So a recent study has come out from Pew Research Center that states that more millennials are living at home with their parents. This has placed a bad stigma on our generation and as a millennial I do not want to be labeled “lazy” or “self-absorbed” because of this recent study. The percentage of young adults living with their parents is a record-high and news sources state that the statistics have risen 10 points since the 1960s. In 1960, the percentage of 18 to 34 year olds that were living in parent’s homes was 20 percent. In 2014 the percentage was 32.1 percent, while 31.6 percent of millennials are living with their spouse or are sharing living space with roommates. Before this study was done, millennials have been put into categories by other generations of being lazy, unwilling to work hard, wanting instant gratification, and only caring about ourselves. Well we cannot help it if the media portrays us in this light, but we can make our voices heard. So yes, 32.1 percent of millennials are living at home but here is some insight on why.
College, the place where we are told that we need to go if we want to get anywhere in life. Well most of us do and we get degrees but what we also get is debt. About 70 percent of college students today are leaving school with a diploma and around $30,000 of student loans that they have to pay back. Between 1960 and 2016 the price of college has increased a tremendous amount. In the 80s one college credit was about $4 and now it is over $1,000. Student loans are the two scariest words a college graduate can hear along with jobless.
After graduating, millennials are entering the adult world with student loans and we are also entering into a job market that is not very welcoming. The workplace that we are entering does not believe that we will work hard. With the student debt that we are leaving college with we need to have jobs when we graduate but this is not happening. We are having to enter into positions that are available at the moment but they may not pay the best. Not only are we entering into a job market that is not the greatest the cost of living has gone up. It is very hard to find an apartment or house that single person can afford. So it is more common for people to have roommates after they graduate from college because it is more affordable.
So while we are trying to pay off our student loans, search for a job, and find a place to live that is affordable it might make sense for us to live at home for a little while. While this is common for millennials to live at home it is also very common for us to live with other people. Yes, some of us are living with our parents but we are all just trying to find jobs to pay off our student loans so if that means that we cannot afford to move out at this moment it does not that we are lazy and not willing to work hard.
