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The few guys I know in those arrangements are practically caring for their parents at this point (and the siblings that moved out on their own are glad the single ones can do so).

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I lived at my mother’s home several years in my late twenties and at thirty, initially to finish up school. During that time my grandmother started to fail, the relatives out of state where she lived utterly ignored her so we brought her home. We took care of her until she got so bad that medical professionals were required on a steady basis and we had to give up. Shortly thereafter she died, and I moved out.

Mother never recovered from her mother’s death and went downhill, so I had to cycle in and out for several more years, until she needed medical attention and died.

Then my father moved into the house and nearly died, not taking care of himself or eating right. I came back for a few months and got him healthy and the house set right, then left again. It was a good time because my kid who was very small and my dad got to know each other and were very close. When I left, he immediately declined and died within a year.

I didn’t live there because it was fun or easy. I lived there because my elders needed me, and I prolonged their years and the quality of their lives while I was there. It hurt me professionally, and that professional progression lost will never be recovered baring a miracle.

People stay at home for many reasons, and have since the beginning. Usually, it is not helpful to those who stay, and often the experience is depressing or bitter.

Duty can be a bitch, and can be rewarding, and can be both. Regardless, it calls. Decent people answer, as best they can.