Three in 10 young adults live with parents; for 18-to-20-year-olds the figure is 53%!

Thats a lot of young people living at home. The figure for 18-to-twenty is really something.

They tell me the economy is getting better, but it doesn't feel that way for young people. I don't live with my folks but I don't live far from them. And I know if I ever lose my job, I might have to go there. I can't tell you how many people under 30 I know still living with their parents.

Unable to find well-paying work in a weak economy, escalating numbers of young adults – as many as 3 in 10 – are returning home to the family nest, resulting in the highest share of young adults living in multigenerational households since the 1950s, according to a Pew Research Center report released Thursday.

“The rise in the boomerang phenomenon illustrates the effect the recession and the weak economy are having on young adults,” says Kim Parker, a senior researcher at Pew and the author of the study. “Young adults were hit particularly hard in the job market and are having to delay reaching some basic financial milestones of adulthood because of this.”

In 1980, some 11 percent of young adults lived in multigenerational households, suggesting that a strong economy helped youngsters gain independence more quickly. Today, some 29 percent of 25- to 34-year olds either never moved out of their parents’ home or say they returned home in recent years because of the economy, according to the Pew report. Among 18- to 24-year olds, that figure is even higher – 53 percent of young adults in that age group live at home.

source: Christian Science Monitor

Also of related interest: Gen-Y is late to the wedding, but wants marriage



The article says that kids don't mind the arrangement as much as you might think, which is a little surprising I guess.

Maybe the poor ecomomy will bring back the extended family, which is not really all that bad. On the other hand, this weakens society by not giving people the experience and adulthood they need.

What does ATS think?

I couldnt agree more. The cost of living here in Canada, specially BC is rediculous. The ammount of money you earn at a full time job even more so. 8.75 an hour doesnt mean squat when you can just meak by with the rent. Ontop of that, if your going to school there is no other way than 1) parents had been smart and saved enough money for your education adventures. 2) You were smart enough durring your last two years in highschool to start saving 3) student loans and dept. 3) tends to be the most taken action. So, in conclusion, its the parents call on when the nest needs to be left. I know my folks will not welcome my return if I flop in university.

I not only believe this is due to the economy, but I also believe it is the failure of our current education system. Our useless politically correct curriculum has to be overhauled. Teaching a kid who has no desire to continue his education beyond high school should have alternative options.

We need to have real trade schools that will teach these kids a way to survive. There are many areas that will require immediate experienced workers handling material like composites, robotics, drone technology, Welders and heavy equipment operators and airframe mechanics. These kids don't give a damn about chemistry! Politically the schools may think they are doing this kid a favor shuffling him through high school and giving him a useless H. S. Diploma but that will not be enough to get a livable wage job. Then the tax payers are saddled with helping this kid survive with tax payer assistance when if we used the tax funds we dump into the current education system to actually teach something useful, he could be a tax paying contributor after high school.

When will we learn not every foot fits into the same shoe. Our cookie cutter education system needs to be overhauled now!

Nice post & comments so far.. Yes it does seem to be like I remember my folks always saying "when I was -- age I was ..." Now it seems most young people around my age seem to be less independent* (for lack of better words) . Maybe it is because we see through the shallow knowledge and refuse to go along with the game? Maybe the game is just harder? Maybe the game isn't working? Maybe we're not?* (nahhh)*

reply to post by Partygirl


As a 30 year old, I know how hard it can be to get out on your own. I moved out when I was 20 and despite a few rough patches, I'm still living independently.

It's not cheap. When I first moved out, I was on Section 8 due to the fact that my jobs did not pay well enough to sustain myself in this area. After a few years, I found better paying jobs and got off of section 8. Fully independent now and saving money.

It's not easy for sure. I just can't stand the idea of ever going back to live with my parents.

Happy to be one of the 47% that have moved out.

Moving out isn't really viable if you're earning under £14K ish unless you're going to be splitting the rent with a partner / friend.

