat spottings. One recent Friday night, someone emailed to report a gas leak. "It's like, you need to call 911," James says.

He can't walk around his residence without risking someone coming up to him to pitch an idea or air a grievance. "You're never really off the clock," he says. He wishes he could quit, but no one else will step up.

Olivia Horbowy's story is one of self-preservation. When she bought an older top-floor condo in LA in 2024, the concept of an HOA was quite foreign to her. There were signs something might be amiss when she informed the building's then-leadership of her renovation plans for her new place — demands for extra documentation, a denied in-unit washer-dryer — but she brushed them off. She is an attorney, after all. But after moving into the space in the spring of 2025, she received notice of $15,200 in surprise accumulated fines related to the remodel. "They were convinced they were above the law and could make any decision they wanted," she says. After some legal back-and-forth, she didn't wind up paying.

As a result of the incident, Horbowy also decided to run for the five-person board herself. Victory wasn't entirely sweet, because of one preexisting board member's reaction. In emails, the aggrieved veteran referred to one member as a "kiss ass minion," accused the board president of taking bribes, and called Horbowy a "Russian whore." (She's Polish.) That member eventually resigned.

What makes HOAs and condo boards different from, for example, a corporate board is the question of interest, explains Nadav Shoked, a law professor at Northwestern. In HOA boards, the directors and the people affected by the decisions are often one and the same — and their neighbors. While they all have a common interest — the property — they often have interests that conflict.

People of a certain age, even though they may not be financially insecure, they worry about, will the money run out in my lifetime?

HOA boards contend with all sorts of fault lines. Older residents on fixed incomes tend to prioritize keeping monthly fees lower, while younger families lean toward upping fees for more amenities and construction projects. In situations where some owners live in their residences and others rent them out, boards wind up with a triangle of interests: Landlords want low costs and easy rental terms, full-time residents prioritize day-to-day quality of life, and renters wade through all of it without having a say.

These disconnects are why routine governance so frequently devolves into absurdity.

Andrew Simkovsky just wanted an investment property when he bought a condo in South Florida in 2024, but he wound up orchestrating a "hostile takeover" of the board amid concerns over their stewardship of said investment. He's since worked to rebuild the condo's finances and reestablish a budget. Still, the one thing that's surprised him is the hullabaloo over pets. The building's original bylaws from the 1970s officially barred them. In the '80s, there was an amendment allowing pets for owners but not renters, but over the decades, both groups had brought them in. The association's attorney advised them that enforcing the pet ban for tenants could be legally problematic, so Simkovsky decided to bring the building into the 21st century by officially allowing dogs and cats of up to 50 pounds for owners and instituting rules around leashes and cleanup that hadn't previously been in place. (Renters are still technically not allowed to have pets, but the board doesn't enforce that.) Purist residents revolted and wanted pets out. "My response to them was, they're already here, should I evict them?" he says.

Alice Young, a retiree in suburban Chicago, says she's fine to serve on her board as long as it doesn't cut into her pickleball time, even though "everything takes so goldarn long to resolve." Among the lengthy items on her agenda are finding a new property management company and convincing a fellow board member to personally confirm a single extension cord has been removed from the basement in order to close out another board member's violation.

The true crisis inside the HOA machine is money. Many boards have kept dues artificially low for decades in order to appease residents and put off pricey updates. Now, aging housing stock is colliding with surging insurance premiums, stricter reserve laws, and tighter safety regulations, and the bill is coming due.

Florida is an especially stark example. It has the second-most community associations of any state, behind only California, with 50,600 such groups covering 4.5 million housing units and 10.9 million residents. Neighbors who live under Florida HOAs kick in over $20 billion to their associations annually. A 2023 Florida Senate analysis found that 912,000 of the state's 1.5 million condo units were at least 30 years old. After the 2021 collapse of the Surfside condominiums that left 98 people dead, the state required qualifying buildings to undergo "milestone" structural inspections after a certain age and changed the rules so owners can't simply vote to underfund reserves for major structural repairs. In 2024, Redfin found double-digit annual increases in condo dues in Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach.

This creates a brutal fiduciary burden. When Paul Vesely joined the board for his Florida second-home condo in 2009, the complex's on-site managers warned him against commissioning an engineering inspection, because "they might find something." The association has since taken out over $2 million in loans to pay for various updates and renovations, which translates to thousands of dollars a year for each unit. One owner, who has cancer, is currently delinquent on her payments, and the board will send her to collections if she doesn't pay. "As badly as we may feel about a certain individual, we have to be consistent," he says.

