Boomerang Nation How To Survive Living With Your Parents...the Second Time Around

Boomerangers Unite! After school, my parents didn't blink an eye when I told them I'd be moving back home. They kind of just shrugged their shoulders and handed over the garage-door opener. It's funny, because I remember how different things were for my older sister eight years ago. When she wanted to move home, my parents freaked. They thought she had lost her mind, that she was having some kind of nervous breakdown. They even blamed themselves for being horrible parents. I think it helps that a lot of their friends now have their kids living at home, too. They're much cooler about it now.-- Amanda, 24, Arlington, VA Good news! Most people moving home today will find that the stigma of living at home has all but disappeared. Having come out of the basement, boomerangers are proud, loud, and not afraid to show the world that they mean business. With so many young adults opting to return to the nest around the world, it's become clear that we boomerangers are not going away anytime soon.While there may not have been any overnight breakthroughs, there has been a slow and gradual acceptance of boomeranging. Over the years, the nuclear American family has evolved to the point where we can barely recognize ourselves, steadily morphing into a model European family, where multiple generations live and even thrive together under one roof.What used to be seen as a social taboo has now become a commonly accepted life passage. Attitudes have significantly changed, bringing with them an entirely new way of looking at adulthood. No longer do we set a rigid timeline for how long it takes to mature, establish a rewarding career, or start a family. And judging by this chart, it's clear that many of us aren't in any rush to get to the finish line. According to the 2000 census:1970 12.5 million 18- to 34-year-olds live at home.2000 17.8 million 18- to 34-year-olds live at home.Going by the sheer size of this demographic, it's clear that boomerangers can't be pigeonholed into one neat stereotype. They come in all shapes and sizes, from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures, and are equally diverse in their views about what brought on the sudden change in their lifestyles.Sociologists, economists, and psychologists have been scratching their heads, analyzing various statistics to figure out what brought about this unexpected shift. And after much research and painstaking data collection, the following emerged as some of the main contributors to the explosive boomerang phenomenon. Financial problems, like high credit card and school loan debt A tight job market and lack of opportunities for recent graduates A reluctance to grow up and accept adult responsibilities A delay in the average age for marriage for both men and women The prohibitive cost of housing Illness or death of parent Breakup or divorce Close, best-friend-like relationships between parents and young adults Multiculturalism and its emphasis on intergenerational living It's the Economy, Stupid! The American Dream is not what it used to be. According to recent statistics fewer and fewer high-school-age children expect to have it better than their parents. And with good reason. In light of the recent recession, the high unemployment rate, and the exorbitant cost of housing, most of us consider ourselves pretty lucky just to be able to squat at our parents' place after we graduate or find a pink slip where the holiday bonus should have been.The 1990s saw many of our hopes rise and fall in the span of five years. When the technology sector was booming, companies couldn't seem to create new positions fast enough. The rallying cry was "Hire, hire, hire!" But with the dot-com bust of 2001, the same companies changed their tune to "Fire, fire, fire!"The Bureau ofFurman, Elina is the author of 'Boomerang Nation How To Survive Living With Your Parents...the Second Time Around', published 2005 under ISBN 9780743269919 and ISBN 0743269918.