Gen Z Women Are Booking Convents Instead of Beach Houses This Summer

[Geremia]

Gen Z Women Are Booking Convents Instead of Beach Houses This Summer
By Ashley Fike
June 30, 2025, 10:04am

Goldhafen/Getty Images

Move over, shared beach houses and Aperol spritzes. This summer, a growing number of Gen Z women are checking into Catholic convents and monasteries instead—on purpose.

In an unexpected pivot from rooftop parties and dating app exhaustion, young women are opting for peace and quiet. Literal quiet. The latest trend, dubbed "vow of silence summer," has people voluntarily giving up speaking for days at a time, communicating only by writing or gestures while living alongside nuns. And demand is high.

"I booked a vow of silence at a Catholic monastery late last year, and the booking process is really straightforward—you just email the nuns," said TikToker @mc667868 in a video that's now been viewed over 700,000 times. "When I went to book again for this summer, they were fully booked for the next three months."

That's not hyperbole. Monasteries and convents are now seeing waitlists as young women line up for a kind of stillness that's hard to come by elsewhere. No phones buzzing, no endless notifications, and definitely no small talk. Instead, many are spending their days tending gardens, attending prayer services, and catching up with themselves.

Gen Z Women Are Spending Their Summers at Convents

It's not hard to see why. According to a recent survey, nearly 250,000 Americans experience burnout before they hit 30. A vow of silence might seem extreme—but it's a clear counter-move to the overstimulation so many people are desperate to escape.

The TikTok comment section has turned into a sort of confession booth for collective exhaustion. "The girlies are FED TF UPPPP and this is the proof," one person wrote. Another joked, "Maybe we can start a resy app for vows of silence." Someone else simply said, "The call to be a nun is too strong rn."

Others shared how transformative the experience can be. "I lived with nuns last summer...legit the best three months of my life," one user wrote. "They are so cool and fun. I worked in their garden and lived in a cottage for free."

And while this trend might seem surprising, it doesn't come from nowhere. Between the burnout, the dating fatigue, and the constant pressure to be on, Gen Z's new version of luxury looks more like spiritual retreat than poolside party.

One commenter put it best: "I feel the nuns have been expecting us. They knew our last nerve would disappear at some point."

[Bernadette]

I used to love going on retreat at convents. I was discerning a vocation at the time so I visited three convents, some more than once, before making my aspirancy.

[drummerboy]

MGTOW and women going to convents.  There's always hope for the future.  Eventually the two will realize they DO need each other, and resume normal relationships and marriages once the facade of feminism fades away.

[KreKre]

Eventually the two will realize they DO need each other, and resume normal relationships and marriages once the facade of feminism fades away.

Yes, but before that happens, life will have to become very uncomfortable for both. Hopefully not a total collapse of civilization, but something in that direction.

The problem with humanity after the Industrial Revolution is that life has become too comfortable for us, to our degradation. We have an abundance of food and leisure, but a shortage of purpose and beauty. We live in a golden cage of processed foods and cheap entertainment and are too weak to escape. We need to be pushed out of this hellish comfort zone, and only suffering can do that.

[drummerboy]

Eventually the two will realize they DO need each other, and resume normal relationships and marriages once the facade of feminism fades away.

Yes, but before that happens, life will have to become very uncomfortable for both. Hopefully not a total collapse of civilization, but something in that direction.

The problem with humanity after the Industrial Revolution is that life has become too comfortable for us, to our degradation. We have an abundance of food and leisure, but a shortage of purpose and beauty. We live in a golden cage of processed foods and cheap entertainment and are too weak to escape. We need to be pushed out of this hellish comfort zone, and only suffering can do that.

Indeed.  As I wrote in another thread (on the coming population collapse) the next 2 or 3 generations will also have to deal with the brunt of the population shortage and ensuing infrastructure collapse.  They'll have it rough.  But if they can take the lessons learnt and virtues gained, and combine it with the material and technological leaps being made (just no AI please God), the future civilization could be like nothing before.

[clau clau]

Indeed.  As I wrote in another thread (on the coming population collapse) the next 2 or 3 generations will also have to deal with the brunt of the population shortage and ensuing infrastructure collapse.  They'll have it rough.  But if they can take the lessons learnt and virtues gained, and combine it with the material and technological leaps being made (just no AI please God), the future civilization could be like nothing before.

... and I guess the Amish will not notice any difference.