Boomerang Nation: How to Survive Living with Your Parents...the Second Time Around

by Elina Furman

You can go home again! Boomerangers are on the rise. Named for the nearly eighteen million 18- to 35-year-old Americans currently living at home, this rapidly growing phenomenom is becoming a way of life for many college graduates and adults looking for a rent- and hassle-free way to get out of debt and plan a course of action for their futures.
Written by Elina Furman, who happily survived living at home the second time around, this timely, information-packed guide offers Boomerangers -- both practicing and aspiring -- wisdom on how to cope with the practical, economic, emotional, and psychological realities of moving back in with Mom and Dad. Furman debunks popular myths, such as that college graduation marks the beginning of domestic and financial freedom, and offers dynamic action plans, proven strategies, and practical advice

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed in this book. I have recently become among the many twenty and thirty somethings who have found themselves moving back home following graduation, caught between two stages of life and struggling to begin a career or other life goals while hampered by a sluggish economy and a tough housing market. As a former member of this not so illustrious group herself, Furman writes that these “boomerangers” are increasingly "loud and proud," and I was hoping for an examination of this phenomena in cultural terms. How exactly is this effecting ideas of adulthood? How are people reconciling this state of trapped adolescence, this loss of independence? The many short personal accounts by boomerangs included in the text to exemplify various problems and thoughts about this trend of extended homelife were among the most interesting parts of the book, and did a good job of showing the reader that they are by no means alone.

On the other hand, while discussing such questions a bit, showing that adults, by choice or necessity, moving back in with their parents is not an uncommon or terrible thing, Furman herself spends much more time focusing on practical advice on how to go back to living with one’s family, from dating to budget considerations. While much of this can be very helpful, a lot of it are simply common sense ideas, such as not to antagonize your new “roommates” by refusing to do chores or dealing with privacy issues. In particular, the section on parental “types” seemed especially redundant. As someone whose family is supportive, much of this came as little surprise. In the end, “Boomerang Nation” might be a useful read, as well as concise, tautly written, easily consumed, but I was looking for a more substantial discussion of the group I now find myself a part.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Confession: I never moved back in with my parents after college. In fact, I consider myself to have effectively moved out of my parents' home at age 16, when I went to boarding school. I came home for breaks and whatnot, but I really haven't lived with my parents since my junior year of high school.

However, I know a LOT of my peers who did move back home after college, and I was curious to learn more about why that was happening and what that was like. Mostly, I learned, it's because of student loans. There are a number of ways in which it's more difficult to get started in modern society than it was, say, 50 years ago, but crushing student loan debt is probably the single largest factor. If your monthly loan payments six months out equal a rent payment, it can be really difficult to support yourself.

There are other problems, though. Many recent grads feel like they should be living "like adults" right out of school and buy nice cars or furnish an apartment with quality (or even Ikea) furniture instead of using hand-me-downs and living with roommates for a couple of years. I shared a bathroom and kitchen with four other adult women for three years after college. No, it wasn't fun. But it sure beat living at home!

Boomerang Nation does a good job of identifying the causes for today's extended adolescence and delayed adulthood among twenty-somethings. And I think it also does a good job dispensing advice and commiseration to those who find themselves in that situation.

[Rue · Rating 4 out of 5]

i picked this book up for a quarter at my local library. i am a boomeranger myself and this explains SOOO much on how to handle parents, being umemployed for the first time since finishing school, my whole thought process while trying to get back on my feet.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointing book. Very little applied to my situation, and it is incredibly outdated, and condescending.