Living With Mom and Dad While Figuring Out a Financial Exit Plan
By Isabella Simonetti
Nicole Solero moved out of her parents’ home in Orlando, Fla., after she graduated from a community college in 2019. She worked as a freelance graphic designer in a small town in South Florida, but she felt lonely and depressed working remotely while her roommate frequently traveled for work. Ms. Solero decided to move back in with her parents.
The financial decision made sense to Ms. Solero, who said adult children living at home with their parents wasn’t really a source of stigma in her Hispanic culture. “We stay home until we are stable enough to move out,” she said, “and usually it’s until you’re married or until you have a career where you can provide for yourself completely.”
Ms. Solero, 24, now lives with her parents and her brother while she works as an intern at a public relations agency. She also does some freelance work. She helps her parents by occasionally paying for household expenses like food or laundry detergent, but she is able to save around $600 a month by living rent-free. She plans on moving out in the next two years, she said, after she secures a job.
Young adults are often encouraged to leave the nest as a rite of passage to establish financial independence and build a life and career away from their parents. But for some members of Generation Z and younger millennials, factors like the high cost of living, student debt, family obligations or cultural traditions keep them living at home for longer than expected. The pandemic and its resulting economic downturn also forced many young adults to move back in with their parents.
