Why more adult children are living with their parents

More young adults are moving in with mom and dad. Nearly a third of 18-35-year-olds are living at home, pushed there by an uncertain job market, housing prices that have ballooned in recent years, and the rising cost of everyday life. Some also come back with spouses and children, leaning on their parents to help with childcare.

In recent decades, moving home carried stigma. It was seen as a sign of failure, proof that someone couldn’t manage on their own, the cliche “failure to launch.”  But increasingly the stigma is fading as the challenges younger generations face become hard to ignore. 

But are we really at a turning point? Is multigenerational living becoming more mainstream? What are the joys and the tradeoffs for adult children and parents sharing the same roof? What does it take to make cohabitating as adults really work? And what can we learn from history about different generations living as a unit?

Guests

• Samantha Paige Rosen, writer and author of “Living, Together: Reimagining Community in the Age of Disconnection”
• Julie Lythcott-Haims, author of “How to Raise an Adult” and the forthcoming book “The Not So Empty Nest: A How-To Guide for Parents and Adult Children Living Together”