More adults move back in with parents after college

DETROIT -- They range in ages and income levels. Some are divorced, others never married. Their interests vary from mushrooms to muscle cars.\nBut they all have one thing in common: They are adult children living at home with their parents.\nIt's not a crazy notion. Since 1970, the percentage of people ages 18 to 34 who live at home with their parents increased 48 percent nationwide, from 12.5 million to 18.6 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.\nThe practice is the focus of the movie "Failure to Launch," starring Matthew McConaughey as a 35-year-old living at home with his parents, played by Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw.\nBut there's no need to turn to Hollywood for tales of children who returned to the parental nest or never left in the first place. It's playing out in basements and spare rooms and carriage houses all over.\n"I'm thinking this may be a trend," said Neal Hartshorne, 42, who lives with his parents in the Northville home where he was raised and works in a stained glass shop as a craftsman. "In this economy, a lot of people are needing help. I don't make much money, so it's not sensible for me to move out."\nHartshorne is what real estate representatives often call a boomerang kid -- those who tried life on their own but came back to the nest. However, he wasn't gone too long. Right after high school, he moved to Chicago to attend a trade school. He was back home after one semester.\nAnd by default he has the largest bedroom in the three-bedroom house. His parents, Harry Hartshorne, 80, and Dorothy Hartshorne, 84, had decided to give the largest room to their three children to share as kids. As his brothers moved on and out, Neal inherited the room.\nHarry Hartshorne said he never thought of kicking his son out and doesn't think Neal's motivated enough to find the additional employment necessary to live on his own. Harry isn't complaining, though. His son's presence allows him and his wife to travel and not worry about the house.\nNeal keeps the grass cut, shovels the snow, does his own laundry and cooks for himself.\nFor tax purposes, Harry says his son pays rent -- $50 per month. Neal, an avid mushroom hunter, balks at such a notion. "They don't ask me for anything," he said.