Here's a fun way to start an internet fight: suggest that moving out at 18 is financially stupid. A Reddit thread did exactly that recently, with the original poster declaring it "the single biggest destroyer of generational wealth in the US." Predictably, the comment section turned into a battlefield.
The Math of Independence
The argument goes like this: when two generations live separately, they're essentially paying for everything twice. Two mortgages, two property tax bills, two roofs that need fixing. And if the grandparents live even 20 miles away? Tack on $24,000 a year for daycare. The poster calls this lifestyle "mathematical suicide."
Their solution? Think like the Rockefellers and Waltons. Keep capital consolidated. Build wealth by not splitting it up. "The middle class has been tricked into fracturing their wealth into tiny, inefficient rental units to prove they are 'independent,'" they wrote.
So this poster and their parents bought a multi-generational home instead. "We aren't 'roommates.' We are a family LLC building an empire."
When Theory Meets Reality
Not everyone was buying it. One highly upvoted comment cut to the chase: "A vast majority of people moving out at 18 are not leaving behind a great home life, and financially responsible parents they would like to share an asset with."
Another commenter shared their own story: "Despite getting a full-ride scholarship, my mother kicked me out my senior year before I even turned 18." For many people, moving out isn't about proving independence. It's about escaping dysfunction.
Others pointed out that the model assumes grandparents are both available and willing to provide free childcare. "Not all retirees want to be free babysitters for their grandkids after 20 years of raising their own kids," one person noted. Turns out, having raised their own children, some grandparents would like to actually retire.
The Global Perspective
Still, plenty of commenters defended multi-generational living as both practical and normal. "I lived with my parents until I was 31, when I got married," one wrote. "It allowed me to accumulate a hefty 250K in investments."
Another pointed out that this arrangement is standard practice in many places: "This is the norm in Spain. Has been forever."
Several commenters noted that immigrant communities in the U.S. have been doing this for generations, building wealth through pooled resources and shared housing costs. The debate seems to highlight a particularly American cultural hangup around independence.
One commenter got specific about the cultural barrier: "We're a little sexually repressed in this country and would have issues with adult kids doing adult things in our home as parents." Fair point. It's hard to build your family LLC when everyone's awkwardly pretending your adult children don't have romantic lives.
Money vs. Everything Else
Some critics accused the original poster of reducing family relationships to a spreadsheet. The poster's response? Essentially, yes. "Honestly it's hard to focus on 'love' when you're stressed about rent and inflation every day," they wrote. "Profit margin protects the peace."
That didn't sit well with everyone. "Your 'hack' for 'generational wealth'... is barely scraping by just to live with your parents forever?" one person shot back. Another kept it simple: "Some things are more important than money."
And there's the rub. The original poster might be right that living separately is expensive. But the real question isn't whether multi-generational living saves money. It obviously does. The question is whether that financial benefit is worth navigating the complexity of adult family dynamics, or whether it's even an option when family relationships are strained or toxic.
Americans might be paying a premium for independence, but for many people, it's a premium they're happy to pay. Or in some cases, one they have no choice but to pay.