Percentage of Young Americans Living with Parents Rises to 75-Year High

My father was an employee of a series of banks. Nothing hugely special - earning the equivalent of about £100k today at that point - but the lifestyle they had by my age is astounding.

By 34 they owned a huge house in the country, several large holiday homes abroad, three cars, private education for the kids, first class flights (for them - I always flew alone to school, economy), motorbikes, you name it.

At the same age, I've done very well for myself compared to my cohort - I own a basement flat and a one bedroom cottage with no roof up a mountain, and have savings - this was from being a director and founder of a 50-ish person business with £MM turnover. I am incredibly concerned for the rest of this generation - if I feel insecure - how does someone renting on a zero-hour contract feel?!?

Part of the myriad resasons I quit my business to wander the world is that I'm done paying for the lavish lifestyles our ancestors enjoyed. Bluntly, it isn't fair, and I'm fed up, and I'm not taking it any more.

Indian here, I have experienced life in India and a Western country. I have noticed Western young adults are more confident and assertive compared to Indian young adults and I think the reason is because Western kids have to be independent after 18 while Indian parents still play a significant role even after their kids have become adults.

I feel the Western model is better.

Disclaimer: this is a somewhat personal-nuanced and anecdotal essay, so skip it if you prefer colder facts. You've been warned. ;)

Eastern European (Bulgarian) 36-year old programmer here, still living in Sofia (the capital).

We don't miss communism and socialism. At all. A good chunk of us around here are competitive and want to demonstrate skills for better money. There are frauds and freeloaders but hell, is there a community where there isn't?

I've witnessed the fall of our regime (1989) when I was 9. Later on the fall of the USSR followed. I didn't quite appreciate these events back then but the effect on the standard of living on the other hand was VERY visible.

It has been a very gradual process, but our country is bleeding brains, skills and money -- badly, and all the time. Quite frankly I don't think that the EU countries are so much better; what good is a triple salary if your rent and bills are triple the amount as well? The only real benefit I guess is to get a citizenship several years down the line and not be afraid that yet another shady government will appropriate all retirement funds and you'll be left with peanuts when you eventually grow old.

My mother lives with me and my girlfriend. Her pension is 60 euros. You read that correctly, it's not a typo. If it wasn't for me, she'd be yet another old woman with eyes full of tears, struggling not to die of cold on the street, and to have a few mouthfuls of bread a day. (Father died a long time ago, back in 2002)

We at Eastern Europe are diverse people. We don't frown upon at either situation -- living with or without parents, but for many people living in a bigger flat/house with the family is simply more convenient (my mother's cooking is absolutely fantastic and is easily worth €30 a meal, I am pretty sure of it!) and makes much more sense financially. It is what it is, we can't do much about it.

Long story short: I am now in ~ €20,000 debt and the thought of getting a mortgage is making me grind my teeth. As other posters said, we're not even close! My mother and father were working governmental jobs and they had an apartment fully paid for when they were at their ages of 40-42. Had two cars. And that was a backwater communistic/socialistic country, a mere satelite of the USSR. I can't imagine how much better many others had it really.

(The fact that I should probably look for a higher paid job since I am in demand is an irony that doesn't escape me, but that's a personal struggle interwoven with many other factors which I won't touch upon here.)

The article has struck many nerves in me. It's true not only in the USA.

This seems like a huge cultural difference from the west. I personally can't imagine having lived with my parents into my 20s. The people I know who did are mostly far more dependent. I think this has a lot to do with our focus on individuality. I don't think I would have developed into the person I am today without having dealt with the hardships of making my own way in life as an independent person. I can absolutely see the financial and emotional benefits, but I would feel constantly stifled and unable to be my own person with that level of family intrusion in my life.