An article today said it is more common for 25 to be the age when most young adults can be economically free from their parents.
That seems about right. Graduate from college at around age 22. Get a job. Then have enough money to move out on your own at around age 25. Although their are alot of 30 somethings still living with their parents.
It fits my sister perfectly.
Why does it take 3 years of working after college to afford to move out on your own?
Moving out should happen right away.
Why should it?
If 25 is the new 21 do we still split on a pair of eights?
The idea is that it takes awhile to get established in a job. Save up some money for an apartment. then move out.
How long does it take to save up to share an apartment with three other 22 year olds? It should take like one month, max.
I don’t personally care what any 20 somethings do. I certainly don’t think living at home until 25 is some moral failing. On the other hand, I don’t understand the logic behind this at all.
Why would it take 3 years of working full time to save up a few months rent? I graduated when I was 20 and worked a temp job because I was starting a business. It paid horribly, but it was still enough to rent an apartment. If it wasn’t I would’ve gotten a roommate before moving in with my parents.
I could see an argument for living at home and saving up a down payment for a starter home by 25. It’s not something I would have wanted to do, but at least it makes sense as a 3 year savings goal for a working professional with no housing expense. If it takes you 3 years of work to save up your share of first and last month’s rent and a security deposit, I can’t see how you’re going to handle month 2 and 3, etc.
25 is the new 21 in the US, I think, because of the crippling debt of University education.
That. I was married and working for three years at age 25 because my total college education, tuition, books, and housing, was under $20,000.
I think a comparative analysis of debt to income for current graduating students compared to when you got out (probably 30+ years ago judging by the question) would yield the answer you are seeking.
This. It’s worth pointing out that in many other countries, higher education is paid for by the state, and people don’t start accruing mountains of debt when they’re 18.
While I am a fan of the idea of kids striking out on their own at 18, I think it’s a result of some pretty specific circumstances and I’m not surprised that we are reverting to the mean. Extended families have always been the norm pretty much everywhere.
I think another factor in this particular shift is that parents are having fewer children. When you have four kids, getting one out of the house is a relief and by the time the last one is out you are more than ready to be done with parenting. When you have one kid, it’s not as much of a burden to have them in the house and it’s nice to have a few more years with kids in the house.
When I first got out of school that was perfectly feasible, from my perspective the times have changed tremendously. I used to live in Philadelphia, but finding a job is very difficult; even people with masters degrees had trouble finding anything that would pay over 30k. When I moved to DC, the job market was much better, but rent is very high.
Really, the way it is now, it is much more prudent to live at home and save for three years rather than move out sooner than necessary. To me that is a much more wise choice.
I wonder if 20-somethings who bounce back into their parents’ house have a different mindset than those who try to eek out it out on their own in crappy apartments, with roommates.
I imagine that you grow accustomed to a certain lifestyle. If you’ve gotten used to living in a 4-5-bedroom house on a quiet tree-lined suburban street, maybe it will seem prudent to save up enough money to continue this comfortable lifestyle rather than trying to “prove yourself” by living under crappier conditions. This may be especially true if the only sign of your adulthood is a crappy McJob. If you had a crappy McJob, which would you rather have waiting for you at home? Mom’s delicious home-cooking, free cable TV and internet, and the same house chores you had when you were twelve? Or would you rather go home to a low-rent, roach-infested apartment that is all “yours”–along with the three other roommates you have to share rent with–plus all the criminals you suspect are living next door to you. Keep in mind that you are saddled with student debt, you may be contemplating graduate school to improve your job prospects, and your parents raised you to think of them more as “friends” than authority figures.
I know it’s hard for older generations to understand why someone would forgo independence for comfort and security, but it makes sense to me.
To me the weird thing is the idea of pooling family resources being somehow “bad.” I think this sentiment could only exist as a cultural norm in the few decades after WWII when the middle class had historically high levels of wealth and job security in the US.
I don’t know how old you are, but I’m 30. From my perspective things have barely changed. I have a lot of friends in their 20s - some are very open about their finances. One of my closest friends is 26 and works part time as a pharmacy tech for around $11 / hour. She’s lived with 3 roommates on her own since she was 21 or 22. It’s not a great apartment but they’re perfectly happy.
It might, but it might not. There are a lot of misconceptions about student loan debt. Overall student loan debt is up massively on a national level, but so is college enrollment. The average student loan debt (under $30,000) is skewed by a relatively few students with massive debt. Only 10% of borrowers have more than $45,000 in debt. 90% of borrowing is still federal loans, which are capped at around $30,000.
That makes for an extremely manageable loan payment even without applying for the extremely generous income based repayment options.
I’m 31, and I still live with my parents. It’s really tough out there. I don’t see how any young adult is able to support themselves these days unless they’re an investment banker or something.
Even if all of that is true, $25,000 of debt is still a staggeringly large burden for someone who has no job security and might not make that much money in a year (i.e. the average college graduate). If joblessness could strike at any moment (and for most college grads, it can), it’s almost suicidal to teeter on the edge of bankruptcy with a rent payment, student loan payment, plus other necessities, from the start. And any income-based repayment options mean that you’re going to be paying that minimum payment for 10+ years, which will just constantly chip away at any attempt at financial growth or savings you make during that time.
Not really, the US fertility rate has been roughly stable for the last 40 years.