Posted on 03/14/2012 8:47:06 AM PDT by detective
As children grow up and venture out into the world, the transition from a bustling household to an empty one can be difficult -- so why not skip it all together? That's what millions of families are doing, not just in the United States, but in many other developed countries as well. In Italy, the culture of "mammismo" or mamas' boys, is widely accepted: Today, 37% of men age 30 or younger have never lived away from home. In Japan, "parasite singles" are chastised in the media for depending on Mom and Dad, but having few other options, they do it anyway.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.msn.com ...
You could at one time do this, even ten years ago.
In my area, I could have bought a 1 bedroom condo for 35 thousand dollars. It would now cost me a minimal 170 thousand dollars to buy that same condo.
If you wanted to buy a townhouse in my area, you gotta shell out 250 thousand dollars. To pay a 250 000 mortgage, when you include the mortgage, taxes, upkeep, etc, is probably going to set you back 2500 a month, to make any meaningful headway into the mortgage itself. To buy a house is going to cost you a good 4 grand a month.
I don’t know too many people who has 4 grand a month to pay a mortgage. The average income is about 60 grand a year in my area.
Not too many people I know could afford a post-secondary student loan and a house, without considering starving.
I thought of moving out of the big place now that the last of the kids will be out in the next few years.
I am turning it into a place for two old friend roommates and me. Should be fun.
At the back of my mind? The place is large enough to give each of the kids a private place to live, with a little work it could be pretty much a four unit. Perhaps there would need to be some kitchen sharing. But if it gets bad, we all will have a place to live.
And we will be grateful to have each other.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.