Living At Home Again? Check. Paying Rent? Rain Check.

For some, moving back in with parents means going rent-free

Failure to Launch

This summer, Vice Canada published a photo series about twenty-somethings who are living with their parents, post-college.

A Look into the Bedrooms of 20-Somethings Still Living with Their Parents | VICE | Canada

It sparked a conversation about Twitter about whether living at home means free-loading. Indeed, the very first guy profiled by Vice cites not paying rent as the very first benefit of his situation.

Sounding, I have to say, a little less than grateful, he goes on to say:

They tell me, everyone tells me, to stay at home as long as I can because it’s cheaper and I can save money to put a down payment on a house. Yeah, that’s all true, and I’m a business student so I know how all of that stuff works, but at the same time, quality of life is a huge factor. If I get [a full-time job], I’ll save up for probably a year and then move out. It’s not too bad here though.

Here’s Brandon, 23, sounding a similar note:

I’ve got bad news for you, buddy: when you’re trying to generate content on your computer, you aren’t doing anything. Even those of us who get paid to do it full-time would acknowledge that.

No one profiled here is as flagrantly awful as the Toronto Life guy, over whose exploits Nicole and I rolled our eyes earlier this summer.

On Taking “Experiences, Not Things” To Its Logical Conclusion

But no one seems to be a prize, exactly, either. Letting your parents continue to buy all the groceries and house you for free AND ALSO DO YOUR LAUNDRY is not very grown up behavior.

A writer named Bailey Poland noticed this and was intrigued.

She put up a Twitter poll whose results will be posted tomorrow.

I reached out to Bailey, and our conversation ended up being about so much more than I anticipated that I’m going to run it as its own standalone piece tomorrow. STAY TUNED. Meanwhile, what do you think? Is the whole point of living at home that one can save as much as possible, or is it important to contribute financially, even a token amount, so that one gets in the habit of budgeting and paying rent?


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