Best Friends and Roommates for 18 Years

They have no children, no linear career histories, no readily disposable savings. The four men, all heterosexual, approaching 40 and never married, have lived together for 18 years, give or take a revolving guest roommate, cohabitating in spaces like an East Village walk-up, a Chelsea loft and, now, a converted office space in Queens.

Their latest home, which they have nicknamed Fortress Astoria, takes up the second and third floors of a slate gray concrete block building with floor-to-ceiling windows on 31st Street. The setup is ideal for four bachelors. Bedrooms do not share common walls, and there are communal spaces both upstairs (huge television, sofa) and down (kitchen). There is a lovely garden out back tended by Mr. Theerakulstit.

I adore this story about four 39-year-old men who met at NYU, became best friends, and have lived together for nearly two decades. Some of you may read this story and think that this is a classic “failure to launch” situation — men who refuse or are unable to settle down, move in with their girlfriends, or pick a solid career path. This is a valid opinion!

I believe that we each take different paths in life, and the correct path to take is the one that makes you happy and healthy, and makes you true to who you are. We do not all want marriage. We do not all want children, or 9-to-5 jobs, or to live the lives that other people expect us to live. Here are four men who have found a way to live together for 18 years, remain best friends, and form their own little family. I wish them happiness and a life without regrets.

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