85% of New College Grads Move Back in with Mom

[ShawnD1]

I would argue that it's the other way around.
Children these days treat their parents like crap and put them out on an ice flow as soon as their parents become an inconvenience because their parents treated them the same way.

lol, at least partially true.

My grandparents on my dad's side were good people. Nice, helpful, responsible, not dickheads. When those grandparents needed help with anything, my parents were always there to help out. My parents would go as far as make a 4 hour drive just to help with something like building a garage.
Grandparents on my mom's side were the opposite; an angry grandmother and a deceased grandfather. Neither of my parents liked that grandmother. In her later years when she was no longer able to care for herself, she was not welcome in any of her children's homes. She died alone in a nursing home.

The same thing is repeating this generation as well. My parents are fairly good people and have bailed me out a lot of times. I never felt pressured to move out. If they need help in the future, my brother and I will both help them. My girlfriend's situation is basically the opposite. She had to make a hardcore bad financial decision just to get away from them. I'm guessing they won't get much help in their later years.

 

[MotF Bane]

I'll probably be doing that. I've been employed since I was 15, I spend sensibly... and it is also very sensible to stay at home. Sure I could afford to move out when I graduate and get a serious job, but it makes a hell of a lot more financial sense to stay home and wipe out my school loans in two years.

 

[Imdmn04]

The percentage is up because kids nowadays are "forced" to go to college as the social norm. Yet a lot of them are not really college material and end up in majors such as sociology or history that does not teach any marketable skills to the student.

I don't mean any offense to liberal arts majors. In fact, if you like it then go for it (and you should accept the low starting salary as a part of your love for the discipline). However most kids today that got pushed to college by social norm (who are not college material in the first place) will gravitate towards these "easy" majors as a way to complete their social obligation. Then you end up with these kids that could have made a decent living had they gone to a trade school wondering why they can't find a job with their shiny paper.

Not everyone can go to college, in a properly functioning society, you need skilled blue collar jobs and white collar jobs. Working as a plumber or electrician is way better than working as a barista at Starbucks because you can't find a job with your sociology degree that you got just because society said you had to get a college degree.

 

[Fenixgoon]

im living at home right now just to save up money. i could *easily* afford an apartment. i will definitely be moving out before 2012 though.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I don't get it...why would anyone move back in with parents? Why would parents want them to move back in?

I moved out when I enlisted in the USMC...never moved back.

Boomer is right! What grown adult wants to live at home? Were talking 22 - 24yr olds here folks!

I do understand coming home for 2-3 months after graduation but if you have job - time to live on your own. I blame this on the parents as well!

 

[eLiu]

I don't think my parents would've let me move back in even if I wanted to.

I also don't see what's so damn expensive about being alive. I'm a graduate student; I make 36k/yr, pretax. I live in Boston and I can easily save/invest >$1000/month. And I eat out pretty often, drink fine scotch, etc. It's not like I'm scrounging. If I lived at home, I'd save like 800-900/month on rent/utilities, and the extra money would be great. But then again I'd be living with my fucking parents. Soooo...

Even if I were making like 10k less a year, that'd just mean I would be saving a lot less. Or I could drop the expensive drinking habits and save more... or cook more or any number of other measures.

I mean if you can't find a job at all b/c the economy sucks, I guess I can see falling back on your parents. But if you find a job, it isn't that hard to live on like 30k/yr. And if you didn't get a retarded degree, I'm sure you're starting with more than that.

Yeah obviously 30k/yr, you'll have a hell of a time maintaining a nice car, or raising a child, or any number of other things. Maybe 30k not enough to live comfortably in high cost of living parts of the country. So don't do those things/live in those places. You can't afford to. Right after graduating from college, your life decisions should be based around "can I afford X," NOT "do i want X."

Like I said, if you're making like 25k/yr and having difficulties, you're doing it fucking wrong. Cook for yourself. Cut out all luxuries. Find cheaper housing. Get a shittier car/learn to maintain it yourself.

 

[z0mb13]

I'm asian and actually my parents expect me to live with them (with my future wife). No biggie since I love my parents.

 

[Mr. Lennon]

I'm asian and actually my parents expect me to live with them (with my future wife). No biggie since I love my parents.

