It has been popular both here
and abroad.
Posted on 04/09/2012 1:29:14 PM PDT by dragnet2
As the economy continues to take a toll on consumers' finances, a growing number of people are discovering that becoming roommates with mom and dad, or a 20- or 30-something son or daughter, helps to ease some of the financial pain in tough times.
As of 2010, 4.4 million U.S. homes held three generations or more under one roof, a 15% increase from 3.8 million households two years earlier, according to the latest data available from the Census Bureau.
For multi-generational households, there is typically a nice payoff. Not only do they save money, but they are better able to avoid financial hardship.
"It's such an advantage to have multiple wage earners in the same household when the economy is still struggling." ... the multi-generational housing trend is one he expects will continue.
Census reported that "doubled up households," those including at least one extra adult who is not enrolled in school and isn't a spouse or partner, grew 10.7% to 21.8 million households in spring 2011, up from 19.7 million households four years earlier.
Many of those homes included adult children who flew back to the nest after being unable to find work. The number of 25- to 34-year olds living with their folks jumped by more than 25% between 2007 and 2001, Census reported.
Builders take note. "The recession caused doubling up to save money -- and the story is still unfolding,"
The long-term impact, he said, is that more families will want bigger homes with more bedrooms to accommodate their extended families.
In fact, so many relatives are already moving in with one another that builders are starting to construct homes to accommodate them.
Home builder Toll Brothers has started incorporating multi-generational living arrangements directly into its designs... Previously, such accommodations were offered only as custom options.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
This is nothing new to friends of mine from Europe and Asia.
We know of 4 families that now have extended family living with them.
You knew this was coming in a big way.
I see no problem as long as everyone contributes and helps out. It’s reaching a point where in most cases, there is no longer a choice.
The US is turning into a poor country. We are soon going to look like China or Korea from 25+ years ago.
New? New??? When was it ever NOT like that, except maybe for the briefest period of time after, say, 1960?
Sheesh, the news “media” is getting lamer and lamer.
Coming??? It always was!
Yeah, things suck, but this isn't an indicator of it.
Back to the future - or would that be ‘Forward to the past’??
Prepper Ping....
The not-quite-as-new American household: 3 generations, 1 welfare check, 1 public housing rat hole, 4 grams of crack, 15 bottles of malt liquor, 2 AK-47’s, 5 outstanding warrants, 27 stolen lottery tickets, 0 live at home fathers, 5 pairs of $200 designer sneakers...
...and a partridge in a pear tree.
You bet, and it’s now here.
These number below tell the story.
As of 2010, 4.4 million U.S. homes held three generations or more under one roof, a 15% increase from 3.8 million households two years earlier.
I know of people who’ve redesigned their homes, doing the work themselves, to accommodate family.
Times are tough, and it’s going to get tougher.
Try reading Larry.
This and other sources say this trend is rapidly *growing*, and we’ve seen this among friends just within the past two years or so.
Back to the past and this is not the only such changes we are going to be seeing. Hand me downs, scenod-hand stores, actually mending things instead of just throwing them away, eating at home.....
Back to the past and this is not the only such changes we are going to be seeing. Hand me downs, scenod-hand stores, actually mending things instead of just throwing them away, eating at home.....
A return to the pre-WW-II culture of “The Waltons.”
You seem totally detached from reality, suggesting this is only happening to those living in the ghetto.
Trust me, this is happening everywhere, including your neighborhood.
Yep. It is a survival mechanism in tough times. Those times are here. See, Obama is bringing America together! / sarc
If I built such a house I would put in one kitchen and one or two mini-kitchens so say grandma and grandpa can cook their own stuff sometimes. Or maybe grandma likes her own space so she cooks some great old timey stuff in her mini-kitchen and brings it down for all to eat. Or can make cookies in her own oven for the grandchildren.
Obviously bathrooms are another thing you’ll need at least three of
We’re all becoming more equal under 0bama!
This used to be the norm
Maybe elsewhere, but with two bedroom apartments going for $2000/mo and up around here, we have three generations, no welfare checks, no public housing, no crack, no alcohol, an undisclosed number of (legal) firearms, no wants nor warrants, paid-for lottery tickets, dads at home when they aren't working, and mmostly workboots, (no designer sneakers).
The trees are out back, and bear fruit in a good year--no partridge, though.
It isn't as bad as it has been, one daughter got a job which provides housing for her and the rest of her family.
Fixed income renters were hit hardest by the boom here (elderly, retired). Those who owned their homes have often sold for multiples of what they would have received in a 'normal' market, or are renting and living off the rent money elsewhere...
It isn't always a 'subsidized' situation, and I expect there will be more before there is less.
Not that long ago the lack of generations living in the same house was considered a bad social development, leading to a lack of connectedness and responsibility. Maybe there will be long term good out of this.
That is exactly the spin that is coming.
Understood, but the article and my point are, this tread is now growing rapidly.
Yep.
Anyone thinking this is some “Ghetto” thing, must be detached from reality and in fact are likely living on government retirement checks delivered to their mail box.
We lived for three years with my mother when we only had two small children and it worked out well - but I was glad to get out and run my own house my own way.
Now that she is older, it’s possible we’ll have her living with us some day. Would definitely want a separate apartment then, with mini-kitchen, her own bath and sitting room, which is getting into luxury territory not necessity.
And there are some of my children I would be happy to share a house with even when grown, and others who for their sake or our sake need to live on their own.
Ideal I think is to have the generations living close by, in the same town, but sharing a house can be good for some.
We lived for three years with my mother when we only had two small children and it worked out well - but I was glad to get out and run my own house my own way.
Now that she is older, it’s possible we’ll have her living with us some day. Would definitely want a separate apartment then, with mini-kitchen, her own bath and sitting room, which is getting into luxury territory not necessity.
