I Live in My Parents’ Basement and It’s the Best Thing Ever

We’re saving money while also enjoying quality time with relatives

Last year, my husband and I were living in Washington, DC, when we found out he was accepted into the MBA program at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. We were thrilled — I grew up in Ann Arbor, and my husband was an undergrad at University of Michigan. My parents still lived in the area, and we were both happy at the prospect of moving back to a place that felt like home.

As we thought about the logistics for our big move, we kept coming back to the question of housing. Michigan as a whole has a far lower cost of living than DC, but Ann Arbor has housing costs that are quite a bit above the US average. We looked at several options for our living situation before realizing the solution was staring us in the face.

The obvious solution: the basement

Ann Arbor rent can range widely depending on the neighborhood, but the average is just north of $1,500/month, and it’s growing. On top of that, MBA tuition is expensive, in line with growing college tuition rates across the board.

We knew we needed to economize; even though my husband would continue working full-time during his MBA program and I had a full-time job, we both were very keen on saving as much money as possible so we could get through the two years of his program debt-free.

Luckily, my parents’ home has a separate basement apartment, and with just one child in the family (me), the house was an empty nest. I’m very close with my parents, and we jumped at the chance to live rent-free and spend more time with family.

I’m not apologizing for my living situation anymore

When meeting new people, my husband and I were hesitant to answer the normal question, “Where are you living?” We didn’t want to be associated with the traditional stereotypes around children living in their parents’ basements. We always answered these questions with vague statements, like “Oh, we live over by the new high school,” or “We’re living in a basement apartment near downtown.” Those answers usually put an end to that line of conversation, and we moved on — hoping the talk never circled back, or that we wouldn’t have to fess up at some point.

At work, I didn’t want to tell my colleagues about my real living situation, because I was concerned they’d think differently of me — would they see me as less mature? Less professional? Too young? Too inexperienced? My vague answers quelled curiosity, but they also distanced me from my coworkers.

On the rare occasion I told the full truth about where I lived, I usually accompanied that reveal with “Oh, you know, because we’re paying for school,” and “It actually works out really great, but it’s not forever,” or something similar. I felt the need to apologize for my situation, to recognize out loud that it wasn’t ideal.

But you want to know the real truth? Living in my parents’ basement absolutely was ideal. And I’m no longer apologizing for it.

Realizing the benefits

As I’m sure many millennials who have moved back in with parents during quarantine have discovered, living with your relatives can have major benefits beyond not having to pay rent:

• I get to spend more quality time with family. This was especially important when my mom was in the grip of COVID — I was able to care for her, be by her side, and keep the house running.
• I don’t have to worry as much about social isolation. Especially during quarantine, loneliness is a major concern. Now that my mom has recovered, I have the luxury of being able to play games, go on walks, watch movies, and cook with my family — all of which have helped reduce the toll the pandemic takes on mental health.
• We have room to move around. In our tiny apartment in DC, we were comfortable, but still cramped. In my parents’ house, we have our own space in the basement, but we can also access the rest of the house. On top of that, we have a backyard, which made it possible for us to get our own dog — something we wouldn’t have done in an apartment.

We’re not the only ones

I only know of one other friend who is in the same living situation as I am, but I know there are many more like us out there — in fact, one in five millennials in the US lives with their parents. Their reasons are varied, but generally fall into consistent buckets: rising housing costs, student loan debt, inadequate wages. With over 20% of us living in these multigenerational households, it’s time to remove the stigma and erase the stereotype around living with our parents. We’re not failures, we’re not lazy, we’re not entitled — we’re making smart financial decisions, bonding with our families, and giving ourselves time to gain financial independence.

It’s time to flip the script — living in your parents’ basement isn’t a curse, it’s an enormous, multi-faceted blessing.