Three best friends bought homes on the same street—then the fourth best friend dropped a heartwarming surprise

Many of us have dreamt about living alongside our best friends to create a lifetime of memories and eventually growing older together. However, circumstances and other factors cause friendship groups to break apart as people venture on their life paths. Well, that was not the case for four women based in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the women from the group of best buddies, Sarabeth Stine–who goes by @sbinthecityyatl on TikTok–shared how she managed to become neighbors with her friends.

Stine has been friends with Kelly Holbin, Kristen Wiekierak and Erinn Cottman for a long time. Aiming to spend their best years together, the group decided to purchase their homes in the same neighborhood. "POV: When your bestie surprises you and says she bought the house next door so that all 4 of you can live in your own little self-made compound in the neighborhood," the overlay text on the video revealed. However, one of them had decided to surprise the group by holding back the news of buying a property on the same street. The women shared their stories with Newsweek, explaining how they managed to make their dreams come true. 

45-year-old Holbin and 44-year-old Wiekierak had known each other for over 25 years. They hailed from Michigan and went separate ways to focus on their careers later on. Luckily, they reconnected in Atlanta, meeting again through their mutual friend, Stine. Stine had met Cottman through a Bible study group and the four women quickly became inseparable. "We have built our own little support system," Holbin said. "It just happened organically and now it feels like this is the way life should be." However, buying properties in the same neighborhood took them more than a decade of hard work and planning. 

Stine and her husband had found a lot in a new housing development and soon after, Holbin put down a deposit in a nearby lot. Cottman was going through a personal transition in her life and she told Stine that she was looking for a new home. Stine told her about a house across the street from hers. Three years later, Cottman moved in there. However, Wiekierak had not decided to buy a home next to Cottman's until the neighboring house went up for sale. So, Wiekierak brought her property quietly and decided to surprise her three friends with the news. The big reveal was captured in Stine's TikTok video. 

"They had no idea," she said. "I pulled up to the driveway and their reaction was everything." Cottman mentioned that it gave her comfort to know that there are people she can count on living nearby. "We want to help other people find their own community," Cottman mentioned. "It does not have to be four friends buying houses right next to each other, but we hope to inspire people to create their own support systems." "One of our goals with this is to create a pathway where women feel like there is a sense of community out there like we do, and we would love to start networking. It is never too late to find your community," Holbin added.

The TikTok community gushed over their close-knit friendship and left positive comments for the ladies. @ooooohdems suggested, "Post-excitement, you guys need to have a serious meeting about rules and boundaries or else you could end up living next to your worst enemy. Best of luck!" @deidre_03 wrote, "I need daily vlogs moving forward, ladies. Thank you, your new TikTok bestie." @raptor411 added, "Both of the houses next to me are for sale. I have tried so hard to convince my bestie to buy one, preferably the one with the pool. I’m still hoping she’ll surprise me like this."

You can follow Sarabeth Stine (@sbinthecityyatl) on TikTok for more videos on lifestyle.