Personally, I only left my parent's home at age of 32 and my wife at the age of 30, after our new home was completed. It is relatively late in non-Asian countries but common in developed Asian countries due to later marriage and the concept of living with family.
At what age do you move out of your parents' house? The age to leave is when you are financially independent to prevent a boomerang effect whereby 55% of people return back to their parents' homes. A government study (bls.gov) in 1997 found that at 27, 80% of millennials (born between 1980 and 1984) had left their parent's homes and 90% had moved out of their parent's house at least once for a period of 3 months or longer.
Some other interesting statistics from the bls.gov report released in December 2014 titled "Independence for young millennials: moving out and boomeranging back" include:-
- Those who lived in housing owned by their family were more likely to move out than were those in families that did not own their dwelling. (One guess I have is that those who did not own their dwelling are poorer or wish to buy a home to stay together as a family)
- Young adults coming from families with higher household incomes were more likely to return home. Nevertheless, almost 55% moved back at some point.
- Among those in households with income in the top quartile, 57.7% returned home compared with 52.8% of those in families with incomes in the lowest quartile (meaning children from richer families return back more often, as expected)
- Individuals who were living with two parents (with at least one biological parent) in 1997 were more likely to move back home
- By age 27, independent youths were earning 15 percent more than were their counterparts living with parents
Why are Americans expected to move out at 18, but not in other countries?
In the USA, being independent and resourceful is used to be a sign of maturity. However, things have changed in many states due to high unemployment rates and the cost of living. Many youths don't move because it's really hard to find affordable housing or pay their education loans.
Stacie Marie Carrel said in Quora:
While not illegal, a parent kicking their child out at 18 is still considered a shitty thing to do unless there’s some very peculiar mitigating circumstances. Most young adults use their parent’s address as their home while at college, and even afterwards until they have a job that pays enough to move out.
However, expectations have been changing and parents are more accommodating nowadays since it is worst having a child coming back with tons of debts when you have to worry about your own retirement.
Ivy Gracia explained in Quora:
Not every American is expected to move out at 18! I'm a Hispanic 16-year-old American. I have two older siblings, both older who still live with us. My 19-year-old brother has a job and still lives with us. He pays rent to my mum though. My married, 25-year-old sister AND her husband both still live with us too. She pays rent to my mom as well though.
What age to move out of parent's house
You can leave any time you are ready, it could be 18 for your around the world journey, 21 for your new overseas career opportunity, 32 after starting a family, or never leave.
My personal expectation is to leave when you have a purpose such as starting a new family. In fact, in Asia culture, some singles never leave their parent's house until their parent passed away as it is a form of filial piety and taking care of your parent.
Even if you wish to leave because you do not love your family environment, you should make sure you are financially independent to prevent "boomeranging" back home. Besides the cost of maintaining a home, you also need to consider the time you spent on household chores like cleaning, laundry, and topping up the fridge. There won't be a magical top-up of the milk or eggs that you have been used to in your life.
Before you move into a new apartment, you should make a budget. It sounds boring, but it’s very important. To start, you’ll want to know your monthly income after taxes. This tells you how much money you bring home each month.
Is it normal to feel sad about moving out of my parent's house?
It is normal to feel sad and excited at the same time about moving out your parent's house. Personally, I still have many things in my parent's house that I haven't cleared even after moving out over 5 years and my parent had still most of my room in its original state except for the usage of the wardrobes and storage for their clothes.
Daniel Jesse thought differently about sadness in Quora:-
Instead of thinking of it as sadness think of it as opportunity. A home is were you place your belongings and settle in from your woes. Be excited for new opportunities and new goals. The sadness your feeling is fear of the unknown. You're parents will be feeling the same nervousness as you are and to be honest probably a bit of excitement to have that chapter closed and new one started. Always move forward, your going to fo great things.
Janice Birch, a caretaker, shared in Quora
There's a sense of security living with your folks. You know they will provide love and what you need,food,a roof,their support.
When you make an independent move to live on your own,it makes you fearful. It's uncertainty…fear of the unknown,that scares you.
You will be responsible for providing your needs…not Mom and Dad.
Hope this post will give you some thoughts on the various opinions gathered on the web.