I don't get this. I can understand moving back after college, but living with your parents after marriage sounds really shitty.

 

[TridenT]

lol.. I rather live by myself in my $400 apartment. :awe:

 

[Wyndru]

I thought this too, but its not entirely true. The kid has to be living in his parent's house, or in college, which I guess what this thread is about... My parents are taking me off their health insurance plan this November, guess I should find a job by then.

Oh, it doesn't start until July...ours has this policy below. I thought it was statewide, it may not be though.

NEW THIS YEAR, the "Age 26" law goes into effect July 1st, 2011 which allows young adults up to age 26 to have health insurance coverage on their parents policy. The only restrictions are that the child cannot have other coverage available to them and they must live in the service area. The child is eligible even if they live on their own, and/or are married.

 

[bignateyk]

Fuck having roommates. I never did that either. I worked and paid my own way. I may not have always lived as well as I'd have liked, but I made it through. When I got married, we often struggled as well...but that's life. There are no guarantees that life as an adult will be as good or better than it was as a kid...and parents certainly have no legal or moral obligation to support the child once he/she reaches the age of majority.
Too gawd-damned many kids nowadays want to keep sucking on mommy's tit until they're in their 30's...or later.

What's wrong with having roommates? Well.. housemates. Having to share your bedroom with someone would suck. I lived in apartments and townhouses during college and my first couple years after college with the same set of roommates. It was a blast... probably some of the best years of my life.

I had a good job after college but I kept living with my housemates for 3 years until I had enough cash saved up for a downpayment on a house.

 

[sdifox]

I don't get this. I can understand moving back after college, but living with your parents after marriage sounds really shitty.

Cultural. Some people are still clinging on to the old idea of big family living together model.

 

[gorcorps]

What's wrong with having roommates? Well.. housemates. Having to share your bedroom with someone would suck. I lived in apartments and townhouses during college and my first couple years after college with the same set of roommates. It was a blast... probably some of the best years of my life.

I had a good job after college but I kept living with my housemates for 3 years until I had enough cash saved up for a downpayment on a house.

I prefer having housemates too. I've had several over the years and haven't had many problems. I get along with most people so I've always had more fun with roommates than I am currently living alone. When my lease is up I'm going to find a place with a buddy that's moving this way. I'm excited to not be alone and bored anymore.

 

[pcgeek11]

ftfy

Two years at home after college can really set your finances in order. What you save on housing, you put into your loans.

Not to mention you can have a semi-decent job. Who knows, you could even get a 401k started.

Mooch. If you can afford to do all these things you can pay your parents rent etc ...

 

[Capt Caveman]

lol.. I rather live by myself in my $400 apartment. :awe:

LOL! Yes, you're in school and the gov't is paying for it. Wait when you finish school(probably not graduating), you'll be living with your parents permanently.

You've never worked in your life. You can't get an internship, let alone a job at McDonalds, what makes you think you'll be any different than living at home with no job after school?

 

[96Firebird]

Oh, it doesn't start until July...ours has this policy below. I thought it was statewide, it may not be though.

Does that mean, if I get a job and they offer healthcare for a cost, I can't still be under my parent's? I assume that is what they mean by "available to them", but colleges have healthcare available too so who would this apply to, part-time workers?

 

[AstroManLuca]

My sister in law will be moving in with us in a month. It's just going to be long enough for her to find a decent job. She'd move in with her parents instead, but they live in the next state and she already has a job here.

The problem is that she can afford to live in her own place now, but in July, her student loan payments are going to come due. And they are a lot. College is so much more expensive now than it used to be that if you have a lot of loans, it can seriously hurt your ability to even scrape by until you get a decent paying job. And of course this is a terrible job market where you're lucky to even get a $30k/year job with marginal benefits. Fresh out of college with little to no experience? Be ready to make $20k/year with no benefits.

My sister in law is NOT spending tons of money on unimportant shit either. She already lives in a tiny $500/mo apartment, she drives an old used car because she's not about to take on a car payment and there's no way she could possibly save up the money to buy a decent replacement used car with cash, she doesn't get cable, she's on a family cell plan to save money... and yet there's just no way her finances are going to work out if she has to pay both student loans and rent. The only option is to move in someplace where she won't have to pay much rent.

