Hey....Any Room at the Inn?

Awhile back - I made a list of things that would be likely results of the economic squeeze.

My number one item - people moving in together. Multi-family households in a single family house would become more of a norm.

While kids have always - had the revolving door with parents as the younger set try to get established in this world, this downturn would lead to something more. I even foresaw that you would see non-related families moving in together. Brothers and sisters was on the list. Aging parents was a given.

I found the article in USAToday-today to be very interesting. It talks about this very phenomenon.

The article described something I hadn't thought about - divorce rates are falling because couples can't sell the home they are in. Even if they could, the cost of setting up separate households would be prohibitive. Even though many of these couples are living a "War of the Roses" existence with boundaries/schedules set up, I see nothing wrong with a little "cooling off" period under one roof. Who knows? Maybe these people can work it out.

Many of the newer homes - that have been built are much larger than traditional homes. When I grew up, a 2000 sq foot house was considered quite large. To achieve that same status today, you would need to go to 3500-4000 sq ft. Where did this "need for more" come from? I don't think average family size increased. It only makes

The comment that really perked my interest was this one - "moving in with relatives can be demoralizing, humbling, dehumanizing -but a lot of people don't have a choice. You lose that sense of independence, privacy, and self-esteem. You lose somewhat of your identity."

I get what the guy is saying - but since when did living in more space than you need be a vital fuel to one's self-esteem? As said, I "get it" and I am not arguing that this doesn't happen.

The better question - WHY would anyone allow their stuff to define who they are?....even to ourselves?