I grew up in a big suburban house because my parents bought a house with a friend. She and her son took the downstairs bedrooms, we had the upstairs rooms. It

I grew up in a big suburban house because my parents bought a house with a friend. She and her son took the downstairs bedrooms, we had the upstairs rooms. It was more house and in a nicer area than either could have afforded, and meant all the kids went to nicer schools. Built in shared parenting support, communal (but not hippy-ish) dinners. We moved in in the mid 80s, and in the early 2000s after all the kids had moved out my parents sold their half to the co-owner. Everyone's still friends.