Day: October 28, 2025

• Gabriela Marte sends her son to Coral Cove Academy of the Arts, a public school in Florida.
• She worried about her son’s transition to a big middle school — until Coral Cove made a much-requested change.
• She also said the focus on arts education has been instrumental to her son’s development.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Gabriela Marte, the parent of a child who attends Coral Cove Academy of the Arts in Broward County, Florida. Coral Cove is a public school that recently converted from a K-5 structure to K-8. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When I enrolled my son at Coral Cove for kindergarten, he was struggling with a learning disability. Now he’s in fourth grade, he’s high achieving, and he’s excelling in reading and math.

I didn’t have many expectations coming into Coral Cove. I received some positive recommendations from neighbors about the school, and I liked that it had a smaller population where I knew my son would get the attention he needed. I quickly saw that my son was thriving. His teachers were giving him guidance to grow in his academics, and the focus on the arts built his confidence.

However, at the time I enrolled my son, Coral Cove was a K-5 elementary school, and I was concerned about putting him in a larger public middle school after fifth grade. I was raised in the Dominican Republic, and my education there consisted of small class sizes and a tight-knit community. I want my son to have the same experience, and I didn’t want to throw him into a big pool of people where he might not get the same support that he had at Coral Cove.

I became involved in the push to transition Coral Kove to a K-8 academy, and I was so happy when the change was approved earlier this year. It provides our students the opportunity to continue to grow in the same creative environment during sixth through eighth grade, years which I think are crucial to a child’s development.

Of course, it’s an adaptation period, and not everyone was on board with the shift. Some parents wanted to stick with the more traditional public school model, but the response to a K-8 was still overwhelmingly positive. It’s something that the community had been craving; otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many K-8 charter and private schools in the area.

If I didn’t have the option of keeping my son in a K-8, I probably wouldn’t go into public education for a middle school. I would likely look into a charter or a private school to ensure he wouldn’t fall behind in a larger school environment.

The benefits of an arts-focused education

My son didn’t have a lot of exposure to the arts before entering Coral Cove, and it wasn’t a priority for me, either, before we had enrolled. After getting an arts education, my son’s personality has changed; he went from being very shy to having no fear of public speaking or performing in public.

I was shocked at his growth — this isn’t the same child that I had four years ago. He goes to music, art, and dance classes, and it’s a way for him to express himself and build confidence. When he was in second grade, he stood onstage in front of 800 people and introduced the principal, and last year, he performed as Mufasa in The Lion King.

Seeing him speak and sing in front of a huge crowd is incredible. I didn’t know my son could sing; I didn’t know he could play the violin. Coral Cove exposed him to these things, and when I talk to parents from private schools, unless they pay for it, these are not things their children are exposed to.

It’s also helped my son be more well-rounded in academics. When he’s struggling in math class, for example, the math teacher will let the music teacher know, and the music teacher will encourage my son to spend a bit more time on math instead of music. Everybody plays a part, and there are incentives from every angle to help students achieve academically.

While it’s been great for my son, it might not benefit every child; you need to find what works best and where your child can be best supported during their developmental phases.

You expose and you encourage. That’s all you can do as a parent, and if you don’t expose them, you’ll never know whether they’ll be good at something. It puts the child in a much better place.

• Natalia Molina moved back in with her parents at 28 after struggling to make ends meet in San Diego.
• Molina says the first few months at home were isolating, but leaning on family and community helped.
• Living at home has allowed her to pay off $27,000 in debt and focus on her health.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Natalia Molina, a 29-year-old marketing professional based in South Florida. It’s been edited for length and clarity.

I didn’t know if moving back in with my parents in Florida was the right decision, but it came to a point where it felt like the only one.

In 2023, I was living in San Diego when I burned out at my social media job and left without a backup plan — not realizing how difficult the job market had become. Over the next year, I accumulated $30,000 in credit card debt while struggling to find a full-time job.