Say you find a £500 a month flat.
£500 - Rent
£30 - Elec
£15 - Water
£5 - Gas
£100 - Council Tax
£120 - Food

and that's just the basics, a lot will need a car, so insurance, petrol, tax, repairs.. then you've got phone bills, TV license etc.

So if you're getting £1200, about £150 will get taken off you anyway, so you probably take home about £250-300 after bills.

Put away maybe £150 a month for a house? Even after 10 years you'll only having 18 grand.

You can see why people choose to stay at home, save and leave later on when they won't be scrimping it.

My parents got me an apartment, but I'm still financially dependent on them.

Next year will have my business operational, and plan to build a house next to the greenhouses on my own land.

I'm 29 and HATE this, but working 3 jobs for low pay isn't my thing. I wanted kids by 25-28, but won't try until I got high 5 figues in the bank besides operations cashflow.

Figure I got but a few years to settle down and have her pop out wome kiddos before age might make things messy, so am trying to get things going smoothly, asap.

I feel for all the 20 somethings out there. Sucks wanting to have a family, but not being able to pull your own.

I spent the first 3/4 of my life dirt-poor and recovering from more surgeries than a normal person would have in 3 lifetimes. I'm 21 and live with my grandfather, no parents.
i'm just starting to become independant, have a full-time job at a glass factory starting up in a week and been doing construction projects here and there even though doctors said I probably shouldn't.
that's my excuse. it's not a lack of desire to be on my own, i'm getting there, it was the circumstance fate dealt me and how i've had to rebound from the absolute bottom.

if I move from metro vancouver I could buy my own place easily in Alberta or out east a bit, which i'm thinking of doing in a couple years. it's impossible to live here even if you have a good amount of money.

I can certainly commiserate. I moved home almost 3 years ago, quit a great job, because a family member was very sick. Turns out the economy wanted to nose dive a month after I got home so I have been forced to live with my folks (I'm 28) and I work as a substitute teacher (teaching is my profession, as many of you know) as well as freelance jobs. Ive been saving for my own place again, and I hope to move out by the end of the summer.

I really enjoy the time I spend with my family. I moved out to college at 18 and only came back for a month during the summer. My folks are getting up in age, so the help I can provide is indispensable. I'm still a very independent person, and rely on them for some of my more expensive debts, but I think this year is the year where things will start picking up again. I have hope anyway.

The return of multiple generations under one roof is, in my opinion, a good thing. Family ties are so important in an age where people are splitting up, losing contact, etc.

There are still days where I feel like a leach, but I've never taken public assistance and instead rely on my own resources to get by. I certainly empathize with those out there still living with parents, grandparents, extended family, etc. Hang in there. Things will get better.



-TS

Currently 23, living at home and hating it. You don't know how desperately i want my own space! Currently trying to find FT work and putting money away with the wage im earning atm. But how its looking i wont be leaving home until the late 20's, How depressing.

I swear there is a conspiracy to pen people in together.

And yano what gets me? The people MY age who's parents pay there way for em. The fact that there parents earn enough to buy there own children a house shines a very bright light on how wages are distributed these days. I would argue that the GREEDY middle-classes have helped mess up the wage distribution by demanding huge sums of money. Society needs teachers yes, but those that are on 25k a year or more dont need anymore then that.

This is normal in many countries, families stick together and help each other out, but in the west people act like they want to get as far away from their family as possible.....

Between a crappy economy, stagnant wages, and tons of student debt, it really shouldn't be all that big of a surprise that it's happening. I lived alone for a long time. Just recently returned home. Though, granted, it's more about a stable environment until I find stable employment than anything.

reply to post by Partygirl


If it's voluntary, I don't see any problems with it.

Second.

reply to post by Partygirl


I have 2 grown up children (?) still at home aged 23 and 25 and although they could move out, they could only do it if they house/flat shared.

There is very little well paid work in the town where I live, but the same can be said of many area of the uk - it is very much an employers market regardless of any qualifications held. How many kids with degrees are unemployed or working minimum wage jobs?
That said, I like my house to be busy and noisy so I don't really mind - fortunately!

