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A family bought an underground nuclear bunker for $300,000, and they're turning it into their home. Take a look inside.

Monica Humphries   

A family bought an underground nuclear bunker for $300,000, and they're turning it into their home. Take a look inside.
  • In 2020, the Romero family moved into an underground bunker in the middle of the US.
  • The bunker was built by AT&T so communication would be possible in case of a nuclear attack.

For years, the Romero family lived a suburban dream.

They had a house with a yard in Niagara Falls, New York. Then, they moved to Peachtree City, Georgia, where their neighborhood had what felt like more golf carts than cars, and their four children spent summers swimming in a neighborhood pool, Ruben Romero told Insider.

But the suburban dream wore off, Romero said, and they decided they wanted an unconventional place to call home.

The family of six considered buying a remote island, converting a school bus into a home, and purchasing an RV to travel the world.

Then Romero stumbled upon someone who had transformed an abandoned bunker into a home. He visited the owner, toured the bunker, and fell in love with the concept.

The family set out to buy their own.

@undergroundliving From suburbia to bunker living! ##homerenovationlife##upgrade##bunker##undergroundliving##homeupgrade ♬ Level Up - Ciara

After years of touring and placing offers on multiple bunkers, they finally purchased one and moved into their new home — a 6,000-square-foot underground bunker — in 2020.

Bunkers have been built around the world for protection

The ultra-rich have built them in fear of a future apocalypse, Insider previously reported, and governments have constructed bunkers to protect political and military officials in emergencies, Newsweek reported.

But to Romero and his family, living in a bunker isn't out of fear or survival. It's about living in an unusual space.

"I'm not planning on 'Armageddon' happening anytime soon, and I wouldn't necessarily call myself a huge prepper," Romero said. "I sincerely fell in love with the space."

Between the 1950s and 1990s, the communications company AT&T built hundreds of underground facilities across the country, according to The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Included were massive bunkers designed to keep open communication across the US in the event of a nuclear attack, the same source reports.

Romero and his family toured three AT&T bunkers before purchasing one in the central US for "about the median price of a home," or around $300,000, he said. Romero asked to omit the bunker's exact location for privacy reasons.

Romero said banks refused to issue a loan for the bunker, so the family worked with the seller to establish a mortgage payment plan.

"We took all of our life savings — everything, basically our last penny and then some — and purchased the bunker," Romero said.

The Romero family's home is about 6,000 square feet with 16.5-foot-tall ceilings

Inside, the Romero family has an escape hatch and four main rooms. There's also a fan room, pump room, and mezzanine.

The bunker was unfurnished, so the Romero family is now renovating the space into a home.

Ruben Romero said there's been plenty of deconstructing and reconstructing. For example, the family demolished drywall and plans to replace it with concrete slab to prevent mold and mildew. They've transformed large empty spaces into bedrooms for their children.

But it's just the beginning. Between finances and time, the entire renovation process will take years, Romero said. The family is sharing that journey on TikTok and YouTube under the account UndergroundLiving.

The family is living in the bunker in the meantime, and Romero said he's enjoying every moment.

"It's like an underground mansion that nobody even knows is there," he said.



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