I had many “Greatest Generation” customers. Many of them grew up in multigenerational homes. And some lived in weekly rooming housing.
It seems that some of the working class is returning to that type of housing.
Living with family isn’t a last resort anymore. It’s the plan.
American families are increasingly moving back in together — or never separating in the first place. The number of people living in multigenerational households — or those with two or more adult generations — quadrupled between 1971 and 2021, according to Pew Research. The share of people in these living arrangements soared from 7% to 18% in that time period.
Cost savings are driving the trend. Families can split rent and mortgage payments, and save on childcare expenses and long-term care costs for older relatives.
Harvard’s 2025 State of the Nation’s Housing report finds that home prices and rents have become increasingly unaffordable for most Americans, with record‑high median home costs and half of renters burdened by housing expenses, leading experts to recommend zoning reforms and expanded subsidies.
Sheesh! Why can’t these kids pull themselves up by their boot straps! /sarcasm
I grew up in a multigenerational household. Father’s parents upstairs. They owned the duplex house. Parents and three kids downstairs but always up and down between the apartments.
Maybe they benefited financially. I don’t know. But I can say with 100% certainty that we kids had immeasurable social benefits from living so close to our wise, loving grandparents.
At one point in the 1970s, my dad was out of work for an extended period, so we moved in with my grandparents and lived there for a few months. Grandparents, aunt (only a few years older than me), my parents and their 4 kids (me being the eldest one) all in a 3 bedroom 3rd story walk up in Brooklyn! It was quite cramped, but it was great.
It led to a family lore story that is still told today 50+ years later. After we moved in, after the big hullabaloo of finding space for all our stuff, setting up beds for all the adults and kids, etc. Figuring out how the morning will be scheduled re:work and school, etc. That first evening a couple of hours after dinner, we (the adults and kids over 11) sat down and had tea and snacks/cake while talking about “stuff” (how the day went, plans for next day, family stuff, etc). Anyway, the second night, after a very busy day, again we sat down a couple of hours after dinner for tea and cake. And it became a “thing” that we did almost every night. After my dad found a job and we moved out to our own place again, we came back to visit once for a few days, and suddenly no tea+cake in the evening! My dad asked my grandmother why, and she said “we thought that was a thing that YOU did each night”, my mom&dad told my grandparents “WE thought it was a European thing that YOU did each night!”. Turns out that it just happened randomly and wasn’t anyone’s “thing”.
My grandparents lived with us for years and honestly it shaped how I think about money and family more than anything else. People act like it’s some kind of step backward but splitting costs while having built-in childcare and elder care under one roof is just practical math. Housing prices didn’t leave a lot of people much choice anyway, so the stigma around it needs to go.
For the first 6 years or so of my life we lived with my granny. Seemed quite normal as a couple of my friends’ families were doing the same. **Husband and I are doing something similar…living so close to the daughter and granddaughter that the similar practical care etc is available for them. We make great use of it. It’s a positive in both directions. I can attest that the Grandmother Effect is real.
** A double celebration today…our 48th wedding anniversary and 45 years celebration of bringing our daughter home from the hospital after her birthday.
Thanks @WendyBG … it seems to have gone by in a flash. I have a couple of friends who were married on the same date…a second marriage for both. I still think of them as recent partners and just got my usual surprise on Facebook that it’s their 35 th anniversary.
The real shocker is that my daughter has just turned 45!