Not everyone shares the same economic clock. Bill Masterson recalls attending a condo meeting in Chicago years ago in which an elderly man pushed back against a $225,000 assessment to put in a parking lot. "Why can't you wait until I die?" the man asked. The board went ahead anyway, and the man lived for another several years. "People of a certain age, even though they may not be financially insecure, they worry about, will the money run out in my lifetime?" he says.

Masterson swore off condo boards when he moved from Chicago to Florida in 2016 and then signed right back up. He admits he's a stickler for the rules, but he's also aware of how silly disputes can break down relationships. One of his neighbors doesn't speak to him because of a long-past disagreement over a speed bump.

"That's OK, because the work gets done," he says. "You never know in a given moment what pressure people are under."

Lana Martin, back in LA, says contending with everything has been a "wild ride." She spoke to me the day roof construction on her complex had finally begun. She's relieved, but there's more work to be done. Next up: writing up a towing policy. "People won't voluntarily just agree, 'Oh yeah, I shouldn't block driveways,'" she says.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• The US has diverse architecture and building designs across the 50 states.
• History, art, and local aesthetics are all reflected in some of America's most unique buildings.
• From prehistoric dwellings to kitschy designs, these buildings make for unique tourist attractions.

Throughout its 250-year history, the US has produced some striking and unique architecture that you can't find anywhere else — and lots of it can look wildly different across state lines.

Defining what we consider "coolest" is hard. We evaluated every state on its own terms and found that the architecture across all 50 states and Washington, DC, can be as diverse as the country's population.

In states like California and Massachusetts, picking the most striking building meant finding ones that look futuristic and elegant, like something out of a science-fiction movie. In other states, like Maine and the Carolinas, we found that the coolest buildings are distinctive because of their place in history or their states' cultures.

Whether you're looking for a piece of history or a glimpse into the future, these buildings can show you what different worlds look like.

James Grebey and Jacob Shamsian contributed to an earlier version of this story.

ALABAMA: Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Passenger Terminal

The Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Passenger Terminal in Mobile, Alabama, which has Spanish influences with its cream walls and red clay tiles, was designed by P. Thornton Marye. It was completed in 1907 and has undergone restoration since passenger train service ceased in the 1950s.

ALASKA: The University of Alaska's Museum of the North

The University of Alaska Museum of the North is home to numerous exhibits showcasing the native cultures, natural wonders, and wildlife of our nation's largest state. It's also a stylish refuge from the cold.

ARIZONA: Chapel of the Holy Cross

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona was completed in 1956, and it juts majestically from a red stone butte, some 200 feet above the ground.

ARKANSAS: Thorncrown Chapel

The beautiful Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs looks like an open-air structure, but it's actually a serene, glass-enclosed architectural marvel.

CALIFORNIA: The Chemosphere

It was designed in 1960, but the Chemosphere still looks futuristic. It's a house with 2,200 square feet of space, perched atop a 30-foot concrete pole. And it's survived every major Californian earthquake in the San Fernando Valley since it was built.

COLORADO: Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, features some of the best-preserved prehistoric landscapes of the Ancestral Puebloan people. These ancient dwellings, where the Ancestral Puebloans once lived, were constructed on the sides of natural cliffs.

While most dwellings had only one to five rooms, the Cliff Palace, the largest known cliff dwelling in North America, had 150 rooms, 23 sacred meeting spaces, and housed about 100 people, according to the National Park Service.

CONNECTICUT: Grace Farms

The main feature of Grace Farms in New Canaan is a serpentine wooden pavilion that links glass-walled rooms, including a library, stage, tea room, and a gym with a full basketball court. Completed in 2015, it's open to the public for free.

DELAWARE: Wilmington's Grand Opera House

The country's oldest state has some classic buildings that stand the test of time. Wilmington's Grand Opera House, built in 1871, is as classic as it gets.

FLORIDA: The Salvador Dalí Museum

The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg is a fittingly unique tribute to the beloved master of surrealism. The museum boasts the largest collection of Dalí's work outside Europe.

GEORGIA: The Earth Lodge on Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

This might not look much like other buildings in this list, but the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park's Earth Lodge dates back to the year 1015, per the National Park Service.

The lodge is a reconstructed council chamber of the native Mississippian culture. While the walls and ceiling were reconstructed in the late 1930s, the clay floor remains the same as the original, dating back over a thousand years.

