The whole idea of a "kid" (at what point are they not considered a kid any more?) living at home into their 30's seems preposterous. I am curious what people think the underlying issue really is. Is it because the parents coddled them to much and didn't let them make decisions and mistakes as young children? Were they not allowed to have any freedoms as a young kid so they feel better being watched over as an adult? Or are some kids just simply lazy? Possibly scared of the real world? A huge tightwad maybe?
Trust me, as a parent of a 30 year old kid living at home, I ask myself all the time what we did wrong. On the other hand, we are certainly not alone. At least 3-4 of my nieces and nephews still live at home in their 30's. Some of my daughters friends still live at home in their 30's too. Her closest friend is married with a kid, but they rent a basement apartment at her mother-in-laws house. Her friends that do live on their own get a good deal because their parents own the apartments.
Our daughter was always a good kid. She never went through the rebellious teenage years, and she always had the freedom to come and go as she pleased. Unlike my wife and I with our parents, she enjoyed spending time with us. But she has many interests and activities out in the real world. She often does things I would never have the confidence to do on my own.
The economy certainly factors into it. There are plenty of jobs out there, but most only pay $11-13 dollars, while the average rent for a cheap one bedroom apartment is about $1100-1200 per month in our area. Anything not "ghetto" is typically higher, so I was really surprised to find her duplex apartment for $1000/month. We struggled when we first started out, but our rent was only 1/4 our income back then. Big difference. (I earned $1000/month and rent was $225).
We did pay for her college, half was the local community college, and the other half was the local state college. So we easily covered it out of pocket with no loans. She has her Bachelors degree in English, which I never thought would lead to anything, but that was her passion so we supported it. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate into good paying jobs around here. None of her friends she went to school with are doing anything related to their English education either.
I wish I knew the answer why it took so long, but at least our daughter is finally starting her own life. So far she seems to be doing well.