Patrick Faraday
When Ciaran Barry got a job on Long Island, he thought he would live with his folks for a few months, make some money, and move out. And he did.
But not for long. Even though he was working long hours for over a year, after moving out, Ciaran realized he couldn't go on living paycheck to paycheck. And now he's back home.
Entry level accountants, teachers, travel agents, waiters or waitresses and a large number of other 20-somethings seem to have at least one thing in common: they are living at home with mom and dad. This trend is a reality for many families in Rockville Centre. With a variety of reasons for staying at home, recent college graduates and some not so recent are finding it more and more difficult to spread their wings, so to speak, and leave the nest.
While the main factor facing young adults still living in the same house they grew up in and some still in the same bedroom is high rent rates, there are other variables that make moving out on one's own out of reach. The high cost of sales and income tax, onerous utility rates and gasoline prices make it nearly impossible for entry-level professionals to make it without family support.
Ciaran graduated from Siena College in 2001 with a bachelor's in history. He looked around the Albany area near his school for a few months but finally got an opportunity on Long Island. He moved back in with his parents in their North Forest Avenue home and began a job at a travel agency specializing in trips to Ireland.
After a few promotions, he felt he was making enough money to move out on his own, so he moved in with some co-workers.
After a few months of this, however, he realized that he did not have enough money to live comfortably, and since living from paycheck to another caused him stress, he decided to move back home. Ciaran was tired of working long hours and not reaping enough benefits. "The move back home was definitely financially based, because it's very hard to save money living on your own," he said.
His experience is vastly different from his own parents, who were married and already had children at his age. They say they have never experienced an empty nest and can't wait until they do.
To alleviate some of the financial burden created by his return, Ciaran decided to help his parents by giving them a nominal amount of money a month.
Ciaran says there are no real disadvantages to living at home, it just takes some getting used to. He was fortunate because his parents' house had enough room for him to move home and renovate a few rooms to give him his own space.
But Bryan Silon is living back in his childhood bedroom and he isn't the only one. Anyone from the lower class to the upper class can find themselves living at home. Bryan graduated from Cornell in 2002 with a biology degree. Now he lives in his Powell Avenue home with his parents and younger sister, who will be attending college next school year.
Bryan is working on his master's in biology at Hofstra University while teaching classes in human biology. Not only is Bryan teaching, but he is on schedule to finish grad school early. He is hoping to get a research job in one of the science fields after grad school.
Bryan, as with many recent graduates, feels the main benefit of returning home is living rent-free. The other perks are obvious: home cooked food and laundry done by mom, but not having to pay bills is still the biggest attraction.
For Bryan there is "nothing bad" about living at home. But he does say there is some embarrassment. "You have to admit you're living at home with your parents after graduating college," he said.
Rolling with the punches is Bryan's mantra. While in school, he never gave much thought to where he would live after he graduated. He just focused on his schoolwork and took the obstacles as they came. Now he feels the same about when he will move out.
He does not know when that will be or where he'll be going. "Maybe California," he said. "Maybe Manhattan. Wherever the job is. Whatever the job is."
Right now, he just wants to focus on school and teaching. Moving out will happen eventually for him, but he is not in too much of a hurry.
Bill Blackford has a different story than most. He went to school at Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Graduating with a degree in business administration, Bill knew he wanted to go into sales or marketing but had no real direction. He got a job working for John Hancock in Virginia but decided to move back to Long Island instead.
"Living in Virginia, you feel you might get trapped there, and I am too young to feel like that, so I figured I would move home," he said.
When he got back here, he lived at home with his parents and younger siblings for a few months. Bill waited to see if any of his friends would be able to move out in a reasonable amount of time, but no one could. So he moved back to Virginia where the cost of living is much lower than on Long Island.
Living in Virginia, Bill pays $580 a month to rent a duplex near Washington, DC. In Nassau County, you couldn't rent a studio apartment for that amount.
Bill said that he would rather live on Long Island but realizes he can't afford it.
Even though politicians speak of affordable housing as one of their biggest priorities on Long Island, people like Bill, Bryan and Ciaran do not foresee a solution being found anytime soon.
