RateMyJob

At RateMyJob, we believe work shouldn’t be a chore, but when it is, you should at least get a good story out of it. So we’ve scoured the web for the funniest and most outrageous stories from professionals from all industries, to bring you a little humor and entertainment when you need it most.

  • Career
  • Humor
  • Culture
  • Leadership
  • Perks

Why Are Millennials Are Living With Their Parents At A Rate Higher Than Any Prior Generation?

By Philip Sledge
December 9, 2019

Shutterstock / Iakov Filimonov

For the longest time, someone over the age of 18 who still lived with their parents was seen as a joke, considered a failure, treated as a lazy, good for nothing bum living on their parents’ dime in their parents’ basement. But today, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

While there is a sizeable amount of Millennials – those of us born between the years 1981 and 1996 – living with their parents, they’re not doing it because they’re lazy or a failure, or wanting to mooch off our parents. So, why are we doing it?

Image Source

According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, “As of 2016, 15% of 25- to 35-year-old Millennials were living in their parents’ home.”

The research, which pulled numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau, notes that this is five percentage points higher than the number of Generation Xers who lived in their parents’ home in 2000 when they were the same age (10%). The number of Millennials living at home is also nearly double the percentage of the Silent Generation who lived at home in 1964 (8%).

The Pew study also argues that a lack of jobs is not what’s keeping Millennials at home more so that any other generation. In fact, only 5.1% of older young adults were unemployed, down from 10.1% in the first quarter of 2010.

So if jobs aren’t the reason, what is?

pathdoc/Shutterstock

One of the main reasons Millennials are “boomeranging” and moving back home is the fact that they can take a step back and plan more for major purchases – like a house – instead of jumping from apartment to apartment for years on end.

In a 2017 article in Curbed, Carolina Wong explained that after she graduated from Florida State University she decided to move back in with her parents to reboot, for a lack of better terms, and save up for a down payment on a house of her own.

The article states that like many her age, “Wong saw moving home as a route to more financial security in an increasingly insecure economic environment.”

“If you have somebody who’s willing to help you, don’t be embarrassed by it,” Wong said in the article. “I think it’s a smart decision if the help is there. There are a lot of people who don’t have that kind of help. It’s like a stepping stone; it’s not a permanent thing.”

In that same Curbed article, Dr. Nancy Worth, a researcher at the Universtiy of Waterloo, explained the perception of the Millennial as this lazy generation has changed over the years and instead more and more people are seeing the generation as smart and future-oriented.

“We don’t hear that stereotype of the lazy millennial discourse in the media like we did five or 10 years ago,” said Worth. “Now, you’re hearing how smart, strategic, and lucky young people are for staying home. It’s seen as the smart, strategic choice.”

Your average Millennial isn’t the only one crashing with their parents. No, even some of the most successful figureheads of the generation are staying with their parents.

Around the February 2018 release of Black Panther, CNBC reported that Michael B. Jordan still lived with his parents. However, there’s more to the story than just the star of one of the biggest movies of all time crashing in his parents’ basement.

“I love my parents, but we have a roommate relationship right now, which is interesting,” Jordan, 32, told Ellen DeGeneres on a recent segment of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

“You get home-cooked meals, but then you also have random trips to the kitchen in the middle of the night,” Jordan continued. “Just the random run-ins that just might be a little uncomfortable from time to time.”

CNBC reported that Jordan bought his parents the 4,672-square-foot, four-bedroom Spanish style mansion in Sherman Oaks, California in 2015 for $1.7 million.

Jordan isn’t the only celebrity to crash with his parents. In fact, Jennifer Lawrence, one of the highest paid actresses of our time, crashes with her parents.

“Ten million dollars and I’m still living in my parents’ condo,” Lawrence, now 28, told Elle magazine in 2012.

“I’ve always lived in a tiny rat-infested apartment in New York, or a little condo in L.A., or a normal house in Kentucky,” Lawrence explained. “I think it would be very bizarre to live in a big mansion by myself.”

    Primary Sidebar

    Most Popular

    CareerRestaurant Employees Dish On The One Customer Everyone Dreaded Serving
    Zach Brown
    HumorThese Are The Funniest Restaurant Names We Could Find
    Zach Brown
    CareerGolf Course Beverage Cart Drivers Share What Their Job Is Really Like
    Brooklyn Bubz

    Editor's Picks

    Humor26 Steak-umm Tweets That Prove It Is The Most Delightfully Peculiar Brand On Twitter
    Will Jamison Eucker
    Humor22 Of The Most Savage Brand Tweets Ever Tweeted
    Will Jamison Eucker

    Trending

    HumorThe 17 Most Accurate Karen Memes For Anyone Who Has Dealt With A Karen At Work
    Will Jamison Eucker
    Humor20 Of The Most Peculiar Walmart Customers To Ever Exist
    Will Jamison Eucker

    Secondary Sidebar

    Can't Miss Stories

    HumorThe 16 Funniest Signs Come From This One Restaurant
    Will Jamison Eucker
    CareerPeople Share The Most Condescending Thing Someone Told Them At Work
    Christina Raines
    HumorThe 5 Worst Karen Meltdowns The Manager Could Not Handle
    Will Jamison Eucker

    Must Reads

    HumorThe 6 Most Dramatic Ways That People Quit Their Jobs
    Will Jamison Eucker
    CareerKaren Bullies Her Coworker, Until She Gets Caught Lying About Her Disability
    Christina Raines

    Popular Picks

    Humor14 Times Employees Called Out Their Weird Bosses On The Internet
    Will Jamison Eucker
    Humor5 Most Satisfying Times Workers Saw “Justice Served” On Entitled Customers
    Brooklyn Bubz

    What People Really Think About Their Jobs
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use