HAWAII: ʻIolani Palace

ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu is the only royal palace on United States soil. David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of Hawaiʻi and the first monarch to travel around the world, was inspired by the European palaces he saw during his 1881 voyage.

IDAHO: The Dog Bark Park Inn

The Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood is a delightful piece of American kitsch. The bed and breakfast is shaped like two charming beagles.

ILLINOIS: Bahá'í House of Worship

Although there are between 5 and 6 million adherents to the Bahá'í Faith, there are only eight continental houses of worship worldwide. The one in Wilmette, Illinois, is the oldest still standing, and the only one in the United States.

INDIANA: West Baden Springs Hotel

When the West Baden Springs Hotel opened in 1902, it was billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. While enjoying the view from inside the massive domed atrium — at one point the largest in the world — it's easy to see why.

IOWA: Grotto of the Redemption

Father Paul Dobberstein promised to build a shrine to the Virgin Mary as she helped cure his grave case of pneumonia. His resulting Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend is made of rocks, shells, fossils, and gems pressed into concrete. It's the size of a football field.

KANSAS: Big Well in Greensburg

The Big Well in Greensburg is a museum that rests atop its titular main attraction: the largest hand-dug well in the world, spanning 32 feet in diameter and reaching a depth of 109 feet.

KENTUCKY: Churchill Downs

Churchill Downs, most famously the host of the Kentucky Derby, can hold 120,000 excited, sometimes rowdy, racing fans at max capacity.

LOUISIANA: The Pontalba Buildings

The Pontalba Buildings, which make up two sides of New Orleans' Jackson Square, are emblematic of the French Quarter. Some of the residences on the upper floors are believed to be the oldest continuously rented apartments in the country.

MAINE: The Portland Head Light

The Portland Head Light — one of the state's many lighthouses — has been around since 1791. It was built under the directive of George Washington himself.

MARYLAND: The American Visionary Art Museum

The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore showcases outsider art. All the works within its wonky exterior were made by inspired, self-taught creators.

MASSACHUSETTS: Simmons Hall at MIT

Simmons Hall at MIT is the coolest dorm building in the US. It looks like a monstrous Tetris piece combined with underground caverns.

MICHIGAN: Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

The museum, one of the oldest and largest dedicated to African American history, is a three-story building designed with influences of African and local Detroit architecture. The building features a stunning 55-foot-tall glass dome ceiling.

MINNESOTA: The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Saint Paul's Como Park was opened to the public in 1915 and features Japanese, Bonsai, and butterfly gardens, among others.

MISSISSIPPI: Gehry's Pods at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art

Designed by Frank Gehry — whose striking work also includes the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain — the curved metal pods, which house pottery at Biloxi's Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, are meant to look as if they were "dancing with the trees," per the museum's website.

MISSOURI: The Community Bookshelf

The parking garage at the Kansas City Library is called the Community Bookshelf. It displays the giant spines of 22 classic books that were suggested by Kansas City readers.

MONTANA: Montana State Capitol building

Construction started on the Montana State Capitol in 1896. The inside of the rotunda salutes four types of people central to the state's early history: a native American, an explorer, a gold miner, and a cowboy.

NEBRASKA: Nebraska State Capitol Building

The Nebraska Capitol in Lincoln is one of the greatest state capitol buildings in the US. Built between 1922 and 1932, the building features artworks representing the development of law and the state of Nebraska.

NEVADA: Ward Charcoal Ovens

The Ward Charcoal Ovens in Ely were built in the 1870s for silver mining.

The distinctive beehive-shaped Ward Charcoal Ovens in Ely were built for silver mining back in the 1870s, and they still look like nothing else on the landscape.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Mount Washington Hotel

Built in 1902, the Mount Washington Hotel — today operating as the Omni Mount Washington Resort — is one of the last remaining grand hotels in the state, and is rumored to be haunted.

NEW JERSEY: Nassau Hall at Princeton University

Nassau Hall is the oldest building at Princeton University, dating back to the 1750s. While it now houses the school's administrative offices, during the Revolutionary War it was occupied by both British and American forces and suffered damage during the battles.

NEW MEXICO: Taos Pueblo

Hundreds of years old, the Taos Pueblo is a multi-story complex built by Native Americans from the region. It looks like one big, molded piece, and it's still used as a residence.

