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

Modern Love

The New York Times

Storytelling, Nytimes, Nyt, Redemption, New York Times, Society & Culture, Loss, Essay, Love

4.3 • 9K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Love now and door.
0:03.3	Love was stronger than anything.
0:06.7	And I love you more than anything.
0:10.5	You're still love.
0:12.1	From the New York Times, I'm Anna Martin.
0:16.7	This is Modern Love.
0:18.4	Today I'm talking to two friends who are completely rethinking what it means
0:22.4	to retire and what it means to get older together. Their names are Robin Urien and Cheryl Huff.
0:29.9	A few years ago, Robin cashed out her 401k and bought a piece of land in Texas, about an hour outside of
0:36.1	Dallas. She set up a bunch of spots for tiny homes.
0:39.3	She built an outdoor kitchen, and she started renting the space out. She called it the bird's nest.
0:45.9	Cheryl was the first to move in, then other women joined her. In fact, the bird's nest is all women,
0:51.8	all women older than 60. And in a country where for many people, getting older can be isolating and difficult,
0:58.9	the women of the bird's nest are learning.
1:00.6	It doesn't have to be.
1:02.1	Today, Robin and Cheryl tell me why these years at the bird's nest have been some of the
1:06.5	freest and happiest of their lives and why they think more women should do something similar.
1:12.6	Stay with us. I'm going to be. I'm going to
1:30.3	The Robin Urien and Cheryl Huff, welcome to the show.
1:51.4	Hi. How are you?
1:52.7	Happy to be here.
1:54.3	If I came walking up your driveway of the bird's nest, what would I see?
	...

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