If she is able to get a decent paying job though, she'll find her own place of course. Maybe living with us instead of her parents is a good thing because there's more motivation to get out.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

This. I paid all of my debts, started a retirement fund, and everything is going smooth. Staying with parents for a while is the smartest thing I could have done.

So, getting someone else to take care of you helped you out in the long run. Nice.

Most parents were expecting it the other way around--when they got old, you'd be there.

 

[AMDZen]

The outlook isn't sunshine and roses: Rick Raymond, of the College Parents of America, notes, "Graduates are not the first to be hired when the job markets begins to improve. We're seeing shocking numbers of people with undergraduates degrees who can't get work."

This.

In my industry, the last thing you want is some kid fresh out of school who thinks they know everything and actually know nothing.

 

[AstroManLuca]

So, getting someone else to take care of you helped you out in the long run. Nice.

Most parents were expecting it the other way around--when they got old, you'd be there.

Who said he won't be there for his parents?

This is not about people owing people this or that. This is family. You help family in need. You stick together. If you just graduated college, your student loans are coming due soon, and you have no decent paying job lined up, what are you going to do? Should parents just tell their kids "tough shit" and not help them out? I'm not talking about leeches who sit at home all day and don't even try. I'm thinking of people who want to move back in for a few months and put in a concerted effort into finding a good job.

 

[Avalon]

I'm actually a bit surprised. When I graduated in '07 with all my buddies, I don't recall a single one of us moving back in with our parents. I even went off and got married, hah.

 

[ShawnD1]

Does that mean, if I get a job and they offer healthcare for a cost, I can't still be under my parent's? I assume that is what they mean by "available to them", but colleges have healthcare available too so who would this apply to, part-time workers?

You can probably be covered by two plans at the same time.

When I was a kid, both of my parents had dental insurance from work and both plans covered me. Suppose I had some thing done at the dentist and the cost was $100 and both insurance policies pay 80%. First it's sent to my dad's insurance and the bill is then $20. That $20 is then submitted to my mom's insurance and the bill is then $4.

 

[Wyndru]

Does that mean, if I get a job and they offer healthcare for a cost, I can't still be under my parent's? I assume that is what they mean by "available to them", but colleges have healthcare available too so who would this apply to, part-time workers?

It looks that way, out of college, full/part time employees that don't have any option to health care, or anyone unemployed. I'm assuming that continuation insurance programs like Cobra count too.

 

[D1gger]

I was able to live at home throughout university, but one week after graduation my parents left town and I was on my own. For four months I surfed couches and ate instant noodle until I found employment and was able to get on my feet. It was a tough start, but I never felt hard done by and it was a good lesson that I never left a job until I knew the next one was in place.

 

[vi edit]

About the only assumptions I'm going to make are these....

Those of us with "Boomer" parents had parents that largely lived in a time where dual incomes were just starting to take off. The rampant rise in housing, daycare, and vehicle costs hadn't fully taken effect. And our parents didn't have the college education mantra beaten into our head from a young age or a degree as a requirement for many non-trades oriented professions. They had pension plans offered by employers and health care plans and costs that were much lower. Wages in comparision to living costs for them were higher.

All of the inflation(living costs, house prices, education requirments, ect) just keeps growing for each generation. I truly feel sorry for a lot of kids that have graduated over the last couple years. They got dealt a shit deck of cards.

As a parent and someone who actually understands the burden that a lot of these new grads face vs what I did, or my parents did, or my grandparents did I'm not going to take the hard line approach of "18 and out". It's just not setting up my kids for a better life down the road.

I will encourage if not outright force them to get a job in high school to pay for their gadgets and spending cash. And try to instill a proper work ethic in them. And I will try what I can to reinforce the value of good grades & scholarships. And I will try to steer them towards more value oriented education (state schools vs private), encourage a sound career path, and pay for what I can to keep them out of college debt.

And when they are done with school, I'd still be fine with them living under my roof for a year or two and knock down student debt or pay off a reasonably priced vehicle and get money saved up to truely live on their own and not get into a cycle of debt and monthly payments like so many people do.

Kids graduating from school right now do not have the same cost of living and purchasing power that their parents did at a similar age. Trying to apply the same principals as their parents did is not a fair comparison.