Living Together is About Survival - Essay Example

19 November Blog 4 Living Together is About Survival (8:56) For many Americans, the of the economy has made cohabitation a necessity rather than a choice. In the past, living with someone else was often something people did out of a desire for companionship, and because it was fun. In many cases, cohabitation applied to people in a relationship, pursuing marriage or a “couple’s” status. The landscape of the economy, however, has changed the idea of living with someone else from choice to inevitability for many, and the selection of where to live and with who to live is changing as well.

Adult children find themselves moving back home in an effort to reduce costs, or simply because they are unable to live independently due to lack of employment or low income (DeParle, Gebeloff, and Tevernise). Recent college graduates may view living with parents as the only viable option as they prepare for independence and search for jobs in a market with high unemployment (Rampell). From a financial standpoint, living with others and sharing expenses makes good sense. Nonetheless, there is a negative impact on the economy as households are blended.

When people do not form new households, their choice diminishes additional business in the form of services and goods sold to multiple households. In a recent New York Times article, Catherine Rampell discusses the impact on the economy in terms of lost rent, household goods like a “bed, desk, couch, doormat, or crockery set,” and loss of new services such as cable for TV and the Internet. According to Moody’s Analytics, “based on demographics, there should be about 1.1 million more households in the United States today than there actually are” (Rampell).

At any given time, a search on Craig’s List for housing and roommates highlights the number of people in potentially desperate situations needing an inexpensive place to live. The vicious cycle of high unemployment leading to blended households feeds into the downturn of the economy and makes living arrangements much different today than several years ago. In today’s economy, many Americans must live with parents or other adults due to unemployment or low income. For these Americans, cohabitation is a necessity, not a choice.

Works Cited DeParle, Jason, Robert Gebeloff, and Sabrina Tevernise. "Older, Suburban, and Struggling, "Near Poor" Startle the Census." New York Times. 18 Nov 2011: n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. . Rampell, Catherine. "As New Graduates Return to Nest, Economy Also Feels the Pain ."New York Times. 16 Nov 2011: n. page. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. .