Study: More 18- to 34-year-olds live with parents than anywhere else

For First Time In 130 Years, More Young Adults Live With Parents Than With Partners

Not really shocking, except that the trend extends well into the thirtysomething demo. Living with parents past the age of, say, 25, is pretty unreal to me.

I'll always be there for my kids, but if they're still in our house by their mid- to late 20s without extenuating circumstances, I'll have considered myself a failure as a parent.

 

My cousins, 40 and 36, both still live at home with my aunt and uncle. My aunt watches my kid every day. She's very loving, but I can't say I don't have concerns.

 

Each of my children lived for periods in our home after graduating from college, when they were between jobs or had a local entry-level job in their fields. We were happy to have them, probably in part because we knew it wasn't permanent. The suburbs aren't built for single 20somethings. One of my sisters-in-law has her son, his wife and her granddaughter living with her, but this is in large part because the wife has some serious health issues right now and it takes a team effort to care for her and the child. Each situation is different, but we shouldn't forget that the separated=by-generations family is a relatively new thing in the life cycle of humanity.

 

I've known quite a few people who legitimately needed that safety net, my own family members included.

I've also known quite a few people who have done it because they're losers, my own family members included.

 

I roomed with a friend my first six or seven months out of school, because I lived in a city a few hours away from home. Then, when I took a job at my hometown rag, I moved in with my parents at first, mostly because I was cheap and lazy and, in theory, trying to get on my feet. They charged me rent. Not only that, but when I got home every night after the 4-12 sports writer shift, my mom would inevitably pop out of bed because she's a huge worrier and a light sleeper, a bad combination to be compatible with my lifestyle at the time. About three or four months into it, there was a night I strolled in around 3. We had been at the office until 12 or 1, then (legitimately) went out for a beer or two. She angrily told me "nobody stays out until 3 in the morning," etc., etc. It was clear it wasn't going to work. I moved out within a week or two.

Mrs. Whitman lived with her mom for a year after college to save for a down payment on a house. We started dating at 24 and both had our own place - she owned hers. That, I'm guessing, is fairly rare in the suburbs.

I would guess that most of my high school friends who didn't go away to college - i.e. most of my high school friends - lived at home until they got married. In one case, though, it was he and his dad because his mom died when he was 23 or 24, so it was more of a roommate situation than anything.

 

Your story is part of what I meant about suburban life not being for young adults. People DO stay out until 3 a.m., but not in my town, which once (it went out of business) had the distinction of being the site of the only Denny's that ever closed, forced to close at 11 p.m. each night by town ordnance. My kids could have a social life or live with us. Not surprisingly, as soon as it was financially feasible, they chose to move out.

 

I had a blast with my friends, my girlfriend/fiancée/wife during my 20s, but I do somewhat regret not living in the city. Of course, doing that on $25K a year and commuting to the suburbs wasn't exactly feasible.

 

I'm sure most, if not all, of my fuckups in life could've been avoided if I had lived with my parents in the suburbs through my 20s.

But that defeats the entire purpose of one's 20s.

 

Geez, did John and Olivia ever get away from his parents? What a screwed-up family.

 

I moved out of my parents' house when I was a senior at St. John's, but then my roommate and I were evicted from our apartment for being too loud and having too many guests, so I moved back home. Then a few months later my mother told me I was a bad influence on my younger brothers (I was) and asked me to leave, so I moved in with friends in Manhattan.

Fast forward 35 years and my daughter is 23, has a number of clients around the New York area and is living at home. I like having her around because I know it won't last too much longer and I will miss her.

 

"For First Time in 130 Years, Majority of Young Adults Can't Take Credit for Successes"

Edited to reflect how Baron would have written the headline ...

 

Incorrect thread headline, though. For the first time in 130 years, more young adults live with parents than with partners.

If you look at all the other situations - Married/Cohabitating, living alone, or other - they outnumber the percent of young adults living at home 67.6 percent - 32.4 percent. So there are far more young adults living outside their parents' home than living with their parents.