Judge Backs Parents, Saying Their 30-Year-Old Son Must Move Out (npr.org)

"Attention geeks living in their parents' basements!" writes PolygamousRanchKid , sharing this story from NPR: The promise of adventure didn't do it. Neither did the lure of independence, or the weight of his 30 years. Instead, it took a judge to pry Michael Rotondo from his parents' home. The couple won an eviction order against their son, after a judge argued with Rotondo for 30 minutes. "I don't see why they can't just, you know, wait a little bit for me to leave the house," Rotondo told Donald Greenwood, a justice on the Onondaga County Supreme Court...

Christina and Mark Rotondo resorted to legal action after a series of notes to their son (starting on Feb. 2) failed to get him to move out of their home in Camillus, New York, a town west of Syracuse. Those notes followed discussions that began last October. The notes to Michael Rotondo ranged from orders to leave and encouragement to get a job, to offers of more than $1,000 and help in finding a place... The notes escalated into a formally worded notice for Rotondo to leave that set a 30-day deadline -- which lapsed on March 15...

In a legal filing cited by CNYCentral, Rotondo said that in the eight years he has lived at his parents' house, he "has never been expected to contribute to household expenses, or assisted with chores and the maintenance of the premises," and that those conditions are simply part of an informal agreement. When he was in his early 20s, Rotondo briefly lived on his own, but he moved back in with his parents after losing a job...

The case is being seen as an extreme example of a growing trend. As NPR reported in 2016, a Pew study found that, "For the first time in more than 130 years, Americans ages 18-34 are more likely to live with their parents than in any other living situation."

Comments

Not News For Nerds

[NicknameUnavailable]

How did this even make it into the firehose?

Re:Not News For Nerds

[Ol Olsoc]

More to the point the Stereotype is that “Nerds live in the parents basement.” Most jobs for nerds pay well enough for them to live on their own and most do. However conditions for younger adults are much harder today then the past generations in terms of home ownership.

I know it is fashionable to complain about the terrible injustices facing the millennials, and how badly they have it, but allow me to telll a story of how we privileged late boomers had it on our waltz to easy street.

Sarcasm off.

I entered the workforce in the early 1970's. One of the first issues of the times was that I might get drafted and sent to the Jungles of Vietnam. Then there was finding employment. As the job stimulus aspect of the war was winding down, we were in a bit of a funk. As a single white male, I was at the bottom of the hiring list. Bell Telephone HR told me as much. I qualified well for their employ, but they needed more people who didn't look like me. Beyond that, their rankings for employment were married Veterans, single veterans, Married men with children, Married men, and single men (fwiw, I'm not sure where females were in the mix because he didn't mention them)

Then after finally landing work, there was this double digit inflation. Many of my fellow young people simply didn't save for retirement or other things, a habit they have continued till today. But they did whine.

Anyhow, The problems of millennials is more that they have been raised with unrealistic expectations. The young ladies have been raised with the concept that they can "have it all", just like men. That conveniently ignores the fact that men don't have it all.

The males are largely sad cases. Oftentimes drugged into submission during their school years, and having been educated that they are not the ones who can have it all, many have simply given up.

Before the typical backlash that happens when someone dares express an opinion other than that no generation has ever had it worse - their problems are based on entirely fucked up ideas on our part.

In areas that have the better paying jobs also have outrageous housing costs. So that home your grandparents or parents got with an adjusted for inflation salary of 50k a year job now needs 80k a year to get a similar home in some cities that has inflated to closer to 120k..

Remember though, that with today's two income household model, and the willingness to spend stupid amounts of money for housing, that is what you end up with.

So many kids are staying at their parents house and help paying for their rent because their parents were able to get their home at a bargain compared to today.

So the fact that we terrible prents were making less money then is of no consequence? Yeah - my house cost less than it would today. I was also making less. I do not know if you are a millennial, or just play one on TV, but seriously, you should try having no job prospects, hyperinflation and the possibility of having an early death and/ornasty PTSD after being forced to fight.

The lesson of all of this is that the cards we are dealt are the cards we are dealt. Wanna whine and complain, piss and moan about how awful it all is? by all means do - its a free country. There were a few folks I grew up with that did that too. Now they are old pissers and moaners. Hope they enjoyed their lack of success. But if peop;le think that life is just too hard for them - well, I guess they might be right.

Re:Not News For Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

The problem is more wealth going to fewer people. The millennials are getting the worst of it, because it's worse now than ever.

Re:Not News For Nerds

[Anonymous Coward]

>One of the first issues of the times was that I might get drafted and sent to the Jungles of Vietnam.

So did everyone else, but from your story you weren't, so that gave you an advantage.

>As a single white male, I was at the bottom of the hiring list. Bell Telephone HR told me as much. I qualified well for their employ, but they needed more people who didn't look like me.

