We have two children, one is right handed and the other is left handed, and both are boomerang twenty somethings. One moved out when he was 19, well at least the first time . . . Andrew is 23 and currently living on his own.
His sister Sarah, lived with us through college, then lived in France for a year where she taught English, and then moved back home and is now working on her masters in French Literature at the University of Minnesota. She is 25.
Boomerang children are the 20 somethings that move out and then back in to live with their parents, usually after college. There are some excellent web sites and books giving these young people advice on how to survive living with mom and dad. See Boomerang Nation the book and the boomerang nation blog.
I might have to write a book of my own giving parents survival advice. When it comes to housing we need more space now than we did when we were raising our children. When they move back in they have more stuff and need space for storage and for entertaining. When they move out they leave stuff behind or ask us to hang onto it because their house/apartment is too small. (Hey Andrew, I still have your stuff in the basement closet, hello!)
Who knew that we would need a bigger house? Something to consider for home buyers with children in their teens. Look at the numbers this is a huge trend. When I was 25 I had two children and if someone would have asked me if I needed a bigger house I would have said no. I have the same two children now, but could use least 600 more square feet.
Boomerang children present housing challenges. The ideal home for us would be one with a guest suite that includes a kitchenette and some kind of a family room. This suite would have a separate entry and bathroom. Our entire family would benefit from this. When the children move out for good, if they ever do, the suite may become a place for our parents to live. After that it could shelter my niece who plans on going to the University of Minnesota. She is just 13 and may change her mind or decide that dorm life suites her.
We can still buy a bigger house, or add on, but as soon as we do they will move out for good and we will want to down size.
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Seriously, I am glad you wrote this. I was going to ask you about your kids. Lar
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My kids are great! My daughter the grad student and my son has
a real job but is also a professional wrestler. My neice reads my
blogs so I’ll mention that Lovely Laura lives in IL. (hi David & Jordan) I am so proud of them all! Even the funny looking ones.
Teresa the mother, daughter, wife, sister, and aunt