This article explores the increasing trend of young adults living with their parents in the U.S., a shift from the traditional expectation of independence at 18. It examines the factors driving this change, including financial pressures and evolving parental attitudes.
I lived my teen years in a typical U.S. suburb during the 1990s, and during that time, the expected trajectory was clear: When you turned 18, either you went to college or you got a job, but you most definitely moved out of your parents’ house — and never returned. It was something life-altering, like an unplanned pregnancy or a disabling medical condition, that would cause a person to stay at home.
If you did stay at home, or moved out and then returned, it was a source of shame both for you and your parents. A young adult living in the basement was a “failure to launch.” So I was shocked when I was an exchange student in Spain and my host family introduced me to an educated, employed and successful cousin in her mid-20s who happily shared an apartment in Madrid with her parents. Far from shameful, this kind of living arrangement was common and expected. Over the course of the following decades, however, this scenario has become less unusual in the U.S. — and also less frowned-upon. More than half of 18-to-24-year-olds are now living with their parents, according to Financial considerations play a big role. Stagnating wages and soaring housing costs have pressed many families into multigenerational living situations. Rising college costs also mean that many young people graduate with record amounts of student loan debt. Moving back in with parents is one way to pay off these loans or save for a down payment, and might even be seen as a smart financial move instead of an admission of failure. Parents’ attitudes are changing, too. “It is increasingly common for parents to feel that it is their role to help their children get established without the ‘sink or swim’ mentality once they turn 18,”, a clinical psychologist in Ontario, told HuffPost. “Having to leave home may put them in a precarious situation, which may make it more difficult for them to find careers they enjoy or would like to invest in,” Roopa said
MULTIGENERATIONAL LIVING FINANCIAL PRESSURES COLLEGE DEBT PARENTING FAMILY TRENDS
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