Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Over-indulgence. Low expectations. "You always have a home here with us" mantra.
I'll add: having a lovely home. How difficult it is for an adult child to leave the super-padded, luxurious confines of the family home to...what? Move into a shared apartment?
Disagree with the you always have a home here with us mantra. It is the best thing my mom ever drilled into my head bc I knew if I were ever in a bad situation like a terrible marriage or dangerous living situation that I had a place to go. That's said I left after school and didn't want to go home and I was living paycheck to paycheck but that was a matter of pride. I think actually talking about self sufficiency and the excitement of that chapter of your life is good for kids. You become proud of it
+1. And also +1 to the pp who said the economy is not as great as advertised. I don't know any recent college graduates who moved out without being subsidized by their parents-they assisted with housing, a car, the job itself, an allowance, and whatever else-even if they don't or won't openly acknowledge it. Staying at home to save up and buy a house but otherwise is independent I count as receiving assistance, too, assuming they aren't paying rent equivalent or reasonably near to what they would be out of the house. So some of this ftl can be driven by all of the lack of life skills and emotional, health, and physical problems and/or over-indulgence and low expectations but it definitely needs to be acknowledged that the economy isn't actually that great (regardless of your advanced degrees and experience) and it is significantly harder to find a living wage job than it used to be.
The economy is as good as it's ever going to get for recent grads. The problem is the expected standard of living has jumped WAY too high.
My first apartment was a studio with tiny kitchen and bath and no closet that I shared with a roommate. I took the bus to work. I used phone cards to call home or waited for them to call me. I didn't have a TV. I ate minimally and knew every bar that offered free food at happy hour. I spent one Christmas alone because my family couldn't pay for a plane ticket and I certainly didn't have the money.
Today, the bare minimum recent grads expect is their own room and often their own bathroom, full kitchen, big TV with cable, cell phone, probably a car, lots of eating out and regular vacations. There are very few entry level jobs that can support that lifestyle. So the parents supplement -- or encourage Junior to live at home so they can save the cost of rent, insurance, food, cable, utilities etc.
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