Although
Kaylee Dubeau, 20, works full time as an administrative assistant at a local
business in her town, her income would not support an independent lifestyle.
Despite
an increase in available jobs, millennials like Dubeau cannot afford to live on
their own.
“Living
on my own is not in my budget whatsoever, really, that’s the biggest reason,”
Dubeau said about why she still lives with her mom in Uxbridge, Massachusetts.
She
has researched the cost of renting an apartment in Worcester County,
Massachusetts, where she lives, but thinks it is more than what her income
could support.
“If I
could afford to live on my own right now, I absolutely would, in a heartbeat,”
Dubeau said.
According
to Margaret Boyd, a sociology professor at Stonehill College, for young adults,
“who went to work directly after high school, earnings even with a full-time
job and no students loans can often limit the chance to live independently.”
“The
average earnings in 2013 was $26,000,” Boyd said. This is an amount that does
not leave much room in one’s budget if living on their own.
Approximately
42.2 million young adults, ages 18 to 34 years old, lived on their own in the
first third of 2015, while in 2007, approximately 42.7 million young adults did
according to a report done by the Pre Research Institute.
After
December 2007, many young adults went to college to delay going to work full
time when jobs were limited, a Pew Research Institute report said. Despite an
improving economy, the number of students attending college has not dropped,
nor has it increased the number of young adults living on their own.
Bristol
Community College student, Ashley Ryan, 21, continues to live with her parents
while taking classes and working full time.
Ryan decided to go to college because a lot of jobs require
more education and you are able to make more money with a degree, she said. She
believes that the jobs which would be available to her while going to school
would not provide a large enough income to support living independently either.
Even with a full time job, Ryan does is not able to move
away from her parents’ home because she does not feel she can afford it, she
said.
“It would be a challenge to balance a budget that included
rent, utilities, a car payment, food, and the essentials,” Ryan said.
Boyd
also said that complications such as shared living space and the question of
visitors arise when young adults live with their parents.
There
are several challenges that come with living with her mom, such as not being
able to have people over when she wants and for as long as she wants, she said.
“Space
is a huge challenge obviously,” Dubeau said. “At the age that I am, you
appreciate your solitude and that can be invaded.”
Billy
Lowther, 22, also understands having to put up with issues which arise when you
live with your parents as a young adult. He still has a curfew and has to do
cleaning that he does not enjoy doing, he said.
Lowther
lives with his parents in Mendon, Massachusetts so that he can save up to buy a
house, he said.
“I
don’t want to just rent an apartment because you’re spending money and getting
nothing in the end, so I want to buy a house and not be broke when I do it,”
Lowther said.
Land
in Mendon, MA goes for around $200,000 and an acre and a half of land with a
four bedroom home costs about $800,000, Lowther said.
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