The first two months of living with my parents were isolating, and I honestly felt like a failure. I felt like I had blown up my life and gone back to square one. But, a year later, I’m healthier than ever, and I’m on track to be debt-free by the end of the year. There are still some discomforts living at home, but it’s worth the sacrifices.

I lived in San Diego for 2 years, but struggled to make ends meet

I was born and raised in Florida. After graduating from college in 2022, I got hired for a fully remote social media manager job and saw it as the perfect opportunity to move to San Diego, a place I had always loved. I wasn’t sure if it would be my forever place, but I wanted to experience someplace new.

I loved everything about San Diego: the weather, the people. I really felt like I was building a life for myself out there, but my job wasn’t right for me. Within a year, I fully burned out and left the job. I kind of screwed myself because I assumed I’d be able to find a new job quickly.

I eventually found a part-time receptionist job, but in late 2024, I felt like I was drowning financially.

I was scared to move back home, but my parents were supportive

It was such a big deal for me to move to San Diego by myself, so I was scared of coming back and facing potential judgment from people in my hometown or on social media, seeing that I was back.

I spent a lot of time questioning my decision and doubting myself, but it felt like the only way to get back on my feet.

My parents were super supportive of my decision to move home, and I’m so grateful for them. Since moving back, they haven’t asked me to pay rent or groceries because they want me to put every penny toward paying off my debt. I have a husky who sheds a lot, so the only thing they asked of me is to make sure she’s groomed monthly and that I keep the house clean.

The first 2 months were rough, but I found a community to help me through it

Most of the people I knew in my hometown have moved away, so I felt very isolated when I first came back. I remember telling myself that it’s okay because “I’m just going to go ‘hermit-mode’ and focus on myself.” I quickly realized that mindset only made me feel lonelier.

When I lived in San Diego, I really had to put myself out there to make friends, so I decided to apply the same approach in Florida. I looked for social clubs online and found a women’s social club that hosts dinners all throughout South Florida.

I started consistently going to those dinners, and it was one of my best decisions ever. I’ve made some really great friends who I’m still friends with today. The dinners were kind of expensive, but I saw them as an investment in a new community.

I landed a great job, focused on my health, and paid off $27,000 in debt

When I first moved back, I wasn’t actively applying for full-time jobs, but a few months later, I came across a hybrid social media management job in my area. I applied and got hired. I love it. Since then, I’ve paid off over $27,000 in debt.

I’m also finally investing in my health. In San Diego, I was so focused on surviving that I didn’t have the energy or mental capacity to focus on my health. I was stressed, gaining weight, and emotionally eating, and it took a toll on me. I feel like moving home allowed me to hit the reset button.

Everything started feeling like it was working in a positive direction, and I finally felt like maybe I had made the right decision by coming home.

It can be chaotic, but it’s worth the discomfort

My dating life has taken a hit. It’s partially because I’ve been focusing on myself more, but also because living with my parents just makes it a little bit harder.

They try their best to respect my privacy, but it doesn’t help when a guy gives me flowers or something, and my parents ask, “Oh, who is that from?” When they ask, I might say, “I’m not ready to talk about it yet.” It just doesn’t feel like the right time to date.

I have my own room, but I don’t really have my own true space or independence. It can be chaotic here, and I don’t have a say over little things like how clean the house stays, but it’s worth the discomfort.

I’m making some sacrifices now to set myself up for the future

My biggest goal right now is to build financial independence. I’m on track to be debt-free by the end of the year, and my plan is to move to my own place in the area in early 2026.

Moving home has taught me the importance of allowing myself to be held by other people when I’m going through something difficult. I’ve let myself be held by my family financially and my friends emotionally. They’re the only reason I’ve been able to make it through this.

But this is also something I’ve done for myself. I picked up my entire life from what felt like rock bottom and transformed in so many ways. It makes me feel like I can overcome anything.

Do you have a story to share about moving back in with family? If so, please reach out to the reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.

Hayley and Helaman Perry-Sanchez put off their move to Cambridge, Massachusetts, as long as they could.

