Together Again: More College Grads Moving Back In With Parents
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Parents love having their grown kids come home and visit, but what happens when they don't just visit, they move back in?
One recent poll shows a staggering 85% of college seniors plan to do just that after graduation. A tight economy and dismal job outlook has created a boomerang generation.
As CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez reports, it's also created some new challenges for families.
A recent college grad, 22-year-old Katie Konkoleski expected to be in a classroom teaching by now. Instead, she's back home together again with her parents and three siblings and still looking for work.
"It's just so emotionally draining," she said.
While she is working as a bartender, like many of her friends, she can't seem to land a teaching job.
"It's kind of like when you're fishing and you get the nibble but at the very end it's an empty hook," Katie said.
She said coming home wasn't easy after enjoying her independence.
Katie's 25-year-old brother is also back home, trying to pay off student loans. Their father is getting used to digging a little deeper in his wallet.
"The food has gone up," Brian Konkoleski said. "It's been crowded."
He said he was expecting a bit more privacy after his kids finished college.
"I thought we would because … at one time, I felt – like I said earlier – they wouldn't be here," he added.
Rush University Medical Center marriage therapist Dr. Ann Hartlage said she sees an increasing number of couples stressed out about caring for their adult kids.
But she said it can work if you lay out ground rules.
Hartlage said she believes "the most important thing is to discuss the expectations before the child – the adult child – moves back.
Will there be:
--Rent to pay?
--Private time when the parents and kids have the house to themselves? -----Child care provided if the adult child has kids of their own?
--Talk about who will buy the food?
--Is there a time limit for how long the arrangement will last?
"The parent is just wondering, and the child perhaps too, when is this going to end? Will this be forever? Are they too dependent?" Hartlage said.
"You can feel the tension. You can definitely feel it. It is a full house now," Katie said.
Katie said she appreciates her parents' generosity. She only pays her phone bill, but pitches in with chores and plans to move out as soon as she can.
She says she feels left behind "in a way, just because, you know, I have friends who've gotten jobs. I've had friends who are moving towards their jobs and I am here, stuck."
Her father said he knows times are tough and he's thankful he can afford to help.
"I think it's the right thing to do. You have to take care of your kids," he said.
Katie admitted, "It's tough, but I haven't gotten kicked out yet!"
We also found plenty of 30-somethings moving back home, many with children in tow. In fact 13 percent of parents polled say one of their adult kids has moved home in the past year.
We even heard of divorced husbands and wives are living under one roof again to makes ends meet. Our tips should work for them too.
