Goodbye jobs, hello mom and dad, say young adults

[marmar]

AP, via Yahoo:



Goodbye jobs, hello mom and dad, say young adults
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer – Tue Nov 24, 12:02 am ET


WASHINGTON – Faced with limited job options, many young adults are turning to an old standby to weather the recession: moving back in with mom and dad.

Nearly 1 in 7 parents with grown children say they had a "boomerang kid" move back home in the past year, according to a study being released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. In a turnabout in the rite of passage in which a college graduate finds a job and an apartment, many are returning to their parents' empty nests because of tight finances or as they pursue an advanced degree.

"The journey home for Thanksgiving won't be quite so far this year for many adults," said researchers Wendy Wang and Rich Morin, who wrote the report. "Instead of traveling across country or across town, many grown sons or daughters will be coming to dinner from their old bedroom down the hall."

Pew's survey and analysis of government data found that the share of adults 18 to 29 who lived alone declined from 7.9 percent in 2007 to 7.3 percent this year. Drops of that magnitude were also seen during or immediately after the recessions of 1982 and 2001.

Roughly one-third, or 35 percent, of boomerang kids said they had lived independently at some point in their lives but had to move back in with their parents. About half of the grown children worked full- or part-time, while 25 percent were unemployed and 20 percent were full-time students. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_go_ot/us_boomerang_kids

[AllentownJake]

1. I'm one of those

However, I moved back in before the recession when my father was dying of cancer, than decided to stay a while after, than lost my job.

I didn't really come back out of financial need, but a family need, now I'm here for a financial need.

[Fumesucker]

3. How about parents moving in with their kids?

That would be me, I live with my daughter, son-in-law and my three grandchildren.

Luckily enough I moved my self contained camper onto their property and live in it, so I'm not particularly bothersome to them but here if I'm needed for child care or in emergencies.

I've had adult relatives live in the house before and I know how stressful that can be at the best of times, lots of opportunity for social friction and the resulting heat.

[willing dwarf]

4. There's a lot of good things to be learned from being there

for your family, and having them there for you. Allentown Jake, I admire your choice to go back there for your dad. -- I hope the job search is fruitful.

Hey did you know that Pennsylvania has the highest number of native sons and daughters who remain living in the state? We mostly stick close to home, so you're part of a long Pennsylvania tradition.

[AllentownJake]

5. I was all over the place for 10 years

North Carolina, Indiana, CT, Philadelphia...somehow ended right back where I started...and have never been happier at where I'm living lol.

It's a decent size house, and I'm in no hurry to get married.

[willing dwarf]

2. I would welcome my kids to come home!

Families living together is an admirable and reasonable choice. It may not be one's ideal dream of freedom,but you can find freedom in it, and it means that resources will be shared or at least not squandered. And of course, parents that have put more time into their careers and less into their relationship with their kids might find this hard to swallow -- one of life's many ironies.

I fully expect that my kids will move back home for at least a year after college to pay back their student loans. I see it as a respomsiblity to help set them on the path of real economic freedom to send them out in the world without any debt. Besides, I really do enjoy their company and will feel sad when they move out. For them I hope it would be more of a choice than a sentence to be served, but I trust that in a relationship between adults we can all respect each other's space and each other's individuality. --Actually it feels like that already (they're 17 & 15) but I still need to do the driving so it will be good to get out of that role!

[The2ndWheel]

6. Pooling resources

It's always interesting the way that we have such opposing forces pulling and/or pushing us at the same time. We want all people to pool their resources for health care, while at the same time everyone needs to be out of the house and on their own as soon as possible. We want everyone to be dependent on each other, a sense of community, a shared collective goal, while at the same time everyone also has to be a completely independent person, never having to depend on anybody else.