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I'm sure it's different in the crazy-expensive parts of the country but around here (SLC UT area) see plenty of 1 bed apartments for rent for only about $500/month. Even a job at McDonalds would give you enough to afford that...
So is it really economics or do these kids just not want to work?
Maybe this is the result of "helicopter parenting"... perhaps they never established a desire to be independent in the first place?
There are multiple reasons for them living at home.
Which include the current offering of jobs and their pay. Most jobs now require each employee to do the work of 2 -4 pre 2008 employees, without any better wage.
People are starting to get smarter. They understand that if they live on their own, they will keep going into debt or not be able to climb out of debt. So they move home with family b.c it is actually the smart thing to do.
Why pay a landlord 500 a month when you can live probably in a nicer place for free?
It's amazing that the same people who supposedly promote personal fiscal responsibility promote wasting money just so they don't have to see mom and dad every day.
Yep, it's very true and lots of young people aren't getting married and this is a major reason. Income is low to non-exist....
Or
Its hard to have a sex life when you live with mommy and daddy. Do women find it attractive if a man needs to live off his parents?
Still using moms car for dates?
Mom can I have 20 bucks to go to the movies?
I left home at 18. 1 month after I graduated from h.s.
The only reason I went back was to visit.
later as my parents were old i did their yard chores for them.
In my years after the military I worked 2 and 3 min wage jobs to make ends meet. The thought of mooching off my parents never occured to me.
1 in 5 men have no pride. Thats what that stat tells me.
I'm sure it's different in the crazy-expensive parts of the country but around here (SLC UT area) see plenty of 1 bed apartments for rent for only about $500/month. Even a job at McDonalds would give you enough to afford that...
So is it really economics or do these kids just not want to work?
Maybe this is the result of "helicopter parenting"... perhaps they never established a desire to be independent in the first place?
Ummm...shame on you for assuming that those of us who live at home do not work, nor want to. That's a faulty leap of logic.
Have you ever considered that without housing and food expenses, even a menial income goes a lot farther? I would trade independence from those whom I love most - my parents - for extra money to spend, save, and pay bills with. If more unmarried youth lived with their parents, the extent of the financial crisis we currently find ourselves in would be lesser. Credit card and student debt are much more manageable when one does not have rent to pay.
Have you considered, too, that many Americans today live in larges homes that are inefficient if they house only two people. It's often inefficient when a young adult in a normal American family of 4 or 5 leaving a 3000 ft^2 home for a 800 ft^2 apartment in the same city.
Additionally, it's far better to live at home than live in sin with a girlfriend.
I would be happy if this whole emphasis on "familial independence" in American culture just shriveled up and died.
See, people ARE adapting to our lowered standard of living.
Look how many posts here find it "acceptable" that adults are still living with parents in America.
While it may be the norm in other countries (poorer ones I might add), it was not the norm here.
But it is now.
You're making that change sound like a bad thing.
I would be much more concerned about the national debt or that most network TV shows centers around the characters' sex lives, rather than living with your parents once again becoming acceptable.
I think a lot of them do work and just prefer to economize by living at home. Pay for food and utilities but otherwise you have more income to put towards savings and investment.
If I got out of college earning, say, $30K a year I would most likely move back in with my parents simply because that is a difficult income to live on in the DC area without one of these: a 1.5hr+ commute, living in a dangerous neighborhood, or living with lots of roommates. I do the roommates thing now and it's fun, but I imagine it'll get tiresome by the time I'm 25.
I'm a student and whenever I'm not on campus, I'm at either my mom's or my dad's house. (summer, etc.) Do you really expect me to magically get a good-paying job without getting my degree first? Probably not. Even after earning the degree, I'll be at home until I find a job (and you better believe I'll look hard).
Once I get myself into that, I'll be off to find my own place and finally be totally on my own, because that's when I'll be able to support myself.
For some people, it takes longer than others, and for other people it takes sooner. There's nothing wrong with that.
Let me tell you something. I went to college in 1980. High unemployment. Disastrous administration. Gas lines. After 2 years I realized that continuing in my major would NOT result in a good paying job. Yup, right after my mandatory basket weaving course. So I left and went to a trade school. Paid those 2 years of college off (took a long time, but I NEVER would have demanded to have them eliminated).
I took low paying jobs. That's all there was. I had no health insurance, because I couldn't afford it. I had no car, and shared with roomates or rode my bike. Ate lots of rice and beans.
So yes, I call you spoiled. Because I realized that my parents' job was to raise me to survive on my own. As an adult. Better than calling you stupid, for not realizing that even though "everyone said you had to go to college" (which I also heard, by the way), that's not always the most prudent choice.
The fact is, THAT economy was also in the toilet. What did I do to try and fix it? I proudly voted for Reagan in the first election I was able to vote in. Are you smart enough to make a difference? Or will you spend the next years whining about how bad you had it when you were starting out? Your choice.
You really shouldn't think that your situation is similar to anything generation Y is going through in this economy. The early 80s experienced a sharp spike in unemployment that quickly receded after peaking. It didn't hang on for 3 or 4 years like this recession has. The labor force was far less skilled than it is today. Even during the depths of that recession it was easier to find work because their were much fewer educated and older americans to fight for jobs over. Whether you think of us as lazy or not, generation Y is the most educated group of youth to ever enter the American labor force. At least 40% of us will have bachelor degrees and countless more will have professional certifications. The competition is fierce and the jobs arent there.
Ummm...shame on you for assuming that those of us who live at home do not work, nor want to. That's a faulty leap of logic.
Have you ever considered that without housing and food expenses, even a menial income goes a lot farther? I would trade independence from those whom I love most - my parents - for extra money to spend, save, and pay bills with. If more unmarried youth lived with their parents, the extent of the financial crisis we currently find ourselves in would be lesser. Credit card and student debt are much more manageable when one does not have rent to pay.
Have you considered, too, that many Americans today live in larges homes that are inefficient if they house only two people. It's often inefficient when a young adult in a normal American family of 4 or 5 leaving a 3000 ft^2 home for a 800 ft^2 apartment in the same city.
Additionally, it's far better to live at home than live in sin with a girlfriend.
I would be happy if this whole emphasis on "familial independence" in American culture just shriveled up and died.
No. The point IS to be independent, not to have more money or fewer obligations. American's independent "take care of themselves" attitude is what made us great in the first place... but it isn't gonna survive the next generation at this rate and neither will our greatness.
Certainly it's easier to suck on mommy's teat than it is to go foraging on your own, but in the end, the Experience of living independently is far more valuable than some extra spending money and the reduced stress from having someone else take care our your needs for you.
So is there a certain age when kids should move out. Some of you seem to vilify kids that are still living at home. So please tell me what that age is. In all honesty I am having a hard time why anyone would care where my kids live and why.
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