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Multi generation homes used to be norm but societies became wealthy enough to move away from that ( and various frictions it creates) looks like we’re literally

Multi generation homes used to be norm but societies became wealthy enough to move away from that ( and various frictions it creates) looks like we’re literally moving back. Good for the environment, bad for the economy and mental well being.

Aeolun 6y ago
I think I could live with my parents in the house, but I could never live with my life and her parents in the same house (for longer than a few days).
rubidium 6y ago
"Societies became wealthy enough..." I'd argue that value systems shifted. Consumerism and careerism took over family and home. "bad for the economy and mental well being"... quite the leap. It's good the family economy of those involved, and for many parents and children it can be a great thing for mental health as well.
joaomacp 6y ago
Is it really bad for mental well being? I know a lot of people nowadays (including me) have the desire to live separately from parents. But mental health has been going down, with increasing rates of reported loneliness and isolation. Society has made us individualistic / "independent". But has it really made our mental health better? Edit: and as others have pointed out, more people living separately is not ecologically efficient / sustainable.
- claudeganon 6y ago
  But in America, at least, a lot of people’s parents are fully gone down the road of selfishness and cruelty. It would be nice if we had a culture that encouraged multigenerational support, but you can’t pull that out of thin air. It’s something that would’ve needed to be in place prior to the pandemic. I think millennials may come out changed from this, as, at least in my experience, we’re already more supportive of each other and collectively-oriented then our parents generation, but that would be a change felt far off in the future.
  - srtjstjsj 6y ago
    The suburbs are similar. Dealing with bad relationships by spreading farther apart is economically and ecologically terrible. We need to fix the people.
- racl101 6y ago
  Exactly. It's society that puts a premium on success = more material goods and your own living. The only time I think it's a real bummer is when you want to get laid. But even in other cultures you work that out. But, really, being part of a community and sharing resources is supposed to be a good thing.
- fullshark 6y ago
  Need to redefine courtship culturally in the western world and we can make it work, that's the biggest friction with having young adults back home. It used to be, and in many cultures it is still true, that the parents were heavily involved in that process, but the western world moved away from that dynamic.
daxfohl 6y ago
My family spends about three months a year working remotely from my inlaws' place in Malaysia. Frankly it's the best time of the year for my mental well being. Things run so much more smoothly with more adults in the house. And maybe it makes sense to start framing the US in those terms too. We had the whole manifest destiny thing, and now it's time to move back to traditional life.

Aeolun 6y ago

I think I could live with my parents in the house, but I could never live with my life and her parents in the same house (for longer than a few days).

rubidium 6y ago

"Societies became wealthy enough..." I'd argue that value systems shifted. Consumerism and careerism took over family and home. "bad for the economy and mental well being"... quite the leap. It's good the family economy of those involved, and for many parents and children it can be a great thing for mental health as well.

joaomacp 6y ago

Is it really bad for mental well being? I know a lot of people nowadays (including me) have the desire to live separately from parents. But mental health has been going down, with increasing rates of reported loneliness and isolation. Society has made us individualistic / "independent". But has it really made our mental health better? Edit: and as others have pointed out, more people living separately is not ecologically efficient / sustainable.

claudeganon 6y ago
But in America, at least, a lot of people’s parents are fully gone down the road of selfishness and cruelty. It would be nice if we had a culture that encouraged multigenerational support, but you can’t pull that out of thin air. It’s something that would’ve needed to be in place prior to the pandemic. I think millennials may come out changed from this, as, at least in my experience, we’re already more supportive of each other and collectively-oriented then our parents generation, but that would be a change felt far off in the future.
- srtjstjsj 6y ago
  The suburbs are similar. Dealing with bad relationships by spreading farther apart is economically and ecologically terrible. We need to fix the people.
racl101 6y ago
Exactly. It's society that puts a premium on success = more material goods and your own living. The only time I think it's a real bummer is when you want to get laid. But even in other cultures you work that out. But, really, being part of a community and sharing resources is supposed to be a good thing.
fullshark 6y ago
Need to redefine courtship culturally in the western world and we can make it work, that's the biggest friction with having young adults back home. It used to be, and in many cultures it is still true, that the parents were heavily involved in that process, but the western world moved away from that dynamic.

daxfohl 6y ago

My family spends about three months a year working remotely from my inlaws' place in Malaysia. Frankly it's the best time of the year for my mental well being. Things run so much more smoothly with more adults in the house. And maybe it makes sense to start framing the US in those terms too. We had the whole manifest destiny thing, and now it's time to move back to traditional life.