So, there's a huge difference between these two situations: 1) Being roommates with your parents when everyone is adults, have appropriate adult relationships,

So, there's a huge difference between these two situations: 1) Being roommates with your parents when everyone is adults, have appropriate adult relationships, and everyone contributes to the household 2) Perpetually staying a child and never moving out because you don't have the skills to live without being taken care of by your parents. (Think about the movie "Stepbrothers") It just ends up being that in the US most people who don't move out are part of the second group. So that's why it has negative connotations, because it's more likely than not someone who is living at home is doing so because they haven't grown up, not because they want a roommate who is also a close family member. It's been my experience that the adults who have adult relationships with their parents and are living with their parents actually get praised for being "financially smart." People always throw out "but... multigenerational households in {culture}" I guess don't realize "multigenerational households" are not the same as "living in your parents basement." Beyond that, moving out of your parents house doesn't mean living by yourself, you can live with roommates or a spouse, a dorm, rent a room, etc., So you are not necessarily giving up something financially. As an aside, I know someone who dated a guy who was living in his parents basement (in his late 20s) and it felt to her like she was dating his parents just as much as she was dating him, his parents were still treating him like he was 12 years old. Needless to say, the relationship didn't really work out.