Millennials who do not move out at a young age are often perceived as lazy freeloaders who need their hands held through every step of life. People who believe this idea do not understand that millennials stay at home because, by doing this, they make an intellectual decision that will save them money and provide stability into their lives before moving out to become successful in all the aspects of life including education, jobs, and housing. Previous generations have a condescending view towards millennials because of millennials continuing to live at home for a considerably greater amount of time than the previous generations.
These older generations are appalled at millennials because they have not moved out, but do not consider the fact that the previous generations lived in easier times in which financing important life milestones such as education, finding a steady-income, stable job, or even purchasing a home was simpler in the way that prices were lower and the job market was more open to beginners.
Millennials choose not to pursue their independence by living at home longer not because they are a generation of freeloaders, but because of the outrageous costs and unachievable standards for achieving higher education, entering the workforce, and the cost of living. In modern society, older generations are still under the false impression that teens or young adults need to move out at an extremely young age so that the young adults will learn all of life’s lessons by living independently and becoming successful in life.
Older generations also believe in the importance of receiving an education, acquiring a stable, well—paying job, and buying a house to raise a family in, Most millennials believe in these ideas also, but are stunted in their growth of being successful by the modern economy. Millennials stay at home longer because to get an education, one must have the finances to cover the never-ending fees, inflated tuitions, and other expenses.
Older generations do not realize that it is nearly impossible for millennials to move out at a very early age while paying for themselves independently. Millennials stay living at home because “the price of college has increased 1,120 percent since 1978” (Andrew). It is outrageous to believe the idea that millennials are being freeloaders just because they choose to stay living at home. Most millennials probably do not even have the choice to move out because of the monstrous amount of money they are expected to payjust to receive a college education. This generation simply does not have enough money saved up to cover the outrageous, steadily rising costs of college, so most begin their adult life by digging themselves unto a deep hole of debt with loans from banks to pay for their education. On average, “student loan debt is approaching $30,000” (Evelsizer). By the very beginning of each loan-receiving college student’s adult life, he or she is already in thousands of dollars of unrecoverable debt. With student loan debts so outrageously high, it is a smart decision for millennials to stay at home not to freeload, but to simply save extra money to help pay for education.
Millennials live at home because of the extremely weak job market left open to graduates. With student debt towering over this generation, millennials truly need to get a serious job directly out of college or even during college to pay off the debt, but the weak job market for graduates makes it tremendously hard to pay back. Finding a stable job as a newly-graduated young adult is extremely hard even though these young adults have good “work ethic, passion, and integrity to be successful” (TeichertZZ). Although millennials have the sterling qualities to be exceptional workers, they do not have any experience, which is unsettling to many businesses that are hiring, Millennials do not pursue their independence from home because, in the job market, most jobs require experience in the particular field of work it is, and, through no fault of their own, experience is what these beginners lack. Because of the lack of experience, millennials smartly choose to live at home until they can be hired for a secure, steady income.
The only available jobs for beginners are limited to “poor advancement opportunities, mediocre pay and serious career limitations” (Teichert 22), Millennials chose to live at home because they simply cannot and will not be able to independently support themselves with a mediocre job with little payi Millennials will have to accept each mediocre job and work up enough experience to finally work in the serious career they want, but until then, millennials will stay at home with all the extra support they can get Without a well-paying, stable job, it is practically impossible for millennials to buy a house, so most choose to live at home With the extremely high cost of living, it is hard for millennials to come by financial needs needed to support themselves if they buy a house, much less support a family This young generation is not able to pursue their own independence away from home because “more people are being priced out of the market” (Jonnelle) Millennials are expected to move out and become independent, but even people with stable jobs cannot afford a house because of the rising costs. it is impractical and nearly impossible for millennials to move out because not only have the prices for college risen, but the “list prices for starter homes are rising” (Jonnelle).
Millennials cannot become independent because the homes that they would usually be able to afford are becoming more and more expensive. With extreme amounts of debt and building pressure to move out, millennials stop paying for essential needs that they believe that they can live without. They choose to save money for the purpose of moving out of their parents‘ homes by cutting important, essential expenses, Millennials stay at home because, sadly, “one hidden expenditure young adults may not consider is healthcare” (Evelsizer). Because millennials cannot start life off with a financially stable job, if they do choose to move out, millennials‘ budgets are so tight that some choose to not even pay for their own healthcare, This generation stays at home so they do not have to worry about cutting essential needs such as healthcare because they cannot afford it. Millennials stay at home to prepare themselves for when they do move out and eventually become independent by being able to afford a house with a steady income. Millennials are commonly inaccurately described with the offensive, stereotypical label, “freeloader”, for the sole reason that they choose live at home.
Millennials living at home actually made the intelligent decision to save money by choosing to stay living at their home until they are in a steady, financially stable point in their lives where they are comfortable with living as an independent person with no financial support. Millennials are not able to pay off student loans debt because they do not have the stable job to pay for it, and they cannot become independent and buy a home because of their lack of money from college debts and they do not have a stable job to pay for the house. The generation stays at home to give themselves more time to adjust to adulthood while keeping their lives stable. Instead of being the lazy freeloaders that millennials are stereotyped to be, millennials that choose to stay living in their homes are making practical, intellectual decisions while keeping mind the effects of each decision on their futures.
Millennials Living at Home: Freeloaders or Intellectuals. (2022, Oct 25). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/millennials-living-at-home-freeloaders-or-intellectuals/