Jobs that didn't prefer white males in the 70s? Jesus F. Christ, that's a bold lie right there.

> Then after finally landing work, there was this double digit inflation. Many of my fellow young people simply didn't save for retirement or other things, a habit they have continued till today. But they did whine.

So why are you complaining about millenials?

>Anyhow, The problems of millennials is more that they have been raised with unrealistic expectations. The young ladies have been raised with the concept that they can "have it all", just like men. That conveniently ignores the fact that men don't have it all.

The American Dream is not a new concept. Stop blaming Millenials for buying into it. The Baby Boomer media is what pushed that concept so fucking hard.

>The males are largely sad cases. Oftentimes drugged into submission during their school years, and having been educated that they are not the ones who can have it all, many have simply given up.

OK, stop, you're just a stereotype of an alt-right troll who hasn't seen what the outside world looks like right now.

>Remember though, that with today's two income household model, and the willingness to spend stupid amounts of money for housing, that is what you end up with.

But I thought that your generation didn't save money? How come you expect that from young couples now?

>So the fact that we terrible prents were making less money then is of no consequence? Yeah - my house cost less than it would today. I was also making less.

Adjusted to inflation, housing prices are up by over 100% compared to income since the 70s. You may have made less, but your house cost a LOT less. The numbers are very clear on this: housing is the one thing where prices soared throughout the last forty years.

>you should try having no job prospects, hyperinflation and the possibility of having an early death and/ornasty PTSD after being forced to fight.

There was a less competitive workspace, the US never had hyperinflation, and the draft was something that influenced a small part of society who were usually poor anyways. I mean, it's not like getting a doctor to say "he's got bone spurs" was anything other than a matter of money.

Re:Not News For Nerds

[Ol Olsoc]

What is amazing is that there has been no generation ever that has had it as bad as the poor millenials, Not ever I tell you!

They have a choice, realize what they need to do, or wallow in self pity. They were raised by well meaning but stupid parents wh othought that by submitting to their every whim whould create a generation of super people, and a society and school system that thought by inculcating them with high self esteem that was not balanced by acheivement would giver them the confidence to overcome everything.

When in fact, it inculcated them with an unrealistic sense of entitlement, coupled with an exxagerated self esteem that crumbled when they got into the real world and found that they couldn't be promoted to ultra boss, and momy and daddy could no longer prevent any and all problems from getting in their way.

So yeah - they can wallow in self pity, live at home, and deplete mommy and daddy's retirement funds. Or maybe they can learn what their parents and society wouldn't allow them to learn, just later in life.

Re:Not News For Nerds

[Q-Hack!]

>As a single white male, I was at the bottom of the hiring list. Bell Telephone HR told me as much. I qualified well for their employ, but they needed more people who didn't look like me.

Jobs that didn't prefer white males in the 70s? Jesus F. Christ, that's a bold lie right there.

Hate to burst your modern day bias bubble, but the 1970's were all about affirmative action. If you were white, they would take you only if there wasn't a lesser qualified minority who applied for the same job. GP's experience holds true.

Re:There should be a law preventing such rulings.

[Dog-Cow]

Sometimes a deadbeat is a deadbeat entirely on his own. This kid graduated college. He's not uneducated, though it seems he hasn't bothered to learn much. His parents may share some of the blame, but sometimes, you have to grow up despite your parents, if you didn't grow up because of them.

Re:Ok heres why the parents messed up

[Kjella]

When you want to evict somebody for real, you do it legally to begin with dont fuck around. Dont try to serve the notice yourself or any of that bullshit. Or come up with your own arbitrary timeline. The kid was right initially, they cant evict him by typing some letter saying get out in 2 weeks. Thats not how it works people.

Except he doesn't pay rent, this is "evicting" the guy you let sleep in your spare bedroom for a few days but never leaves. Or your girlfriend kicking you out of her house and you go nope we had an "informal agreement" so I live here now until I'm evicted. Freebies end when the person giving it away wants it to end. When the time was up they should have put his things on the street and changed the lock. I doubt he'd have gotten anywhere in court, no consideration = no contract. No contract = you're a guest. Guests leave when they're asked to leave or they get kicked out.

Re:Missing the big picture

[sjames]

And likewise to be 30, living with your parents (with your child) and contributing NOTHING to the household. Not money, not housework, not yard work, NOTHING.

Of course, that may also go back to the parents.

Re:White people.

[CohibaVancouver]

Multi-generational families are a thing from an agrarian past, there is no place for them in a modern society.

Do you have children?

I have an Indian friend. She and her (Australian) husband live in a house with their two little kids and her parents.

Childcare for her is way wicked easier compared to us white folks. The kids' grandparents help with school dropoff and pickup, meal prep - You name it. The kids help keep the elders young, and the elders help reduce the stress on the parents.