Emily Worland is 24 years old. She is a graduate of SMU with degrees in economics and public policy. She is a high school teacher and is engaged to be married. She has decided that the smart thing for her to do is to move back in with her parents.
She says it sounds traumatic and depressing, but she loves it. I wonder if her parents feel the same? Perhaps they find it traumatic and depressing to have an adult child living with them. Maybe they were looking forward to being empty nesters.
Emily says she has nothing to be ashamed and embarrassed about. She says she just made the decision to save her money and not amass insane debt. Maybe her parents had made the decision to sock more retirement money away once their children were grown, but I guess Emily's plan to save her money threw a monkey wrench into Mom and Dad's retirement plans.
Emily says Dad makes her lunch every day, Mom folds her clothes and feeds her dog, and most of her bills are paid. Well duh! Who wouldn't want to live like that? Do you suppose Dad gets tired of getting up every morning to fix a lunch? Has Emily considered getting up and fixing breakfast for her dad? And do you suppose that if Mom wanted a dog to feed, she'd have gotten her own? Has Emily considered doing the laundry for her mom and dad? Do you suppose Mom and Dad enjoy paying the bills for a daughter they've already put through school? Has Emily thought about paying the utility bills for her parents? But Emily says more parents should embrace and welcome this lifestyle.
Her reasons include "increased productivity" -- she's able to save for a down payment on a house, so she and her fiance will begin married life with equity, not debt (couldn't we all if we had someone to mooch off of); "respect and friendship" -- she gets to know her parents, and they get to know her (if they didn't get to know each other in 18 years, I don't think they will now); "a sense of camaraderie" -- Emily's generation's sense of entitlement and tendency to live beyond their means is a product of leaving home too soon (If what Emily has isn't a sense of entitlement, I guess I just don't know the meaning of the term!).
So, Emily encourages her peers, be smart and go home! Being part of the generation Emily is taking advantage of, I encourage my peers to be smart, kick their spoiled little heinies out, and go take a cruise on their inheritance money.
"Smartest move: Go back home." The Dallas Morning News; October 15, 2011; p. 19A.
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