Got to admit though, wish I could live with my parents sometimes - how easy would my life be!

I know of quite a few coworkers from work that still have their 20's and 30's years old living with them.
They moved back in after they got laid off and have not been able to find work since.
I also know a few where their spouses do not have a job either and are unable to find one.

This is not an Obama or Bush issue either, but an non partisan issue where the ruling elite are doing quite well on Wall Street and in the Big Corporations and that is all that matters to them.

The rest of the country could up and die for all they care.

Originally posted by Sharpenmycleats
These kids don't give a damn about chemistry!

But but... I LOVED chemistry in HS! It was my favorite class... except I flunked it. I then had to drop it in college again. I still love chemistry though

Originally posted by jdftp
Nice post & comments so far.. Yes it does seem to be like I remember my folks always saying "when I was -- age I was ..." Now it seems most young people around my age seem to be less independent* (for lack of better words) . Maybe it is because we see through the shallow knowledge and refuse to go along with the game? Maybe the game is just harder? Maybe the game isn't working? Maybe we're not?* (nahhh)*

edit on 18-3-2012 by jdftp because: (no reason given)

My parents grew up in a totally different environment. One where you had the kids, parents, grandparents all in one household. Sometimes even cousins etc depending on the situation in their households. This was in Europe though, where it was common to have multiple generations living in one house or apartment.

I don't see the problem with 18-20 year olds living with their parents .. so what? Does everyone have to move out at 18 and get their own place? I never understood that. At a young age most people don't make much in terms of wages/salary. So why put yourself in that spot to basically not be able to save up any money for the future?

I feel this is the whole debt-enslavement to money system in the works.

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
Between a crappy economy, stagnant wages, and tons of student debt, it really shouldn't be all that big of a surprise that it's happening. I lived alone for a long time. Just recently returned home. Though, granted, it's more about a stable environment until I find stable employment than anything.

Ding! Spot on.

Personally I moved out twice, and moved back in, lack of money, lack of funding for projects that we worked on in my job. It's all unpredictable. So is life.

I don't mind being at home now (at 28). I figure pay off my school loans, pay off my new car (old one pretty much died and I need one for work), save up 10-20k THEN buy a house for myself (SCREW renting!)

Oh and when I buy a house, I'm getting room mates. So I don't have to pick up the whole mortgage tab by myself. This way I live relatively cheap (few hundred bucks a month for utils, taxes) and be able to save money instead of drowning in debt.


If you think about the multi-generational household... you have the grandparents who are retired taking care of the children while the parents are at work. They might even clean and cook some food so when you get home from work the children are fed and doing homework and you can just sit down to eat instead of having to spend time while you're already exhausted from work to make food.

Now if you split everyone up, then each have some type of debt for living expenses etc. You turned one debt-free household into 2 in-debt households. I think this is a conspiracy in itself to enslave people to debt.

I think the emphasis on the 18 to 23 year olds living at home isn't a bad thing.
My daughter went to college after high school, so a four year degree would leave you at home until at least 22 if you graduate at 18.
So statistically those numbers could just reference college kids living at home/dorms on the parents.
Then say some graduate high school at 19, then you have 23 year olds just graduating college.

Lucky my daughter became a nurse so there are plenty of jobs and the pay is great. Now she is going back to school for her nurse practioner's license. She has her own home and mortgage. The down payment came from a savings account set up at birth.

The other statistics for the after college crowd is the one that should be and is for me, concerning to our country. Without a college degree in a field that is hiring like medical, then the younger generation has a rough road.
I think there should be credits for the degree's that they have and apply them towards a field that they like and is hiring. So they could just take a few courses and be ready for the new jobs.

Without a degree, like when we were young, it is a real hard road.
Inflation of grocery prices alone would be a paycheck thirty years ago.

IMO shameing families into not living together is an act of economic terrorism. =D