Dating Distractions — Living at Home
under RelationshipsA lot of young adults have moved home and are now adult roommates with their parents. In fact, it’s such a phenomenon right now that books written on the topic have made it to the bestseller’s list. So here you are, probably in your mid-to-late 20’s, maybe even your early 30’s, and you are working on furthering your career but aren’t making quite enough money for a down payment and a mortgage. Or you just moved back to town. Or you are getting a divorce. Or you consider yourself old-fashioned and want to live at home until you get married. Or you just got laid off. Whatever the reason is, it’s a popular circumstance for many singles right now. But how do you date when you live with your parents? For starters, try not to lead with this fact. When asked where you live, state the neighborhood not the homeowners. Try to avoid being too specific until further into a first date conversation. And when you do, be matter of fact about why, but be brief. At this point, your date should already know that you’ve gone back to school for a Masters, or just relocated, or was previously married, or are unemployed (another word to find a synonym for) so when you share that you’ve moved home with your parents you don’t need to go into detail. Stress that you plan on it being temporary (if that’s the truth) but really, if the person likes you then he or she will not be turned off by your current living situation. Finally, try to arrange it so that your date doesn’t have to meet your parents too soon and once it does happen keep it simple, “Mom, Dad, this is Adam/Eve, Adam/Eve this is my Mom (insert name here) and Dad (insert name here).” Allow them to exchange niceties and then excuse yourselves. Warn your parents ahead of time so that they are presentable (no housecoats) and that this is just a quick introduction on your way out the door. Hopefully your request will be respected and the interactions can be easy and comfortable.