Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You need to keep reading through this thread, one, and two, me saying "who cares if they live with their parents" doesn't automatically means I did, too. I. did. not. I left before I even graduated high school. And before you assume again, I continued to go to school, I just didn't live with them. I assure you, there was no big benefit by leaving as fast as I could. My life would have been the same.
Staying with their parents can be very beneficial. You assume they're doing nothing despite how many times people have pointed out the major financial benefit. And maybe, just maybe, some families are close and actually like each other.
Yes, how could mom and dad not love you? Mom's cooking is the best and dad is your pal. If I must leave home, I would move into an airstream parked in the back under the elm tree.
I dont think anyone is talking about doctors.
I went to college in the 80's, grants and working. My grand is going in the fall (same university) after high school. He is getting the same pell grants, plus additional grants that didnt exist when I went, and some scholarships. I cant see that it has changed that much.
Having said that I do agree it is overall more difficult financially to live on your own than it once was. I dont see any problem with multi-generational households. That was once very common. I have had my adult children live with me. My grand will most likely live with me while in college. When I attended (I was an older student) I was able to live on my own. I was poor, but I could do it.
The problem is while you do that and I do that (my parents aren't exactly in the best health and like me helping out and chipping in,) many buy into the American Dream that Norman Rockwell painted in the post-WWII era. Go to school, get a job, moveout, start a family, raise kids, put them in school, let them get a job and moveout and retire. The world doesn't work like that and it is debatable if we ever really did.
By the time they can almost be self sufficient they might as well wait an extra 10 years for mom and dad to kick off and they can just inherit the house and stay there.
I just looked at the rent difference for an apartment complex I lived at in 1995. I had two roommates, and our rent was $875 for a 3BR, and today, those same apartments rent for $1500. That represents an annual 2% average increase in rent for 27 years.
I then looked at the rents in the other areas I rented in my 20s, and came to the same basic 2% annual increase over different periods.
Then I looked at the minimum wage for the same period. In 1995, the federal minimum wage was $4.25, and today it is $7.25. That represents an annual 2% average increase in the MW for 27 years.
Then I looked at median wages for the same period. In 1995, median income was $34,076, and in 2020, it was $67,521. That represents an annual 2.8% average increase in the median income for 25 years.
It would seem, given almost everywhere I lived and studied, that rents kept pace with minimum wage, and got outpaced pretty decently by median individual income. To me, this means that being a young adult today is no different than it used to be, minus social media whining about it.
This is not a bad thing IMHO. Look at the Asian families. They have multiple generations living under one roof and they prosper as a result. Much less pressure to have to pay rent/mtg payments when everybody splits the workload.
Americans are just spoiled. Welcome to the New World! Build Back Better
I just looked at the rent difference for an apartment complex I lived at in 1995. I had two roommates, and our rent was $875 for a 3BR, and today, those same apartments rent for $1500. That represents an annual 2% average increase in rent for 27 years.
I then looked at the rents in the other areas I rented in my 20s, and came to the same basic 2% annual increase over different periods.
Then I looked at the minimum wage for the same period. In 1995, the federal minimum wage was $4.25, and today it is $7.25. That represents an annual 2% average increase in the MW for 27 years.
Then I looked at median wages for the same period. In 1995, median income was $34,076, and in 2020, it was $67,521. That represents an annual 2.8% average increase in the median income for 25 years.
It would seem, given almost everywhere I lived and studied, that rents kept pace with minimum wage, and got outpaced pretty decently by median individual income. To me, this means that being a young adult today is no different than it used to be, minus social media whining about it.
I agree that being a young adult in a studio/room rental, things are about the same. Getting beyond that is getting to be the hard part though.
For my area, here is a little teaser of some approx. #'s:
Average listed home price here in 1995 = $122,000
Average family income $39,000
Average Rent $820
Todays Avg. Listed home price $660,000
Average family income $49,800
Average Rent $1,320 (there is almost zero vacancy though unless you get into the $1,800+/range).
Also, when you are in college sure you rent a room so it's rent/3. You do that so you can finish college and get a high paying job and a home of your own.....not so you have to keep renting a room with your wife/family. We had friends (couple) here that made $70/HR between them and could only get approved for 2/3rds of what they needed to get into home ownership. They spent 4 years in a 2 bedroom apartment with another couple both saving 1/2 of their pay, but escalation in home prices outpaced even that.
Also, when you are in college sure you rent a room so it's rent/3. You do that so you can finish college and get a high paying job and a home of your own.....not so you have to keep renting a room with your wife/family. We had friends (couple) here that made $70/HR between them and could only get approved for 2/3rds of what they needed to get into home ownership. They spent 4 years in a 2 bedroom apartment with another couple both saving 1/2 of their pay, but escalation in home prices outpaced even that.
I had roommates until I was 29. My wife had roommates until she was 27. My nephew had roommates until he was 28.
Not sure why everyone has to live alone these days, but uhm, sure?
Maybe because I have never lived in a wildly overpriced metro area? Not sure.
I just looked at the rent difference for an apartment complex I lived at in 1995. I had two roommates, and our rent was $875 for a 3BR, and today, those same apartments rent for $1500. That represents an annual 2% average increase in rent for 27 years.
I then looked at the rents in the other areas I rented in my 20s, and came to the same basic 2% annual increase over different periods.
Then I looked at the minimum wage for the same period. In 1995, the federal minimum wage was $4.25, and today it is $7.25. That represents an annual 2% average increase in the MW for 27 years.
Then I looked at median wages for the same period. In 1995, median income was $34,076, and in 2020, it was $67,521. That represents an annual 2.8% average increase in the median income for 25 years.
It would seem, given almost everywhere I lived and studied, that rents kept pace with minimum wage, and got outpaced pretty decently by median individual income. To me, this means that being a young adult today is no different than it used to be, minus social media whining about it.
You're looking at just rent. Look at gasoline and also food too before you say "oh these kids are just whining on social media." I guarantee you that those complaints existed in 1995 and before but weren't as out there due to no place to vent.
this is the way things were done for centuries, actually leaving the family home is a relatively modern thing and really makes less sense. The issue for me is not living at home which can benefit everyone its living at Home and not paying your share. ie. you work full time do your share of the household chores and contribute your share to paying the household bills. I am stunned by the number of people i am personally aware of, both family members and kids of friends, who are in their 20's and 30's who remain at home work part time at best and dont really financially contribute. I see so many of them eating out 3 or 4 times a week, driving nice vehicles while their parents struggle to pay the bills. While the kids seem to be completely unaware of.
And these are a lot of the same age of people I hear constantly complain about the "boomers' who are hoarding the wealth /sigh
This isn’t surprising. The marriage rates are plummeting too and I saw a chart recently that an insanely high number of men 25-30 are virgins now
Pathetic and sad.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
