Caitlin Swann doesn't have to look far when she needs a babysitter.In fact, she can just walk into her backyard and knock on her parents' door.Swann's parents live in an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, on her Connecticut property. Their one-bedroom, one-bathroom cottage is mere steps away from Swann's home. They see their daughter and her three children daily since they moved in."It's the best," Swann told Business Insider of their multigenerational home. "I pinch myself."
In 2024, Patti and Gary Christie were trying to decide where to live.
The Christies were ready for a change.
The Picket Fence Projects
Patti and Gary Christie were at a crossroads in 2024.The 74- and 75-year-olds had lived in their family home for over 40 years, raising their children there. After retiring and becoming grandparents, they were ready to sell their home, but they weren't sure where to go next.Their three children are spread out across the tri-state area. They liked Fairfield, Connecticut, where their daughter Caitlin Swann, 42, lived, but the houses they could afford there didn't thrill them."We looked at houses, but what they would get for what they would have to pay was a little depressing," Swann said.
