The economic collapse of 2008 that put the world financial system on the precipice of collapse has produced fundamental changes in people’s attitudes, financial habits and living style. One trend that existed even before the financial crisis and then accelerated since 2008 is the number of young adults living with their parents.
The tradition of leaving home for college and then getting a job and establishing an independent household is still the typical route for the majority of young adults but the trend is changing. Since 2004 the number of children aged 25 to 34 still living with mom and dad has grown from 11% to 13.6%, an increase of 24%.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the primary reasons for the increase in stay at home adults is due to marrying later in life and difficulty in finding work.
Courtesy: Wall Street Journal
Moving out of your parent’s house and establishing your own home is the distinctive mark of achieving adulthood and a proclamation of independence as you move on to what should be the most productive phase of life. Remarkably, according to a Pew Research study, 80% of young adults between 25 and 34 still living at home said they were satisfied with the arrangement.
In my own family I have personally seen three nephews, male adults in their 30’s, still living at home after college and worst of all jobless. A college degree is no guarantee of a job or a successful future – it is simply a transitional learning phase in life before moving on to accomplish something in life based on individual ambition and hard work. If success is defined as establishing a career and earning enough to independently support yourself, those young adults still living at home are not very successful.
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