19-year-old Madison Kohout had been living in her new apartment in Arkansas for a week before she made the bizarre discovery that she’d accidentally moved herself into an old people’s home. Now, she’s doing what any teenager would do: documenting it all on TikTok.

In a video shared last month, Kohout acts out looking for apartments online. “Me getting ready to move to an apartment out of state that I’ve never seen in person…” she wrote in the video, before the clip shows the teen outside a sign that reads, ‘Senior Citizens Apartments’.

Since then, Kohout has been chronicling her time in the retirement community, sharing the backstory to her unusual situation. “It all started when I met this lady over TikTok,” she says in one video. “She became my TikTok mum and I was an absolute fan at first. After getting to know her throughout the year, I decided to move my life to Arkansas. They adopted me into their family since I didn’t really have one.” 

Kohout explains that her newly-adopted mum, Lori Parker, quickly found her an apartment, and that the pair only discovered that it was a senior living facility after Kohout had moved in. In another clip, Kohout asks Parker why she put her in a retirement home, to which Parker responds: “When I get older, I need to have a place to live!”

One video sees Kohout share what life is like in her new place. Perks include being able to play music whenever she wants “because most of my neighbours are asleep by the time I get home” and “some of them can’t hear”. Kohout also always gets asked how her day was, and hears all the gossip from around the town. She concludes: “Remember: if you’re struggling with rent, start your early retirement.”

Speaking to The New York Times, Kohout explained more about how she was even able to apply for an apartment in the facility as a teenager. “She knew I was 19 but never said anything,” Kohout said of the landlord. “She really liked me.” Kohout added that although the complex was designed for older adults, it’s “equal opportunity housing” so legally can’t discriminate against renters.

“It’s like having extra sets of grandparents,” she continued. “They have a lot of stories that have touched my heart, and I think a lot of people would benefit from them. I got lucky enough to be able to hear them all.”

Get a glimpse of Kohout’s life in an old people’s home below and on TikTok here.