Posted on 03/02/2010 12:41:19 AM PST by jerry557
Scott Letzter thought when he moved away to college that he had left his childhood home for good.
His plan was to graduate, launch his career and live on his own. But at 24, Letzter is living at his parents’ house in Johnsburg, still sleeping in the bedroom he had as a child.
“I thought I would have more of a steady job, something that gets me on the right path to what I would call a career,” Letzter said. “I don’t really feel like there’s any job security.”
Letzter is part of a growing demographic called Boomerang Kids, adults who move back in with their parents after living independently.
Recent studies show this living arrangement is on the rise. And not only does living with mom and dad signal a delay of other life plans, it can create challenging situations at home and be disappointing to otherwise ambitious millennials.
According to a survey by the Pew Research Center, one-in-10 adults between ages 18 and 34 said the crippled economy caused them to move back in with their parents. Fourteen percent of young adults said they postponed having a baby, and 15 percent postponed marriage because of the recession.
“A lot of us feel like, we go to college and get the right job, and life will be in an upward trajectory,” said Elina Furman, author of Boomerang Nation. “But we’re seeing it now: You can work as hard as you want and look for a job for years but, in this economy, it’s hard to find.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nwherald.com ...
“But I was poor and independent, and the poverty did not last for long. Even in the mid-80s in Michigan (with 14% unemployment), there was a place for a young man willing to work hard.”
You were not poor, you were broke. Being poor is a state of mind, being broke is a temporary situation.
My children have moved home and away a number of times, and not all because of the current economic crisis. It’s what families do.
Note to self: Move. Leave no forwarding address. Send adult kids pleasant emails every week.
Where do you live at those prices?
Even getting a rental these days isnt easy. Landlords want perfect credit scores. And they dont like the idea of 3 20-something boys sharing a little apartmment. They assume it will be trashed.
In this economy NOBODY wants to assume any risk at all. We have gone from one extreme (risking everything which is what got us into this mess) to not risking anything at all (which is preventing us from recoving from this mess).
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