Live on your own or with Mommy?

Not just financial status, but availability of oportunities, family circumstances, upbringing, likes/dislikes, aptitudes, and a miriad of other things that make everyone unique.

Agreed, and I think it's a good thing. As long as everybody is contributing of course. My girls are welcome to stay on as long as they do their part, and the grandmothers have been invited to live with us too. The trick is you just need a big honking house.

Still no names unfortunately.
I am so confused as to what you think you are achieving with threads like this.

I'm a bit mixed on Multigeneration households. So yeah, 'everyone' goes to college now, but 4 years in a dorm on either your parent's dime or loans is really not going to teach a person much in terms of how life actually works. Then moving back in with the parents, and 'paying rent' isnt really the same. Moving out and paying all my own bills was a pretty big reality check for me, but I love the feeling I get when I take a step back and realize how much I have accomplished on my own.
But on the flip side, living with my parents was a cake walk and I would love to go back to that

I've been to several places outside of The States. For the most part of what I've witnessed family is a big thing. Tons of visits and such but, those that still live at home shut up about the world since they have NO REAL clue as to what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck. Why am I considered a Troll when I post or add on here all of the time? Was my St. Patty's Day post Trollish? Also I'm not talking about any skinnies living in Ethiopia or Somalia and, I don't care about them. I don't really mean to put down people that have tried and failed I guess, (I've been there) just those that are afraid to try yet talk a good game. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal. This country is going further and further in the dumper because what little College Graduates we have are now in a Liberal mindset, and they're no where near as smart as graduates from other countries. NASA is practically shut down, major manufacturing is done in other countries as well as tech support, and the country in general 40 years ago loved itself. Not so much now. Everything has gone downhill for us and no one seems to give a shit. Well MSP and myself do have rations and other supplies in our basements but others just expect to be spoon fed. Nanny State. Also, no longer an "Ex-Cop."

Don't read all of this. Just pan over it and react.

How can you still equate living at home with having no real world experience? Do you just assume that everyone's parents are rich or something? How about the fact that a lot of students have more debt than what you owe on the rest of your mortgage. How real is that? Or that their degree doesn't mean shit when you're too overqualified to get a job at Starbucks and underqualified to do anything else? How dare you discredit college graduates because of their political leanings. That's the most pathetic argument I may have ever read.

I posit that you have no real clue about the world except what's outside Fox News and whatever little shit town you live in. You're so jaded that you can't see what's really going on.

I have seen quite a few people (mostly amungst my wife's family) who truly believe that college is the answer for everything. These are people that have gotten themselves well over $100,000 in debt, just for an education. They lived in dorm rooms, had meals/utilities/housing/necessities paid for, and just went to school. My wife, for instance, got a degree in Literary English with a specialty in Writing. She has had a few stories published in various journals, but nothing major. That degree really didn't teach her a lot into the business side of being a writer, or the least bit about surviving in the real world. She just went to class, and lived with her parents.

I understand what you are saying, Tac, although your tact might have been a little off. I am with you. My wife, for instance, is of the impression that she can survive completely on her own, without anything from anyone else. Yet, she has very little in the way of professional skills, and has never had to pay utilities, keep food on the table, meet friend/business obligations, and get through all of the legal bullshit to survive in the world today. She has never had to worry about car upkeep, maintaining a house, paying for and taking care of pets, mowing a lawn continuously, and reacting to weather emergencies. She just doesn't understand what it takes to honestly survive. I am not saying that I don't love her to no end, but that is just not her strong suit.

I have been very frustrated trying to teach her how to survive in the world. She has never been placed into a position which really necessitated her survivalistic instincts. I have been in the middle of absolute nowhere, with nobody I knew within 1200 miles and had to build my life. I have moved on two different occasions where I had no money, and had to depend on the good will of several incredible friends to save me. I had to build relationships to survive, and wound up helping the people who helped me out along the way. I have been in a position where I didn't know where I would be living in another week. Those are the times which tell who we really are.