And there are some of my children I would be happy to share a house with even when grown, and others who for their sake or our sake need to live on their own.
Ideal I think is to have the generations living close by, in the same town, but sharing a house can be good for some.
I grew up in a three generation home. Times were different then. The Grand pa was retired. Grand ma never worked. Both my parents worked and my sibling and I stayed home till out of college.
I am facing a three generation home now...oldest one retired, wife working, her daughter quit job, has no education, left drug dealing boyfirend and now is pregnant with nowhere to go but guess where.
Then again, it may be two households, one with a single older gentleman living alone.
Another story about the Obama White House and Granny “Freeloader” Robinson?
The Lord does work in mysterious ways.
“See, Obama is bringing America together!”
I think trying to put the repercussions of obama’s miserable policies in the best light possible is exactly the purpose of this article.
That said, our family is doing this, but we began planning for it about 10 years ago.
It’s working out great, but again, it’s not a forced situation for us and we all have our own spaces — kitchens/baths/parking/doors to the outside,etc.
LOL
The MSM spins this as a good thing- “family togetherness” and all that. In reality, the fewer options you have, the less freedom you have.
I might go so far as to suggest that we were a better country back when this was the norm.
My wife and I are on the brink of buying a big ol’ house that might have been built (in 1908) with this sort of arrangement in mind.
I agree that anyone who can afford to move out on their own should have the right to do so. After all, that's what I did, nor did I move into my in-laws’ when I married. Both my parents, on the other hand, grew up in multigenerational households before heading out on their own, and benefited from the mutual support found therein.
Not necessariy bad things, and arguably the path to a sort of prosperity...and sound practice in the best of times IMHO.
The real problem is that there are fewer opportunities for children to capitalize on and become fully independent and plot their own course in life.
Brings to mind a poignant conversation I overheard between an American and a gentleman from India who was working in the nursing home business.
The American guy asked him what nursing homes were like in India. After a long pause, he kind of rolled his eyes and said “We don’t have any. You must understand, in our culture there is a very strong obligation to take care of your parents, so you would never, ever see an Indian send them into a nursing home”.
The American gent was a bit taken aback by that answer, I could tell.
Future Present.
Absolutely...In fact the children, those in their 20-30s who are making 9-15 bucks an hour doing whatever, will never be able to raise a family, buy a home etc. Throw in the ever increasing prices of everything and they don't have a chance.
We may not like it, but it’s all about socialism and the breakdown of the family:
Back in 1900, fully 57% of adults ages 65 and older did so. But over the course of the 20th century, older adults grew steadily healthier and more prosperous as a result of a range of factors, including the enactment of social safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare and improvements in medical care.
http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/03/18/the-return-of-the-multi-generational-family-household/
“This is nothing new to friends of mine from Europe and Asia.”
It used to be the norm here.
“In fact, so many relatives are already moving in with one another that builders are starting to construct homes to accommodate them.”
Hard to believe that those moving in together out of necessity will be shopping for these fancy new homes.
It was typical in the US until after the Second World War. When soldiers came back home, with money to spend, and an economy that offered lots of jobs, builders started constructing small single family homes, which quickly displaced the old multi-family homes, or homes with In-Law apartments built on.
Now that it has gotten very expensive for younger people to buy homes, living with parents longer will be the norm for a while. And with older people not being able to take care of their homes, moving in with one of their children is a less expensive alternative to a nursing home.
This was trending here before 2007, maxxed out square footage, designed to be economical to construct, basically a two storey box on a concrete slab, vinyl sided and very plain. I couldn’t figure out who wanted the things, but now I understand it a little better.
You can still see Great Depression era construction out in the country that was built for the same purpose. Such houses have two front doors.
I should think the commies in chief would HATE this. If this keeps happening the next thing you know people are going to strengthen their families. Young couples will have babies because there will be somebody home to take care of them while they work. People will eat healthy meals because someone is there to cook the food. This could be really really bad for the goverment is all-in-all crowd!
I agree.
I agree. this was normal for my family until after ww2 for the most part but even then homes were multigenerational. It was huge to be able to move out on your own back then. By the time I was born...in the 60s and ready to get married in 1989, just about everyone I knew lived at home until they got married. It was the way it was done in my area.
I know all families do things differently but in our house everyone is welcomed to live at home until they can make it on their own...and come back if need be.
I would never let my parents live in a nursing home. So I didn’t. My dad lived at home with my mom taking care do him and my sibs and I helped. After he died and my mom lived alone, we helped until she had to move in with us. She died here in our house with us caring for her.
I was fortunate in that my husband was the primary income. I was able to be a stay at home and be there for my parents when they couldn’t take care of themselves.
Sorry for typos...using an iPad and trying to figure it out lol.
Not sure many are financially able to do it this way. We made our choices..good and bad....I hope my kids can live on their own after college but if not then they are welcomed to live with us.
True. Back in 1989, when I was married, we were able to buy our fist house in 1992 and our dream house in 2000. My kids won’t be able to do that here in our area. They couldn’t afford to live in this area. But they are able to attend college with little debt because we pay for room and board and they received academic scholarships.
Meant to say first married..
I keep telling my kids...live at home for a while to save money. Hoping they get ful time jobs in the area.
Maybe I’m too old school. Idk.
True. Back in 1989, when I was married, we were able to buy our fist house in 1992 and our dream house in 2000. My kids won’t be able to do that here in our area. They couldn’t afford to live in this area. But they are able to attend college with little debt because we pay for room and board and they received academic scholarships.
Meant to say first married..
I keep telling my kids...live at home for a while to save money. Hoping they get ful time jobs in the area.
Maybe I’m too old school. Idk.
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