Helaman was accepted to Harvard Business School in 2020, and though he was excited to pursue his MBA, the Perry-Sanchezes weren’t as eager to relocate to the East Coast.

After meeting and marrying while they were in college in Utah — and subsequently leaving the Mormon church together — Hayley, 27, and Helaman, 29, had found jobs and built a life in Seattle. It was pricey, but they loved living there for two and a half years.

Still, they knew the MBA program wasn’t an opportunity that Helaman, who hopes to work in the renewable energy space, could pass up. After deferring for four years, in August 2024, they quit their full-time jobs, packed up their things, and drove across the country with their two dogs.

I spoke to Hayley once a month for a year, starting the month before her move and following along as she adjusted to her new life in Cambridge. This story is part of a larger series in which Business Insider followed three people over a 12-month period as they relocated, detailing the realities of uprooting one’s life.

The first time we spoke, Hayley said she knew relocating from Washington to Massachusetts for Helaman’s education would be challenging. What she didn’t anticipate was the identity crisis she experienced over the coming months — or the thrill she felt finding her new self.

A new start

Hayley and Helaman told me they had built a beautiful life in Seattle. They loved the apartments they had lived in, the restaurants they had frequented, the friends they had made, their work-life balance, and the proximity to nature that living in the Pacific Northwest offered.

However, it was so expensive that they struggled to imagine living there long-term. “It’s a utopian place, aside from money,” Hayley said of Seattle, where the cost of living is 45% higher than the national average, according to Payscale.

When it was time to move to Cambridge, Hayley and Helaman were nervous about leaving everything they loved about Seattle, but they were also excited for a new experience.

“I was really excited to just be in a new place,” Helaman said. “I’d never experienced life on the East Coast.”

The couple traded their loft apartment in Seattle for a $3,350 Cambridge unit with two bedrooms, a patio, no dishwasher, and communal laundry for the building. When their lease started on September 1, Helaman had already started classes.

Hayley, who was doing contract work for a Seattle advertising firm and creating her own social media content, was left to do the bulk of the unpacking herself. “It’s a very strange adjustment to be moving into an apartment and setting it up essentially on my own,” she added.

She also found herself alone more often than she had been in months, as she and Helaman had spent the summer traveling in Europe together.

“It was hard going from being with each other 24/7 over the summer when neither of us was working,” Hayley told me in October 2024. “Now, he’s essentially working from 7 a.m. to past midnight most nights or just on campus for stuff.”

Cambridge life

As she got to know Cambridge, Hayley thought her neighborhood was cute, but she didn’t love the greater Boston area, from the food scene to public transportation options. The weather wasn’t her favorite as it got colder, and she had trouble meeting people outside the Harvard bubble.

“I don’t love Boston so far, but I didn’t think I would,” she told me two months after her move. “I just like the laid-backness of the West Coast.”

Hayley and Helaman mostly socialized with Helaman’s classmates, as they discovered that happy hours, dinners, and even trips are integral to the HBS experience.

“It’s really hard going to all of the Harvard activities and having that just be your social world,” Hayley said. “There are so many people. You meet somebody, you do the intros for five minutes, and then you’re talking to the next person.”

The work Hayley was putting into their life in Cambridge didn’t go unnoticed by Helaman, who said it wasn’t the usual balance they had established in their relationship before the move.

“The first few months, it felt like a very one-sided give-and-take, where Hayley was sacrificing a lot for me,” he told me in April 2025 when reflecting on the early months of the move. “It felt very much like she was coming to all of my things.”

By the end of 2024, Hayley was doing her best to adjust to the move, but she still didn’t feel at home in Cambridge. Often, she felt like she wasn’t building her own life because everything was focused on Helaman’s schooling.

“The acclimation to partner school life is just so hot and cold all of the time,” she said. “It would be so much simpler to be 40 years old and have kids and just have to make a move.”

“But then I’m like, ‘I can’t compare. Everyone has their different struggles,'” Hayley added.

