<p>This works in some communities but not others. Proof of employment and savings were not sufficient for my daughter to be able to get an apartment without a guarantor in a major eastern city, but they were sufficient for my son to get an apartment without a guarantor in a California suburb.</p>
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<p>It’s amazing how much mileage you can get out of a good-quality camping air mattress in lieu of a bed. They cost less than $100 including the pump, you can carry one home from the store, and they often last a year or more. It’s also amazing how many different ways you can use cheap, easy-to-assemble tables from IKEA.</p>
<p>Marian,
Was it the city or perhaps the particular landlord that had tighter rules? Did she have a good credit rating? My DS had no problems at all signing in a major eastern city, but he had a strong credit history as well.</p>
<p>We already did the application paperwork for the place so what’s done is done. I have some potential plans for the apartment too in the future. He has a job, lots of savings and no credit history.</p>
<p>D1 also got her own apartment in NYC on her own, with proof of employment (salary), cash in her checking acct, and not a very robust credit history because she never had a credit card in her name until she graduated.</p>
<p>In the kids’ current apartment, there are two WalMart sofa/beds that cost $84 each.</p>
<p>There is another twin bed that I bought when I moved out of my mother’s house for good - so it’s about 25 years old. The mattress and box-spring are solid. The mattress, boxspring and frame were $89 back then.</p>
<p>We could potentially move one of the WalMart beds over (it can be taken apart to fit in our car) and some of the furniture or just buy something and have it delivered. We rented a van many years ago to move the other bed along with some of the other furniture there. We’re in the process of moving stuff out of the apartment (daughter uses it currently).</p>
<p>We could be lazy and just order furniture to be delivered too.</p>
<p>This launching stuff would make for a good thread or blog.</p>
<p>Our daughter may want to move in with him if work prospects are better in the big city compared to the quiet state that we live in. Our unemployment rate is 4.9% and there will be a job fair with 1,000 openings in two weeks at a local community college but there is a lot more business activity in the big city. So it would be nice if she had some options in looking for work.</p>
<p>There are times when I wouldn’t mind hanging out at his place to work for a day.</p>
<p>We told our kids that they could live at home as a way to save money after college/grad school while they looked for jobs. We live in an area where there is employment (we are in one of the wealthiest counties in the US - see other CC post on that subject) so moving was never a necessity. We let them know that we were not going to fund their adulthood so they did not have the expectation. </p>
<p>So far, our two oldest have gotten jobs and married shortly after school, so we didn’t have to fund much for them beyond the wedding. They also worked during school, so we didn’t give them much money during school, so they didn’t have any financial expectations after school. </p>
<p>To the OP, I personally wouldn’t fund much of that plan. Like you, I’d have huge reservations. I like what another CC poster said. Get a job here (so you can live at home and save money) and save, save, save so that you can financially move yourself to where ever you want to go when you are financially ready. That’s what adults do. </p>
<p>Kids currently have a place in the city of their schools. Son got a job after the semester started. He’s getting an apartment in another city. Daughter is still in the old apartment but will hopefully be graduating in the spring so that apartment will be gone.</p>
<p>I suspect that her limited credit history was a factor, as was the fact that her job would not start until after the lease began. I’m not sure about the differences among landlords. The apartment was in a highly desirable area (close to transit, lots of shopping within walking distance, relatively safe neighborhood), so if the property management company wanted to be fussy, they could be. Apartments in her building do not stay unoccupied for long.</p>
<p>It sounds like your son has talked about his plans, but not yet asked for advice or assistance. Could you ask him if he would like to talk over ideas? Maybe he would appreciate your giving him a list of things to consider, especially if he felt you were respecting his independence.</p>
<p>You might be pleasantly surprised by how he has thought things through, or not ;)</p>
<p>I’m not a parent, but I can tell you about my parents’ experiences. </p>
<p>My older sister tried to live away at home with no job right after high school. She couldn’t find stable employment and my parents ended up taking out a loan to bail her out of the last four months of rent. Granted, your son will have a college degree, but I think a similar cost-benefit analysis should apply.</p>
<p>My parents understandably were more strict with me when I began college: they said they would pay for books and supplies for the first two years of college and nothing else after that. (Luckily I had a full ride and some lucrative summer internships!) They wanted me to stay home after graduation if I didn’t have a job lined up.</p>
<p>The funny part is, I still ended up living away from home for a year after graduation, without a full-time job. But I had enough savings to last a year, and a part-time job. I stuck around my lab to improve my grad school prospects, and I soon had full funding at multiple schools. My parents were happy to support me for free at home for the summer until I started grad school. So, maybe it’s not such a bad idea if your son has a viable plan. </p>
<p>Regardless, I really think it would save you a lot of trouble later if you set an absolute limit on how much support you are willing to offer him. If he hasn’t asked you for money yet, maybe you could bring it up like, “We realize you’re going to need some money as you start your life after graduating. We can give you $X for X months to help out, and also you’re always welcome back home. We trust that you’ll make responsible decisions based on your finances.” </p>
<p>In case you’re curious, after a couple years working near home my sister did eventually find a job in her dream city.</p>
<p>Like many others posting, I would offer to let my sons move back home while job hunting. And, while moved back home, they would have responsibilities (mowing the lawn, helping with cooking, laundry and cleaning); it would not be like a free hotel stay.</p>