NEW YORK: The Chrysler Building

The Empire State Building gets all the hype, but it's the Chrysler Building that's really the most magnificent skyscraper in New York City. The Art Deco-style building was the tallest in the world when it was built, but it was beaten out by — you guessed it — the Empire State Building just 11 months later.

NORTH CAROLINA: The Executive Mansion

North Carolina's Executive Mansion in Raleigh is the home of the governor.

Give it to North Carolina for having its most beautiful building designated as a civil landmark. The state's Executive Mansion in Raleigh is the home of the governor and a high-profile event venue that's open to public tours.

NORTH DAKOTA: The North Dakota Heritage Center

At the center of the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck is a great glass cube flanked by two copper-colored wings. It's the home of the state's greatest treasures, including Native American historical artifacts and lots of dinosaur fossils.

OHIO: The Longaberger Company building

The Longaberger Company, which makes baskets, made a building in Newark that perfectly matches its brand. The building was closed in 2016, and it has largely sat idle since.

Plans for the property have included a hotel, a coworking space, and, most recently, a mixed-use development, but it still has an unclear path for the future.

OKLAHOMA: First Americans Museum

The First Americans Museum's 175,000-square-foot building in Oklahoma pays homage to the state's indigenous populations and their history. The design is inspired by the importance placed on the rising and setting sun by Native populations, with the Remembrance Walls being aligned with the sunrise.

The central half-dome is supported by 10 pillars of various stones, each representing a 10-mile stretch traveled by Native people during forced removal from their original homelands, according to the museum's website.

OREGON: The Portland Building

In 2009, Travel + Leisure famously called The Portland Building "one of the most hated buildings in America," and its reputation is split among architecture critics. But its shapes, strange geometric clashes of glass and stone, make it the weird building that Portland most deserves.

PENNSYLVANIA: Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Frank Lloyd Wright's 1935 masterpiece Fallingwater remains Pennsylvania's greatest work of architecture. Water falls from each level of the building into the one below, perfectly integrating with the landscape.

RHODE ISLAND: The Breakers

Built as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, The Breakers mansion in Newport has 70 rooms across 138,300 square feet, making it one of the largest houses in the US and an icon of Gilded Age architecture.

SOUTH CAROLINA: The International African American Museum

In South Carolina, the International African American Museum stands on top of 18 13-foot pillars that keep the museum from touching the sacred ground on which it was built.

The museum is situated on the historic site of Gadsden's Wharf in Charleston's Cooper River, which was the last and most significant disembarkation point in North America for enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade, per the US Civil Rights Trail website.

SOUTH DAKOTA: The Corn Palace

The walls of the Corn Palace in Mitchell are adorned with complex murals and art that's all been made out of, you guessed it, corn. The design changes every year.

TENNESSEE: Parthenon in Centennial Park

Built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition — and then reconstructed between 1921 and 1930 — the Parthenon in Centennial Park is a full-sized replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Today, it's open to the public as an art museum.

TEXAS: James Turrell's Twilight Epiphany skyspace

Designed by renowned artist James Turrell, the "Twilight Epiphany" Skyspace in Houston is a performance space that makes you feel as though you've entered another dimension.

UTAH: Natural History Museum of Utah

The Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City looks like it could have been carved out of the landscape. It was designed by Todd Schliemann of Ennead Architects.

VERMONT: The Old Round Church

The Old Round Church in Richmond is technically a 16-sided polygon, but it's still enough of a circle to lend credence to a rumor that it was built in that shape so that the Devil had no corners to hide in.

VIRGINIA: Dulles International Airport

If they're done wrong, airports can be the most insufferable place to spend a few hours. But we have to admire Virginia's Dulles International Airport, which almost looks like a futuristic aircraft itself.

WASHINGTON: Seattle Central Library

Forget the idea of a dusty old home for books nobody reads. The Seattle Central Library is a miracle of modern architecture.

WASHINGTON, DC: The United States Capitol

The United States Capitol is such a mainstay of nightly news and political pop culture that it's easy to take for granted. It's nice to step back once in a while and take in the grandeur and historical significance of this government building that reflects on America's complicated past.

Construction on the Capitol began in September 1793, and much of the structure was built by enslaved workers working alongside free Black and white laborers, per the White House Historical Association. In 2012, a marker was added to the Capitol Visitor Center commemorating the unpaid labor of enslaved people who built the nation's Capitol.

WEST VIRGINIA: The Palace of Gold

The Palace of Gold is a majestic memorial shrine located in the Hare Krishna community of New Vrindaban.

