@Kree wrote:
They say that the WW2 generation came back from the war at 20 years old and were able to buy homes with their military pay. They say that the Baby Boomers had a great economy, and were able to leave home right out of college.
The baby boomers say "Our parents left home at 20, we left home at 22, why are our kids still here at 24?", I know my mom couldn't have been more relieved than when I left home. However my understanding is that before the 20th century, people stayed at home until married. And suprisingly the average age of marriage was actually higher back then 26.
I don't want to kick my kid out. I want her to stay as long as possible. I want to help her develop financial independence by saving money instead of wasting it on rent. Whats the point of a multi bedroom house if the beds aren't used? It wastes the parent's money just as much as the children's. Lets change culture to make it okay to stay at home for as long as possible. Lets make the smart investment in our future generations.
Who is with me?
Most of what needs to be said has already been said by other posters, so I'll just add my few cents:
The assumption that rent is always a waste of money (and by extension, buying a home is always more financially advantageous) is wrong. There are absolutely situations where renting is the smart thing to do financially, just as there are situations where buying a home is a disastrous thing to do.
I agree that having a 3 or 4 (or more) bedroom house when only 1-2 people live there can be a waste of money. Nothing wrong with downsizing to a smaller home and investing the extra (or renting out rooms), though. Not wasting money on empty rooms as a reason to encourage children to stay home is silly when there's plenty of viable ways to address the problem.
The reasons decendants stayed at home until married back then differ greatly from the reasons they would today, so it's not saying much to point to the fact that it was more common/accepted in the 19th century. 19th century society in the US shunned the idea of working women and even single women. This makes it rather difficult to kick the kids out when they turned a certain age. For the men, those who were educated often did move out to start their own lives. For the agrarian men, they needed cheap labor (wife and kids), so they would stay home and help on the farm until they found a wife with whom to start a labor force with.
Ultimately, it's up to the individual family if they want to live together or not. This is a personal choice, not a cultural one. There's no reason whatsoever to need to change culture or seek society's approval to do this.
