Singles are the majority and they live with parents

[BrownieMomma]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/1 ... 28794.html

Saw this on HuffPo, thought it was interesting in light of discussions about the Arndts and ofc others like the Duggars, Bates, etc. Not that economics probably has a lot to do with why those particular adults are still living with Mom and Dad, but maybe it factors in.

Summary points:

Majority of American adults are single.

Household formation has been flatlining for the last three years.

In 2012, 45% of 18-30yo's lived with older relatives. (Unclear if this means only singles)

Household formation is serious economic business and lack of it is why the housing industry did not drive the economic recovery.

Culprit is the millenial trinity of economic despair: not enough jobs, higher housing costs, student loan debt.

My college student is amassing student loan debt and it just squeezes my heart to think how this might affect him in the next 10-20 years. I sure hope Suze Orman is right that student loan debt is good debt.

[crazyforkate]

The Obamas were paying off student loan debt until well into their marriage, and this was decades ago - and they both earned a decent amount. How on earth are the millions of American students, some of whom really struggle to find any kind of employment, going to cope? The college system in the US (and the "you have to go to college" mentality) have really done some damage.

[chissprincess]

Yep, that's me. 30, single, unemployed, and living at home with my parents since I have no other options. I HAVE been hired for a job, but it's an international job and doesn't start until March 2015, and depending on the pay schedule I may not get paid until April. By that point I will have been out of school and unemployed for nearly 2 years (I finished a second Master's last May). And before THAT I was only working a really crap on-campus job, which was itself preceded by another round of unemployment...it's not pleasant out there. I'm really starting to wonder how my generation is going to present the college option to their kids. Growing up, I and many of my friends were told that college was the ticket to a successful life, and to make a long story short we're finding out now that it's just not true, no matter how hard we work now or how hard we worked before/during college to help make that a reality. I'm not going to have kids but I know if I did, or if I was ever in a position to give advice to someone else's kids, my advice to them would be a LOT different from the advice I got from pretty much everyone else in my life.

[roddma]

Sure college isnt for everyone but certain fields require special knowledge and training. We live in an age where some higher educaiton is necessary to survive.

[Terrie]

Sounds like me. Single, solidly employed, but living with the folks while I pay off my student loans and save money for a down payment on a house. Barring a sudden "can not miss" house opportunity, I'll probably move out in a couple years, around the time my folks retire and move in with my brother and his family. Living solo prior to marriage has, historically, been the exception, not the rule, because maintaining a household is time-consuming and expensive.

[Full enough quiver]

I don't think living at home is the end of the world if you're working toward some kind of goal. Maybe going to school, or saving for a house. I'm happy if my kids want to live at home until marriage. It's not a Sarah Maxwell situation, if they eventually will be independent. I really don't care if they live at home forever, as long as they contribute and are bettering themselves in some way.