WISCONSIN: The Burke Brise Soleil

The most striking feature of the Milwaukee Art Museum is the Burke Brise Soleil, a towering sunscreen with a 217-foot wingspan. It folds and unfolds twice a day.

WYOMING: Smith Mansion

This wacky-looking building is in the middle of the remote Wapiti Valley. In 1971, architect Francis Lee Smith started building the structure by hand as his and his family's home. After completing the first floor in 1973, he could not stop building. He died after falling from one of the balconies in 1992.

• As a Canadian, I dreamed of living in Europe — and then, I finally got the chance to move there.
• There were parts of my new life I loved, but I missed Canada more than I expected.
• After five years, I moved back to Canada with a new appreciation for my home.

I first fell in love with the idea of Europe when I was 14.

My mom and I went on a trip to Russia to visit relatives, and Moscow won me over with its grand boulevards and trendy cafés. We also stopped in London, where we explored the city's central neighborhoods and shopped in stores I'd only read about in fashion magazines back home.

I was amazed by everything. I was convinced Europe was better — more aesthetically pleasing, more interesting — than my hometown of Vancouver, and vowed to go back as often as I could.

By my early 20s, I was traveling to Europe almost every summer. My sister had moved to France, so I had a great excuse to visit: I'd stay with her in Paris and later Toulouse, and I'd also check out other destinations like Spain and Italy when I could.

I became more enamored with the continent with each trip. Like so many North Americans, I considered it somewhat of a utopia where the overall lifestyle is healthier, the food is more delicious, and everything is more beautiful.

Love gave me the opportunity to live in Europe

In 2018, at age 26, I met and fell in love with a Brit who was living in Vancouver. When his Canadian working-holiday visa expired, we started a long-distance relationship — and I applied for a British visa so we could be together.

After years of romanticizing the continent on vacations, my dream was finally coming true. I moved to Birmingham and got a UK-based job.

My first year there was great. I loved being surrounded by historic architecture, feeling comfortable dressing up in fancier clothes, and knowing that countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece were just a quick flight away.

But eventually, the novelty started wearing off. Things I initially found so charming became mundane after a few years. The old buildings blurred into the background of my daily commute, and I never quite adjusted to certain cultural differences, like the Brits' less direct communication style.

I also started to miss the things I took for granted back home, like easy access to the ocean and mountains. Back in Vancouver, I used to spend weekends at the beach or hiking, and though these activities were possible in the UK, they were more difficult from my inland location.

Plus, although some things were more affordable — like groceries — others, like transportation fees, weren't. I was also getting paid a lower salary for the same job I was doing back home.

Even the travel benefits weren't as cut-and-dried as I'd expected. Yes, I was close to the rest of Europe, but farther from plenty of other destinations. In Vancouver, I could easily hop on a flight to Mexico to escape the winter blues.

My husband and I traveled to the Canary Islands a few times from the UK, and they were stunning — but in my opinion, they just couldn't compare to the soft white sand and warm azure waters of the Riviera Maya.

I realized I missed my life in Canada

In 2021, I visited Canada for the first time since moving, and started to see everything from a different perspective. I had a newfound appreciation for the rugged natural beauty around me and the laidback coastal lifestyle.

Once I got back to the UK, I started to realize just how much my Pacific Northwest upbringing had influenced my lifestyle preferences. I realized I'd rather be surrounded by the ocean, mountains, and forests than historic buildings.

As someone with a multicultural background, I also felt homesick for my Canadian hometown's diversity. I really felt like my community back home was shaped by immigrants, and cultural traditions there felt less uniform.

After our second trip back to Canada in 2022, my husband started to sense just how homesick I was. We agreed to move back the following year — though we chose to go to nearby Victoria instead of Vancouver, as we preferred the more relaxed vibe of a smaller city.

I'm glad we left, but I have no regrets

We've now been back in Canada for just over three years, and it feels like the perfect place for us right now.

Despite everything, I don't regret my move to the UK. I fulfilled my adolescent dream, and I know that if I hadn't taken the opportunity, I'd have always wondered what my life could have been like there.

Those five years also gave me a better appreciation for where I am now. Sure, there are things I miss about living in the UK, like the multitude of dog-friendly pubs and British chocolate. But as someone who prefers a more nature-oriented life, I know Southwest British Columbia is the right home for me.

Still, I'll never say no to another trip back across the pond.