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, I am not judging anyone on this forum. Just trying to play Devil's advocate and explain what I see. My view is that I might not agree with what everyone says on the forum, but you all sure as hell have every right in the world to continue saying what you choose. It's not my place to change your opinions or mold you into what I believe. I will talk about my views, but do my best to just leave it at that. I have plenty to worry about in my own real life without worrying about the lives of others. I believe in more of a "live and let live" mentality.

Why can't we all just put this behind us and move on?

~Will Courtier~

So the real world is being a moron and living beyond your means, barely scraping your finances together week-by-week? Maybe in your world. Pfft

BTW, all the things you're blaming on the 'little college graduates' is actually the fault of your generation. Thanks for that!

I don't think anybody that regularly posts on this forum is afraid to try. Most of us have been here for years and we've all made progress in one way or another.

I'm also not seeing "what little college graduates we have..." as being a point. We have too MANY college graduates, people with bachelor's and masters degrees that can't find work because the market is flooded, IT especially. Most colleges are liberal but I'm not seeing how a political stance has anything to do with the topic at hand. And hell, a bachelor's now is pretty much the equivalent to a high school diploma in the 60s or even 70s. You can't just walk into a factory now and get a job, making enough money to support a family nowadays like you could back then. If anything, the easy days are gone and now/the future is going to be the real test of skill and survival.

I'll start with Coleman: An educated person wouldn't put PHD on a resume for Starbucks......DUH 101! I also own my house, don't have a mortgage. I wouldn't put myself in a position where my education expenses might evict my family. I'm guessing you chose a degree in something that made you feel good. Not something that would put food on the table. Richmond is smaller than the town I live in and I watch FOX, MSNBC, CNN, and I read tons of unbiased sites on the internet just so I can make an educated decision on something. You're a fool for not watching FOX if you don't want to know the flip-side of your particular favorite. It makes you feel fuzzy inside while watching right?

Dustin: What? Picking at one line and having a problem with it doesn't make you sound very smart. As far as my jab at college goes, I stand by it. Hell Coleman stated that he or someone he knows has a degree yet can't get hired at Starbucks! How is that my generations problem? Get a degree you can be hired with.......'nuff said?

Nidex: You're right about the factories. There are so few here left in the states that the only way to get hired in one is to be lucky, know a friend, or a family member. Pretty sad. Why? Because people expect too much. Labor Unions have forced companies to look to other countries because of the likes of some of us! "I turn a wrench for 8 hours." "I want four 15 minute breaks during my shift, and an hour lunch, a full pension, full healthcare.........and you all just suck it up!" "But I hate Welfare!" Hypocrites! Same goes for our heroes....the police and fire. 401K should be just plenty.

Christ on a cracker this shit is simple. What's wrong with you? People bitch and moan too much and want everything given to them. "I have a degree in Basket Weaving (that I chose on purpose) so where's my 100K a year job?" Idiots. You.

I don't need to sound smart, I have a college degree in basket weaving and a great employee discount at Starbucks

We need you to be more specific, TD. What you're saying may be in regards to a few specific people, but without names and precise accusations everyone is left to assume you're speaking about them. All you letting us DO is pan and react. Lay your preconceptions about particular members out there, and then give them a chance to respond. We can suss out something real, or you can just continue to give us the lambasting you a) seem to think we deserve, and b) believe you're in a position to give.

I believe all that we see and are forced by means of incentives and political/industrial wrangling to do in a free society to be built on lies and deciept.
I must have been born 200 years too late. I fail at life in today's world because I simply don't buy it. I don't buy that to get ahead you have to screw the next guy
or come up with a better scam. When you get right down to it, looking better than the other guy is not worth a fart's chance in a whirlwind.
We all end up, without exception, finding out what lies beyond life in the physical realm.
I took the red pill and there's no going back.
Now give me a life in the wilderness with nobody to depend on but myself and common sense and I'll do well. I know this because I did this. It's not an
empty statement.

