I Cashed Out My 401(k) to Build a Women’s Only Retirement Community episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 17, 2025 · 29 MIN

I Cashed Out My 401(k) to Build a Women’s Only Retirement Community

from Modern Love · host Seleman

When it came time to retire, Robyn Yerian didn’t feel like she had enough money saved. She didn’t want to depend on her children or end up in a nursing home, so she cashed out what she had in her 401(k) and bought a plot of land in East Texas. She built spots for tiny homes and called the area the Bird’s Nest. Over time, the Bird’s Nest has become home to a community of women who are rethinking retirement. On this episode of “Modern Love,” Yerian and Cheryl Huff, a longtime resident of the Bird’s Nest, describe what it feels like to grow older together with the support of other women, and discuss why they can’t imagine doing it any other way.This episode is inspired by Lisa Miller’s story in The New York Times titled, “11 Women, 9 Dogs, Not Much Drama (and No Guys).”   Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Dec 17, 2025

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I Cashed Out My 401(k) to Build a Women’s Only Retirement Community

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