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I agree with some of the commenters who note that the author tries hard to portray this as "financial savvy" but without a whole lot of evidence. Have any of t

I agree with some of the commenters who note that the author tries hard to portray this as "financial savvy" but without a whole lot of evidence. Have any of these adult children successfully moved out after saving up money while living with their parents?

bwhiting2356 3mo ago
You assume the goal is to move out, but it might not be. Extended families have lived together in many parts of the world throughout history. Expectations of living alone are relatively new.
- apparent 3mo ago
  That's true, but there were also no stories of adult children getting married and living with their spouse/children with their elderly parents. There weren't even any mentions of adult children (or their parents) who sought such an arrangement.
  - watwut 3mo ago
    > there were also no stories of adult children getting married and living with their spouse/children with their elderly parents That used to be common arrangement. Like, fun fact, Rosa Parks has such arrangement. On darker side, John Brown sons with families lived with him, were totally ruled by him.
    - apparent 3mo ago
      Interesting anecdotes, but what does this have to do with the fact that the journo apparently couldn't find a single person/family who was seeking this sort of setup, or who let alone taking it to the next level? They were all just single people living at home, with no spouse or kids.
- FergusArgyll 3mo ago
  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife
- throw-the-towel 3mo ago
  We also didn't have today's medicine throughout history, nor today's food security. "Return to monke" is not an argument.
  - bwhiting2356 3mo ago
    We should aspire to increase our quality of life, but keep perspective on what are new problems and crises, what are old problems and may still be unsolved. Cheap and abundant housing supply for everyone to live alone is and old problem and unsolved.
typs 3mo ago
Yes, I absolutely know some. At the same time, many weren’t out of financial necessity but maybe financial convenience. I know a few who had a remote job or worked in their hometown even though they had savings and weren’t spending a lot. They then would move out to a bigger more expensive city and feel more financially comfortable than they would have. This was in first generation immigrant families, which as the article notes, is where this practice is more common.
majormajor 3mo ago
> Have any of these adult children successfully moved out after saving up money while living with their parents? Even if they do, it still means they failed to save up that money without having to live with their parents. This is just the WSJ-reading "haves" justifying the increasing stratification of society by reframing a clear regression[0] as a "responsible individual choice" which that crowd LOVES. (EDIT: it's also cope for the parents of those kids for the not-quite-THAT-elite WSJ reader crowd who doesn't want to believe either their kids are failing or their economy is faltering.) [0] Even if you see the everyone-moves-out vs multigenerational-housing trend as a negative overall, the broadening loss of the ability to make that choice is a clear symptom of overall economic weakening.
- glial 3mo ago
  > This is just the WSJ-reading "haves" justifying The WSJ has had a string of such apologetics lately. I know because family members keep sending them to me. Another example: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/european-soccer-fans-marvel-at-the-splendor-of-americas-suburbs-a04f1b88 https://www.wsj.com/us-news/european-soccer-fans-marvel-at-t...
- jjav 3mo ago
  > Even if they do, it still means they failed to save up that money without having to live with their parents. So? This practice of moving out for no particular reason is very US-centric. To me the "normal" obverved in most peer households of my youth is that people live with their parents until they get married, often late 20s.
  - jimbokun 3mo ago
    You are correct. The US is coming to resemble economically stagnant Europe more and more.
  - throw-the-towel 3mo ago
    No particular reason? Says who?
  - apparent 3mo ago
Mr-Frog 3mo ago
> > Have any of these adult children successfully moved out after saving up money while living with their parents? Most people in my circle who bought a home in California before the age of 30 did exactly this.
- apparent 3mo ago
  Weird that the journo wasn't able to find anyone for the article who fits the narrative better. Instead, it just comes across as failure to launch.
xhkkffbf 3mo ago
Yes. Or they stayed put. I had a friend who lived at home and drove a Jaguar. He helped his mom occasionally, but it was a financially great deal that allowed him to live large.
- tomasphan 3mo ago
  Driving a Jaaaaag but not being able to bring women/men home seems like a special kind of hell.

bwhiting2356 3mo ago

You assume the goal is to move out, but it might not be. Extended families have lived together in many parts of the world throughout history. Expectations of living alone are relatively new.

apparent 3mo ago
That's true, but there were also no stories of adult children getting married and living with their spouse/children with their elderly parents. There weren't even any mentions of adult children (or their parents) who sought such an arrangement.
- watwut 3mo ago
  > there were also no stories of adult children getting married and living with their spouse/children with their elderly parents That used to be common arrangement. Like, fun fact, Rosa Parks has such arrangement. On darker side, John Brown sons with families lived with him, were totally ruled by him.
  - apparent 3mo ago
    Interesting anecdotes, but what does this have to do with the fact that the journo apparently couldn't find a single person/family who was seeking this sort of setup, or who let alone taking it to the next level? They were all just single people living at home, with no spouse or kids.
FergusArgyll 3mo ago
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife
throw-the-towel 3mo ago
We also didn't have today's medicine throughout history, nor today's food security. "Return to monke" is not an argument.
- bwhiting2356 3mo ago
  We should aspire to increase our quality of life, but keep perspective on what are new problems and crises, what are old problems and may still be unsolved. Cheap and abundant housing supply for everyone to live alone is and old problem and unsolved.

typs 3mo ago

Yes, I absolutely know some. At the same time, many weren’t out of financial necessity but maybe financial convenience. I know a few who had a remote job or worked in their hometown even though they had savings and weren’t spending a lot. They then would move out to a bigger more expensive city and feel more financially comfortable than they would have. This was in first generation immigrant families, which as the article notes, is where this practice is more common.

majormajor 3mo ago

> Have any of these adult children successfully moved out after saving up money while living with their parents? Even if they do, it still means they failed to save up that money without having to live with their parents. This is just the WSJ-reading "haves" justifying the increasing stratification of society by reframing a clear regression[0] as a "responsible individual choice" which that crowd LOVES. (EDIT: it's also cope for the parents of those kids for the not-quite-THAT-elite WSJ reader crowd who doesn't want to believe either their kids are failing or their economy is faltering.) [0] Even if you see the everyone-moves-out vs multigenerational-housing trend as a negative overall, the broadening loss of the ability to make that choice is a clear symptom of overall economic weakening.

glial 3mo ago
> This is just the WSJ-reading "haves" justifying The WSJ has had a string of such apologetics lately. I know because family members keep sending them to me. Another example: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/european-soccer-fans-marvel-at-the-splendor-of-americas-suburbs-a04f1b88 https://www.wsj.com/us-news/european-soccer-fans-marvel-at-t...
jjav 3mo ago
> Even if they do, it still means they failed to save up that money without having to live with their parents. So? This practice of moving out for no particular reason is very US-centric. To me the "normal" obverved in most peer households of my youth is that people live with their parents until they get married, often late 20s.
- jimbokun 3mo ago
  You are correct. The US is coming to resemble economically stagnant Europe more and more.
- throw-the-towel 3mo ago
  No particular reason? Says who?
- apparent 3mo ago

Mr-Frog 3mo ago

> > Have any of these adult children successfully moved out after saving up money while living with their parents? Most people in my circle who bought a home in California before the age of 30 did exactly this.

apparent 3mo ago
Weird that the journo wasn't able to find anyone for the article who fits the narrative better. Instead, it just comes across as failure to launch.

xhkkffbf 3mo ago

Yes. Or they stayed put. I had a friend who lived at home and drove a Jaguar. He helped his mom occasionally, but it was a financially great deal that allowed him to live large.

tomasphan 3mo ago
Driving a Jaaaaag but not being able to bring women/men home seems like a special kind of hell.