Many American college students aspire to move out and away from their parents after graduation, but statistics show these dreams may be falling apart. Even though unemployment rates for young adults ages 18 to 34 have decreased by 4.7 percent over the past five years, more and more millennials are living with their parents.
In American society, we generally expect that young adults pursuing higher education will live at home or in dorms for their college years before graduation. We also expect that once graduated, they will move out to begin their adult careers and lives—but what happens if they do not? We may be finding out.
College enrollment increased from 34 percent to 37 percent between 2007 and 2012 but declined again by two percent between 2012 and 2015. Even when students enroll in and complete college, the cost of their education may be deterring their efforts to gain independence.
Zoe Mull, Theater Performance Major at Sinclair, worries about the possibility of moving back in with her father and step-mother after graduation. She cited the reason as earning minimum wage in her current career.
“My whole working career, I’ve never made enough to live on my own. I’m worried I’m going to have to work my ass off, and I won’t be able to make as much money as I need to and everything just falls apart. That’s a huge fear—financial distress,” Mull said.
In 2012, the median weekly earnings among young adults was $547 and in 2015, it is $574. Though this has increased, Mull believes these numbers contribute to the increasing number of adults living at home.
Diana San, Business Administration Major at Sinclair, does not worry about the possibility of moving back home after graduation. However, she also believes finances are a large factor in the living situations of young adults.
“I feel like [students] are just trying to save money and I think it’s just easier for them to just rely on their parents instead of trying to figure out on their own,” San said.
Not all students are anxious about the possibility of moving back in. Violet Johnston, Business Management Major at Sinclair, lives with her mother and believes she is set apart from the majority because she lacks such anxiety.
“I don’t worry about it because I love my mom and we have a good relationship, and I’m pretty free and independent to go in and out, so it’s not like it’s hampering my living style to live with her,” Johnston stated.
By the first third of 2015, only 40 percent of 18 to 24 year olds lived independently and apart from their families. Is moving back in the emerging trend of millennials?
Maverick Glascoe, Linguistics Major at Sinclair, does not mind being a millennial. “I feel pretty good about it, just getting out there every day and doing what you can, doing your best, and bringing back what you can at the end of the day, with what you’ve learned,” he said. “I think it’s overall a good experience. I’m enjoying my time doing what I can here at school and then going to work every day.”
Mull believes being a millennial is to be misunderstood. “It’s like a lot of older generations don’t understand how badly messed up the economy, the housing market, and wages are. They don’t quite get it,” she said.
Johnston summarized her thoughts—and perhaps the feelings of many young adults—by saying, “Millennials have an interesting challenge ahead of them for sure, with just the way that our society is today.”
Maggie Stacey
Staff Writer