just to clarify: I have moved out to my mother's property, built a house and take care of the place for her. It seemed like the only thing I could do when the shit hit the fan.
Together My mother, wife and I take care of our food production and defense. We're ready, have closed ranks for mutual family survival and safety from this unknown direction society is headed.
My mother has not one thing to worry about for the rest of her life. The place is paid for now and nobody is going to take it from her.
It's a lot of time consuming work to raise your own food, keep the acerage in shape, repair all that needs it, work a business and provide for defense.
I'd not work this hard for anyone else. All our needs are met. The upside is that all I do benefits my family unit not some rich fuck sitting in some office, and my mom gets to retire without worry.
Not the standard American way, but it works for us and a large part of the rest of the world. I take much of my stradegy from what has worked well for the areas of the world that
learned to survive against what we, as a nation, are about to face. You want to know how to survive total economic/political collapse? study what the Russians learned to do, You want to know something about efficient living spaces? Study what Scandinavia has done. Etc.
(By the same token: you want to know how to be theiving, arrogant, rich, spoiled, entitled, slimey people? study the how they do it in the good ole' USA http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080825112336AAUG893 )

He's clearly talking about me, guys.

Richmond is smaller but I called your town shit, not small. And Richmond is pretty shitty as well. I don't watch Fox News on a regular basis but I do listen to conservative talk radio all the time. I also live in a red state on the outskirts of rural central Virginia so I hear conservative talking points nearly everywhere I go. Hell, my favorite bar is full of them!

Anyways.. the problem I failed to outline isn't just being overqualified/underqualified but rather the lack of experience to get a meaningful job in the first place. Universities don't put enough emphasis on internships and work experience and so you have tons of college graduates getting out of school with nothing but some restaurant experience or something. It's also the students fault for not being more proactive in getting that work experience but that isn't how we were raised. Personally, my father wouldn't even let me work if I was taking classes (but I did anyways for booze money). My new job entails me speaking with career centers/corporate recruiters and students all day. And I hear the same thing day after day.. that the students don't realize how important work experience and personal networking is and that the universities aren't doing enough to foster a more work-experience heavy curriculum.

The American dream is actually hurting us. Not everyone is capable of doing better than the previous generation. And we have been told all our lives that you go to college, study hard, and then you leave with a degree that will get you 60-100k+ when the reality is much different.

Factory jobs moved out of the US because we became a first world power. Higher education made those jobs irrelevant and they moved out of the states because other countries can do it cheaper. It's not all the Unions fault (though they certainly should take some of the blame). High tech manufacturing jobs have replaced the blue collar jobs. Progress is a good thing but if you don't adapt to it you will be left behind.

You WISH you knew how to weave a basket! \\/ j/k

If this country collapses (which I'm sure it's just a matter of time until it does), I'm out. I could just as easily live in Canada, Germany, England... pretty much all of western Europe. I know this is going to piss some people off, but this country really doesn't mean much of anything to me. Sure, I wouldn't be saying that if I was a refugee from Zimbabwe, but I was privileged enough to be born here... so that's just how it is I guess. The freedom we do have is good, but make no mistake... we are very, very far from being "free". I have no personal connection to the good old USA. This country used to be a lot greater than it is now, why should I stick around and risk my life/the lives of my family members for it? To get myself, or them, killed? No thanks, this place has been ruined by greed, corruption, and most of all, money. There's more to life than that... I'll meet you for tea and crumpets at 4pm in my London flat.

I hate to break it to you nidex but it isn't really that easy to just emigrate to another country. You either have to have family from that country, an awesome degree or tons of money.

I'm aware of that, and frankly if the shit hit the fan and everything went into chaos here, the last thing I would be worried about is emigrating legally.

When the shit hits the fan it'll be global, there will be no refuge anywhere. I get what you say Nidex. I've seen two distinct eras change in this country during my day. Neither has been for the good. This is a third era I'm seeing. And is that we're being herded and data bases full of every tidbit of info about each and every one of us are being filled. This is not delusion, it's not paranoia and it's not from a movie script, it's happening now and it's being helped along by your tax dollar and the likes of microsoft, google, facebook, cell and credit corporations. When it all comes crashing down, controls have to be in place.

I would if I could but I can't.

Moved out at 18 with my girlfriend (now wife). Out of my parents 4 kids I'm the only one that moved out and didn't come back. My 3 brothers are 'man babies'.

I went back home after my divorce, at 25. But within 3 years the house was in my name and the old man moved out. It was sorta a hostile takeover.

I DON'T LIVE WITH MOMMY ANYMOAR!!!!!!!!!!!!