For many people, attending and graduating college represents the ultimate coming-of-age experience that marks independence.

The typical pathway begins with high school or the earning of a General Educational Development diploma (GED), followed by college and then an entry-level job with some sort of non-residence hall-style housing. This is considered the direct flight to what many call the real world.

But a variety of roadblocks are shifting this stigma. Young adults are moving back home with their parents to quell the burdens of student loans, massive debts and other obstacles, according to an article by CNN Money published last week.

For the longest time, returning home after college was considered shameful. One goes from having roughly four years of freedom to being told how often they should do their laundry and when they need to return home to meet their still instated curfew.

What’s worse is that parents often fail to see that their babies are now adults. This growth occurred because their kids attended college, which shatters the safe, glass walls that commonly shelter those living at home.

Thirty-six percent of people from 18-31 years old live at home with their parents, according to an August study by the Pew Research Center. This number has only risen throughout time, according to Pew. Because of the steady growth, experts are hesitant to call it an anomaly.

After all, if the growing majority of a population is doing the same thing, it can’t really be called a deviation. This leads to the assertion that moving back into one’s parent or parent’s home will lose the negative stigma behind it.

There are many practical reasons to move back. The most obvious reason is to save on finances. If you have yet to find a job or bills are too much to handle while paying for rent, sharing a home with a guardian makes sense.

Even if your liabilities are relatively low and you have a high-paying job, the amount of money you’ll save by living at home will be significantly higher than an alternative solution. For example, this small sacrifice will result in a higher living standard: Not paying rent now gives you earning power for the future.

Another reason to move back is to improve relationships.

Three-quarters of young adults surveyed by Pew showed that relationships with their parents either improved or stayed the same. It’s obvious that at some point there will be tension or conflict, but this can be said of any close interaction with another human.

All that being said, it’s time to do away with the bad thoughts associated with returning to where you came from. Provided that you have what can be labeled as a healthy coexistence with relatives back home and they’re willing to accept you living there temporarily, why not do so?

Of course, you need to have an exit plan. Moving back home does not mean you are no longer an adult capable of providing for yourself. Get in, get a job and pay off as much debt as possible, if necessary.

Plan the next steps to get your own place. Then, most importantly, get out. When you use this alternative lifestyle as a stepping stone instead of a crutch, it can only be viewed as positive.

Heck, it might even make you more appreciative of having your own things.

Fran Walker is a senior finance and accounting major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at [email protected].

Published on November 4, 2013 at 1:59 am