<p>When I moved to the city in '78, everyone I knew was getting help from their parents. No trust funds, involved. Just your basic kid from an upper middle class family. Same as today. </p>
<p>I was in a management training program at a large department store - my salary was $17K/year to start. My rent was something like $700-$800 a month*. You do the math. 
</p>
<p>*My parents insisted I live in a building with a doorman. I could have lived on the UWS in a walk-up for a lot less.</p>
<p>Here is a classic example of parental help.</p>
<p><a href=“The Hunt — An Apartment With Guest Potential - The New York Times”>The Hunt — An Apartment With Guest Potential - The New York Times;
<p>Was watching a new HGTV show called Hawaii Life, basically a Hawaiian House Hunters. Last night’s episode featured a young teacher who was looking to buy a home on Maui. She settled for an older smaller home with a tiny rental property for $496K in Kihei.</p>
<p>I made substantially more than a teacher’s salary when I bought my first home at the same age. My house was $70K. There’s no way she’s buying that on her own, unless Lahaina teachers are making a ton of money.</p>
<p>“When I moved to the city in '78, everyone I knew was getting help from their parents. No trust funds, involved. Just your basic kid from an upper middle class family. Same as today”</p>
<p>That^^^is not the problem…</p>
<p>From what I “hear” from this neck of the woods, the problem is that NOW there are kids being 100% bankrolled without any means of any employment…nor are they looking…</p>
<p>Really sets up an interesting situation for those kids who are trying to make it most of the way on their own…</p>
<p>When my daughter (fully employed since graduation in May) started looking at places in the city to live, her main requirement was that she be in an area where there were NOT alot of “non-working 20 somethings who could literally be shopping and partying 24-7 while she was working 60 hours a week”.</p>
<p>Even the kids think it is insane…</p>
<p>^ That would be the crowd from LI. Yes, I know I’m stereotyping, but I have several in my own family. One’s parent already bought the young marrieds a 5 bedroom house on the north shore.</p>
<p>
He’s looking at the wrong suburbia. The older suburbs have well made houses built in the 1920s. A mix of downtown shopping and shopping centers and easy transportation to the city. Their are suburbs like this in every city I’ve lived near (LA, Boston, NYC).</p>
<p>^And Philadelphia. Our house in an inner-ring suburb was built in 1920.</p>
<p>I live in an older suburb and my house was built in 1927. It is a three bedroom with a full basement and attached garage. We did major renovation when we bought the house to update the bathrooms and kitchens and lighting and rewiring and so on.
Younger d the aspiring actor/singer has met other aspiring actors, directors being 100% supported by their family so that they do not need to have day jobs and can concentrate on being around for auditions.</p>
<p>emilybee: If it was only that, she would be used to it and expect it…it does not seem to be isolated to that group…</p>
<p>Is the supporting of young adults (as in paying their rent) common outside of Manhattan? If I’m paying for an adventure in the city, DH and I are going to be the recipients!</p>
<p>Funny…I don’t think of older, inner-ring neighborhoods as “suburbs” at all. I was referring to the newer, cookie-cutter subdivisions (ironically called “communities”) that are entirely car-dependent and charmless. My house was built in the '40s and it too was at one time part of “the burbs.”</p>
<p>rodney: That’s depressing to hear it’s spread… ;)</p>
<p>“From what I “hear” from this neck of the woods, the problem is that NOW there are kids being 100% bankrolled without any means of any employment…nor are they looking…”</p>
<p>That was my nephew, my sister’s son. Even his sisters could not understand what their parents were doing. Then my sister’s H left her for another woman, after 30 years. He basically left his kids as well and left my sister with much less money than she was used to living with. Yet she still supported her S living in Manhattan, although he did finally get a part time job. Eventually, about 2 years ago, she told him she could no longer afford to support him in Manhattan. So now he lives with her in PA and he still does not have a job–not even part-time. He is over 30 years old and an NYU graduate. Unbelievable!</p>
<p>My D1 living in Manhattan is completely independent! Hallelujah!</p>
<p>Morrismm, your d… nice. :)</p>
<p>“he still does not have a job–not even part-time. He is over 30 years old and an NYU graduate. Unbelievable!”</p>
<p>What’s the story? That’s a long time.</p>
<p>Over 30 with an NYU degree and no job?
Is he holding out for the ‘perfect’ job or something like that?
I think it’s time for plan B. Or Q, X and Z.</p>
<p>Lets hope he doesn’t start a family.</p>
<p>He sleeps all day and stays up all night. Okay…so get a night job. </p>
<p>He is a very intelligent young man with absolutely no ambition (holding out for the “perfect job” but not looking) and is enabled by my sister. She is not doing him any good. We, S and in I , talk about it. She knows he needs to get a job. But she doesn’t force the issue. I’ve talked to him. He knows he needs to get a job. But…he doesn’t get a job! It’s awful.</p>
<p>But at least she is no longer supporting him living in Manhattan. She actually asked for our help in allowing him to stay in Manhattan. We said-- No Way. Not unless he got a full time job.</p>
<p>I can’t believe she asked you for help! Good lord–there are so many people who might truly benefit from (and be grateful for) a helping hand. This kid is not one of them.</p>
<p>The truly scary thing is that neither the S nor your sis can expect sis to stay employed and supporting forever. What happens when sis becomes disabled, laid off or retires? Who will pay bills and support her? Scary!</p>
<p>^^Agreed. My sis is 65, works part- time, and gets paid alimony from her ex, an orthopedic surgeon. But he is in his 60’s and can’t work forever.</p>
<p>My nephew was always very privileged and attended elite private schools. One of his HS classmates was one of Donald Trumps’s sons. It was The Hill School. Unfortunately The Donald was not his dad and couldn’t give him a job!</p>