why didn't americans do that and decided to penny pinch/take more loans rather than saving costs?
In the world of remote-first, do you really think geography matters as much?
Many of my friends’ parents financially cut them off when they graduated high school, and/or immediately moved out of their town to a lower tax area (and these are upper middle class folks). So that safety net of weathering the storm in a hometown may not always be there IME.
wait, let me get this straight. i don't get "Many of my friends’ parents financially cut them off when they graduated high school," i've read this a lot of times. does this mean the parents force the children to stand on their own feet and not extend to them financial support or do you mean they cut them off of their money as is. don't these people know about inheritance?
>and/or immediately moved out of their town to a lower tax area
this one, specifically in india is literally never a concern. taxes are same across the entire country so no one even considers this
>So that safety net of weathering the storm in a hometown may not always be there IME.
correct me if i am wrong but i suppose there are two things at play here. parents' insistence on always being right and not taking care of their children however old (when they have the resources nonetheless) as a sign of "american way" and the children thinking "i will stay at a homeless shelter rather than go back to my parents home because muh privacy, independence"?
More or less, yeah. In America, you are expected to be your own person when you turn 18. That almost always means having a job and paying for a place to live, even if it means flipping burgers and renting a room at mom and dad's house.
Though, I've been reconsidering that expectation with all these articles over the past few years of parents helping their kids with down payments on their kid's houses. Now there's parent plus student loans.
Inheritance? Many older adults also live paycheck to paycheck and are drowning in debt, and might explain how eager some parents are to kick their kids out. In America, inheritance usually only happens when both parents die, but many kids won't see a penny of inheritance.
But yes, historically a large proportion of WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) families in the US are very individualistic, and of the mindset that once when you graduate college, (barring a grace year or two), you're expected to rent/own your place. Apartments exist as a place that are more affordable than condos or homes. Inheritance exists, but that's considered as only a "when the oldest generation dies" sort of thing.
I do find this trend feels like it dovetails with a greater percentage of estranged kids/adults, and isolation for the oldest generation. Quite a lot of estrangement is necessary; this isn't a judgement on that choice, merely commenting there may be more friction under the surface leading to that mindset.
I mention the first line because (quasi-) immigrant families (like mine) are a lot more of your mindset. Makes far more sense to save, and there's less cultural taboo with multi-generation households.
some raw data: https://www.boredpanda.com/young-adults-moving-from-parents-...
They did. In 2020, 52% of young adults in America were living with their parents. The number is lower now but not by a lot.
And yes, geography does really matter now that half of the US is making basic women's Healthcare illegal. No amount of money would drive someone to move their family to a place where basic Healthcare is denied for every woman.