31-year-old man says he sees no problem with living with his parents indefinitely: ‘I just don’t see a reason to move out. I enjoy living here. I have a side entrance to get into the house, so there’s a bit of privacy’

If you don't see a problem with living at your parents' house at age 31, you might want to look again

Everyone can go through a rough patch and have to move back to their parents'. But some plan on staying there forever. The question is not necessarily 'Should he move out?', but more 'What is he really doing with the freedom living at his parents' is giving him?'

If you're using the money to invest aggressively, start a business, pursue a creative project, that's one thing; if you're only using it to spend on whatever you please because you will face no consequences, that's a whole different story.

I don't think the problem is about money at all; I think it is about independence and the steps required to become an adult. The man in this story insists he lives in a separate private zone within the same property, but that doesn't make a real difference, only a psychological one.

You can move 2,000 miles away from your parents and remain psychologically entangled with them, and you can also live in the same house and achieve total adult independence, but I don't think that's our friend's case. Why would he need reassurance from the internet if this wasn't the case?

I think he is only looking for a justification for staying, and that's part of not wanting to grow up. His parents are obviously enabling the situation, and it will definitely go on until somebody stops it.

Becoming an adult is largely about learning to take care of yourself and face the consequences of your actions, including your finances. If you have parents who support you through thick and thin, I suppose it might be tempting to relax and stay with them for a bit, but for eternity? That'd be a little weird, right?