'Golden Girls' coming to a home near you?

LESTER HOLT, anchor: life " Golden Girls ." The story of Dorothy , Blanche , Rose and Sophia was a huge TV hit in the '80s, now it's a big trend among a growing number of women boomers looking to save money. We get that story tonight from NBC 's Thanh Truong .

Ms. SHERRY VAUGHAN: Oh, good, there you go.

THANH TRUONG reporting: Meet Gail Waldeck, Sherry Vaughan, Laurie Czelinski and Marianne Kilkenny. They're all baby boomers , divorced and up until recently total strangers.

Ms. VAUGHAN: This is my space. I got lucky. I got the master bedroom.

TRUONG: For the past eight months, they've shared this four bedroom house in Asheville , North Carolina , a living arrangement that allows them to maintain, even elevate their quality of life in retirement.

TRUONG: It's a scene reminiscent to that iconic 1980s sitcom " The Golden Girls ."

Ms. MARION KILKENNY: I'd like to be Blanche .

TRUONG: Blanche Devereaux.

Ms. KILKENNY: You bet.

Ms. GAIL WALDECK: I'm the old mama, but I'm not quite as goofy as she was. Maybe I am.

Ms. VAUGHAN: Yeah, you are.

TRUONG: Each has her own private space. Rent ranges from 550 to $900 a month, far less than they'd be paying on their own.

Ms. KILKENNY: I mean, I couldn't afford to live in this neighborhood if I was living on my own .

Source: AARP

TRUONG: Nearly half a million single baby boomer women now share a home with a female non-relative. With millions approaching retirement, that number's expected to grow. And matching services have popped up nation-wide.

Ms. AMY GOYER (AARP): In the economy now there's a lot of people who aren't quite where they thought they would be in their retirement. And so boomer women are looking at alternative housing choices.

TRUONG: Money's important, but Laurie Czelinski says the companionship is priceless.

Ms. LAURIE CZELINSKI: I love the laughter and the sharing. I've got a shoulder to cry on and someone to laugh with whenever I want.

TRUONG: Czelinski is the black sheep among the girls. She lives here with her husband, Ron , a second marriage for both.

RON: But sometimes it would be nice to have another man in the house, you know, there definitely would be a balance of hormones.

TRUONG: On TV, " The Golden Girls " stuck together through thick and thin . These ladies are working on a real-life adaptation of their own. Thanh Truong, NBC News, Asheville, North Carolina .