Avoid the boomerang!

Does your college grad want to move back home?

In recent years it has become increasingly common for fully-grown, educated adults to move back in with their parents after they graduate from college.

There is even a name for it: the “boomerang generation”.

According to Real Trends, a company that monitors trends in real estate, “The share of college graduates in their twenties who live with their parents increased from 19% in 2005 to 28% in 2016.” According to MarketWatch, other cities have much higher percentages of college graduates who moved home in 2016: Riverside, CA (51%), Las Vegas (49%), Miami (45%), and New York City (42%).

This is happening for many reasons.

• The rising cost of tuition has created high student loan debt for graduates.
• Most students do not even think about a job search until after they receive their degree, so:
  • They do not have clear career plans
  • They don’t know how to find a job

Those who do find a job often accept positions that pay low wages and do not necessarily require a college degree in the first place (this is called being “underemployed”). The money these graduates make is not enough to support living independently.

When college graduates return to the parents’ home after graduating there is complexity. Parents report feeling financial strain and that their privacy and freedom have been compromised. Once children leave for college, parents generally adjust to a simpler lifestyle. They downsize their homes and refocus their lives to suit their own needs after years of raising children. When the children return, those changes can be disrupted.

Parents in boomerang situations realize that if their children move back home, there will be added expenses. Some parents create agreements with their children to set limits on the length of time that they will stay at home and require that rent and expenses be paid while they are there.

In some cases, this arrangement is successful. When all parties agree and there is a limit to the time at home, a boomerang situation can work out.

Sometimes, however, this arrangement does not work out. Parents have reported that the return of the children caused stress and tension in the home and on the relationships. Sometimes the agreements were not honored, or the welcome was overstayed.

Would you like to avoid the boomerang? Consider Project Me Pro for your graduate. It contains all the information your graduate will need to successfully enter the workforce. With online learning modules and job search templates, Project Me Pro allows your college grad to enter the job market – and the world – with confidence.