7 best friends chipped in to buy a mansion so they could all grow old together

Seven best friends in China have decided to take their friendship to the next level by purchasing a "communal" mansion that they all plan to retire in.

There's really nothing better than having a BFF you could rely on no matter what. To have a person that you understand and who understands you through and through. A person who can get you past the worst times in your life and make those happy times that much more magical.

In fact, I'd argue that even the "bad times" are pretty darn magical when you've got a BFF because just spending time with them and joking about how terrible of a situation you're in could turn diarrhea into champagne, figuratively speaking. Or literally, if your BFF is a very niche alchemist. 

While some people go their whole lives without ever finding a best friend, there are others who are lucky enough to have a very close circle of lifelong compadres. 

And these seven women in China hit the jackpot early on. Some 20 years ago, they all began working at the same job and ever since, they've been absolutely inseparable. They joked that when they hit their 60s, they'd retire together in a huge communal mansion. 

Sometimes, however, the best plans all started as a joke. I'm not talking about truth-or-dare marriages in Vegas, but a BFF-villa constructed by a bunch of friends so they could spend more even more time with each other. 

The seven women found, totally by accident, a building in Guangzhou, which is a small suburban town people weren't exactly flocking to. While the building looked like a hollowed-out money pit, the women saw it as an opportunity to turn their dream into a reality.

So they started saving their money.

After sticking to a budget and getting together their savings, they not only purchased the building no one wanted but began renovating it to look like a proper home.

And a proper home it became. Despite the building's initial dilapidation, it actually offers a ton of space. And the fact that it's made almost entirely of stone gave them a great skeleton to work with.

The main floor is the communal area of the home and sports floor-to-ceiling windows that offer up a gorgeous view of the swimming pool in the yard, plus little nooks and crannies for everyone to hang out in. 

The kitchen is the real show-stopper, though. Nothing says "community" like a bunch of friends and family gathering around a kitchen, and since most people spend their time in their anyway, the Friendship 7 Retirement gals decided that they'd go big with the culinary room in their shared home. 

It's so big that everyone can prepare their individual meals without getting up in each other's business. It also features huge tables, a massive kitchen island (with breakfast nook) and sports a beautiful, modern design.  

Even though it's a communal home, everyone has their privacy. There are seven spacious bedrooms built with an open concept. The ginormous windows give great views of the lush greenery surrounding the home, so you can wake up, gaze out at the forest in front of you and think about how lucky you are to have six amazing friends you get to live with always. So awesome. 

There's outdoor features too, like a pavilion that you can reach by a bamboo walkway built on top of rice paddies. The pavilion is something you'd see out of the new Blade Runner film: it's a gorgeous glass box that provides yet another wondrous view. Pretty good place to sit down and have coffee with your friends, no? 

While the home is shaping up very, very nicely, the seven women are a ways off from retirement: they're all in their 30s and raising their individual families, but they're already coming up with ways to make their 60s that much better. 

They decided, like any good team, to practice individual skill specialization to gain abilities that will benefit the group. Some are taking up music so they can entertain each other at night. A few are learning about traditional Chinese medicine, others how to cook big meals and maintain a dope home garden. 

Even though the house is ready, they believe that their official move-in date is still some 10-15 years off. In the meantime, they're still going to visit the Casa del BFF and keep it maintained. 

Jin Du, one of the women in the group, said that while each of them is clearly capable of thriving on their own, as they are all independently successful women, there's an understanding that a group is always stronger: "We're all independent individuals but we can communicate and rely on each other at the same time."

Ain't that a thing of beauty?

This article was originally published on December 17, 2019. It has since been updated.