Comments on: Twentysomething: Be responsible, go back home after college

By: Marian Schembari

Marian Schembari — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:27:11 +0000

I agree with most of this, as I moved back in with my parents after graduation. But honestly? It made me want to kill someone (myself or my parents, it changed every day). I wish I could have stuck it out for longer as I was saving a ton on rent money, but it was incredibly hard to go from living on my own for 4 years to being under my parent's roof again. While lovely, understanding people who always encouraged me to be independent, it was depressing to be back home with them.
As soon as I got a job, I moved out.
Living at home did allow me the luxury of finding the "perfect" job without stress or pressure. That being said, I live right next to the city I wanted to work in. Applying for jobs long distance is a pain.
I also want to point out how much I disagree with the writer's statement about the "real world" which includes marriage and kids and suburbs. While I'm sure it wasn't intended this way, the "real world", in fact, varies. And to be perfectly frank, 22-year-old kids probably shouldn't be forced into that kind of life until the've gotten the 22-year-old out of them :-)

By: Whym Yname

Whym Yname — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 20:33:06 +0000

You're just not open-minded.

Back in the day, people had to hunt for their food and only then cook and eat it. Those were your prior generations. Do you still do that?

With each and upcoming generation, we try and change a few things to make our lives easier. That is exactly what the author was getting at…you hypocrite. Go and read more and learn more about general patterns in life, maybe then you'll understand.

By: Porshe

Porshe — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:10:09 +0000

I completely disagree. You contradict yourself by supporting the statement that after-college is a transition time (or stage in life) but then you say to move back home. Moving back may not —probably isn't the best way to really self reflect. And there are plenty of people who make smart decisions with their finances after college and end up being very successful. Also, I agree with the last posters comment. Just because someone is at home supposedly saving up money does not mean that they learn how to be any more responsible with their finances.

By: Brad Allmendinger

Brad Allmendinger — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 23:34:56 +0000

You neglect to mention that graduates who move back home are often much more careless with their money. Studies have shown that students who move on their own after graduation are more secure financially than those who initially moved back in with their parents.

By: Nico Wrenn

Nico Wrenn — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 14:10:55 +0000

Around where I'm from (San Francisco area) you can barely scrape by on $65,000 a year. So yeah, I'd say your perspective is influenced by not living on a coast, but there's nothing wrong with that, it's just a fact that the coasts are more expensive.

By: Jiri Klouda

Jiri Klouda — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:58:09 +0000

I have agree with saying that just after college is the perfect time when you can actually use your parent's experience in the real world the most. I don't think it is necessary to live at home, but living in the same town as your parents for 2 years would be a good choice. Setting up your life takes a lot of dealings and "red tape" you never had to deal with before and there is where your parents can do a lot of good. Selecting your first apartment, getting it furnished, buying your first car, getting a loan, insurance, setting bank accounts, savings accounts, investment accounts. Not to mention you get into your first dealings with coworkers at your new job, the paperwork around that, your first real tax return, how to ask for your first raise, how to start building a career at work. There are so many things, many of them you could have picked up on your own earlier, but most of those you meet for the first time just after college. Even if you are much smarter than your parents, all those areas do benefit greatly from experience and even if you don't save on rent, the money saved from a good advice in those areas could be quite real, it can go into thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars saved by not making all the mistakes your parents made 20 years ago.

By: LIA

LIA — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 18:46:04 +0000

To those of you who find this article full of bad advice it is obvious you have never lived in another country. It is very American to leave the home right after college, and start a life on your own. Yet in other cultures this is not the case. It is not considered lurking off your parents to move back home after an education. The idea of a family consisting of just mom dad and kids, is not the case everywhere else. I have found that people who do indeed move home are happier, and can contribute to the family together. Life is more than surviving your next rent.

By: 4 Things You Might Not Know About Generation Y « Work Exposed the Blog

4 Things You Might Not Know About Generation Y « Work Exposed the Blog — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:06:13 +0000

[...] is not a rebellious generation. This is a group that moves back home with their parents after college, something you could never think of doing if you were going to, [...]

By: 4 Things You Might Not Know About Generation Y : ERE.net

4 Things You Might Not Know About Generation Y : ERE.net — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:52:49 +0000

[...] is not a rebellious generation. This is a group that moves back home with their parents after college, something you could never think of doing if you were going to, [...]

By: Hazel

Hazel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 18:15:55 +0000

Wow. Reading this article was kind of a relief to find that this isn't so much a stigma anymore. I too am encouraged by reading this! My story's a bit different in that I never moved away from home to go to college in the first place. Also, a bit of cultural aspect in thrown in: I come from a traditional Chinese family and so I'm not really expected to leave home AT ALL until I get married, start my own family. As offspring, we stick around our parents… just kinda naturally. Eventually I'm sure my parents would love to have their retired life without my sister and I. But for now, they see me (freshly graduated, just-turned-22) as someone who could do much better by staying home. Like Ryan suggested, we believe that I'm making a smart move by not wasting money on ridiculous rent in Vancouver, instead focus and spend more time on finding a job that really suits me. Sure if I had to be thrown out, I'd survive on my own from paycheque to paycheque, working dead-end jobs until I pull myself out of it. I don't feel like I have to "suck it up" either. My parents and I get along fine and we have our own system of managing things. I enjoy chipping in money to pay utilities and the comfort of living with people I love.