Yes, we moved....AGAIN. Our lease was up on our apartment. We were readdressing some financial issues and wanted to pay down our debt. We wanted to move closer to Boise. Nampa was not feeling like home. We needed a cheaper rental, so we could pay down the debt and save for a down payment on a house. We looked all around this valley and the cheapest, homiest place we could find was the upstairs at Levi's Parents house in Meridian. I know...we are the WORST kind of boomerang children.
It is not so bad... really, it's actually quite nice. We all get along swimmingly. Levi is gone so much it's nice to have some other people around. Levi's parents get to spoil their grandchildren and they don't even have to leave the house to do it. I am helping to remodel the upstairs...free slave labor... Two rooms down, a bathroom, and one more popcorn ceiling to go! (I actually love doing it, it's fun. )We all like each other...so why not?
So there are a lot of mixed emotions that go into moving back in with the parents. I am hesitant to tell people because most reactions are negative,"Oh, you poor thing.". " You should NEVER live with family!.", "I could never do it." My in-laws are fortunately very awesome and kind people and really easy going like my husband and very generous to share half their home with us for a while...these are all great blessings.I can see how it could go badly for some people, but I really don't see that happening in this situation.
I was wondering if others have had positive experiences with Multigenerational living situations. Seems my initial search brought up lots of negative information targeted at irresponsible boomerang children, but after a little digging I found others willing to share the positive side. I know my Grandmother grew up living with her Grandparents for a few years and had such fond memories of sitting with her Grandmother as she sewed. Most of my own life we lived with my Grandmother, since my Mom was a single mom with 4 kids. I have some amazing memories and a very close relationship with my Grandmother because of it. I grew up in Florida were is is not uncommon for families to all live together either in the same home or on the same property. While a great deal of it's success does depend on the people and their relationship, it can work in the real world, and bring families closer together in the end.
- Here is a fun post about the positive aspects of Multigenerational living:
Top 10 List – Living with the In-Laws, Moments that Make It by Gwen Woods
- Here is a great article on the Come Back of Multi-Generation living and some thoughts on why:
Multi-Generation Living Makes a Comeback
Someone ever wrote a book about it:
Living Together Again by by Sharon Graham Niederhaus and John L. Graham
There was a great segment on ABC about it.