The cost of living in Cambridge — 70% higher than the national average, according to Payscale — also started to weigh on the Perry-Sanchezes. Even though activities and food were less expensive compared to Seattle, their housing costs were higher.

They spent a lot of money on trips they took with Helaman’s classmates, and because they mostly lived off his student loan money, their budget got tight. Ramen dinners became a staple, and they were taken off guard by how expensive their energy bill was in December when they started using their heater regularly.

Something had to give.

A reset

After spending time with family over the holidays, Hayley and Helaman returned to Cambridge in January with a game plan.

Hayley decided to redecorate the apartment, and she and Helaman agreed to approach their social life differently. They still planned to go on trips with Helaman’s cohort, but day-to-day, they wanted to prioritize smaller gatherings and date nights.

By our March catch-up, Hayley seemed lighter than I had seen her in months. She loved the new feel of the apartment and felt more in control of her social life.

“I feel like I’m melting and just coming back to life,” she said. “I’m starting to feel like I’ve got a good group of people, whether it be students or partners of students.”

Helaman told me he was relieved when he and Hayley found “couple friends,” and he appreciated how the mindset shift for the new year had helped bring equilibrium back to their relationship.

“It forced us to be very communicative about how we were feeling about things,” he said of the move, adding that they “realized that going back to this mode where it felt more balanced” was important to their happiness.

“We’ll make it work as long as we’re together. The person is the home.”Hayley Perry-Sanchez

As it got warmer outside, Hayley also realized how much the weather in Boston had been affecting her. She didn’t have a car in Cambridge, so she relied on public transportation to get around, which was tough when it was cold and snowy. She found herself cooped up inside, though she rented a car about once a month to go antiquing or take her dogs on adventures.

“I don’t think I totally realized how stuck in the apartment I felt,” Hayley told me. “My mental health really rides on just getting out of the house, going for a walk, and having my dogs with me.”

Though the couple’s social life had improved, Hayley’s career was still in flux. She was doing contract work, making social media content, and started dog walking and pet sitting on Rover, but interviewing for full-time work felt tricky.

She and Helaman didn’t know if they would stay in the Boston area after he graduated, and his summer internship plans were up in the air.

Unable to truly put down roots, Hayley and Helaman still struggled to feel fully at home.

Looking forward

By May, Helaman secured a summer internship that allowed him to work remotely, so he and Hayley mostly stayed in the Boston area for the summer. The time at home together gave Hayley the chance to claim life in Cambridge for herself, a welcome change from the school year.

She found new things she loved about her home in the summer, like hosting events for the friend group she had made and visiting farmers’ markets.

Hayley also documented her experience visiting thrift and craft stores around the area on TikTok, such as Sewfisticated in Dorchester, where she befriended the owners. Hayley told me her visit there was one of the first times she felt truly connected to Massachusetts.

By summer, Hayley also felt more at peace with the fact that Helaman’s years at Harvard became a bit of a career sabbatical for her, too. Still, as she reflected on how her life had changed over the last year, Hayley told me she wished she had known that the program would feel like it was happening to her as much as it was to Helaman.

“It’s weird that I’m not a student and life is Harvard,” she said.

In year two, Hayley hopes to change that a bit. She doesn’t plan to attend every Harvard-related function Helaman attends, and she wants to establish a day-to-day routine that gives her structure and independence.

“Last year, we kind of felt like we had to say yes to everything and try everything, and I think now we can kind of take a step back,” she said. “I think having better boundaries that way will help.”

Many of Helaman’s peers have made plans to stay in the Boston area after graduation in 2026, but Hayley and Helaman aren’t sure what they will do yet.

Like Seattle, the Perry-Sanchezes don’t think Cambridge is their forever home, but their apartment has become a sanctuary, as has the community they built together.

Regardless of their choice, Hayley sees this chapter of her life as a growing experience for herself and as a couple with her husband.

“I think it’s peaceful that whatever it is, we’ll make it work as long as we’re together,” Hayley said. “The person is the home.”