PenPenWrites

The economy is taking its toll on those empty bedrooms in your house. More young and not-so-young adult children are finding the only way to survive the downturn–the loss of job or the piling up of bills–is to cut their losses by moving back home. The number of people between the ages of 25 to 34 that are living with their parents increased 17.8 percent between 2000 and 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau–and that was before the recession firmed its grip. Wonder what the 2010 numbers will look like?

Here's another view of those numbers: Almost 16 million
families had at least one child over 18 living at home in 2003, up 7 percent
since 1995 and up 14 percent since 1985, according to the Census Bureau's
American Housing Survey.

They're "boomerang" or "back-to-the-bedroom" kids. They leave.
They come back. Sometimes more than once, often after college, between
jobs, before marriage, after a divorce or when housing costs are so
exorbitant that moving in to their old bedrooms is more appealing than
sharing a small, rundown apartment with three roommates.

Zhu Xiao Di, a research analyst at Harvard University's Joint Center
for Housing Studies, has studied boomerang kids for years.In a recent paper, ["The Effects of Housing Push Factors and
Rent Expectations on Household Formation of Young Adult,"] he finds a
direct correlation between rent prices and an adult child's decision
to live with the parents. Couple that with big increases in college tuition and fees, and young adults find themselves
saddled with debt before they start collecting their first paychecks.No wonder they head home.

The good (or bad) news, depending on how much you like have your grown children living at home, is that such arrangements aren't usually permanent. The number of kids moving back in with their folks usually escalates
during cycles of crisis, such as wars and economic depressions.

Sound like what we're going through now?