What was your life like when you were 24?

[OkSoqhateo]

The title says it all. Were you living with your parents still? What was your job like? What did your social life consist of?

Married, own house, pregnant with first child.

I was in my 1st year of university, having taken a few years out after A levels. Living in a shared house, working part time in retail, lots of partying.

It was a fun year.

Busy- I had a toddler and my eldest had just started school. I was married unhappily but stuck as I was a SAHM dependent on my ex.

I was trapped living with a highly controlling and abusive parent. I'd managed to qualify as a RN, but was stuck in a dead end care home job on nightshift. I wanted to work for an overseas aid organisation, but couldn't due to the parent. I eventually managed to escape at age 25.

What area of the country are you in OP?

At 24 I was married (still very happily married now), home with a toddler and pregnant with my second. DH got made redundant so we had to make very little money stretch a long way.
DS is about that age now and his life is so different. He's in a student house share with his long term partner, just bought himself a car with his own self employed earnings.

PhD student
Living on scholarship of £400/month
Living in a freezing cold flat share about 300 miles from "home"
DDad had died previous year
Single
Living my best life
Socialising was based around pubs and mountain sports

Married 3 years, with a one year old ds and early pregnant with dd

Living in first home with a 60k mortgage

I was living in Canada and working as a live in nanny and having the best time 😊

I was at uni in London, on a very prestigious drama course with brilliant tutors, learning new things every day; writing, creating, performing. Best time of my life.

Was in my final year at uni- loving life!

I was doing my masters degree, and very happily single. Mad how many people were married with kids on this thread!

DS works in London and knows a house share would be too expensive. He also wants to save money and live at home with us.

I had a job I loved that involved travelling and lots of socialising (nice lunches, best and newest bars/restaurants in town) I drank too much, partied too much. Travelled lots with friends too, was single and probably a little bit out of control but thinking back I wish I'd worried less about meeting someone and just enjoyed the ride!

Married with a 2 year old, owned our own home, very well off and didn’t worry about money. Lots of lovely friends.

Vastly different from my life now at 45. I feel like I’ve lived my life in reverse to most people.

I was married with a 5 and a 1 year old. Working split shifts in a pub, husband either out of work or earning a pittance. Desperately hard up. It was a very difficult time.

In Economics, at Stanford.

I think this is his problem. He wants to stay comfortable. And yet he's finding the comfort he is experiencing stifles his independent life.

He will have to make the leap at some point and the older he gets the harder it will be.

Reading between the lines of your posts you want home to stay at home. That's totally understandable, you love hime and you want him around. But it's not the best thing for him.

@Movinghouseatlast I'm sorry if this comes across as combative but I'm not trying to be.

How have my posts made it seem that DS living at home is restricting his independence? He goes out and hangs out with his friends whenever. His office is a short turn journey from homes, he's saved up quite a bit already. He earns just under £30k and I know rent would eat out a lot of his disposable income.

I completely agree with this.

24 is probably a bit of a tricky age, I remember the term 'quarter life crisis'. Everyone has different experiences and expectations, if he's feeling a bit lost or empty, perhaps joining some hobby groups or doing some travelling will help. Now is a good age to do someone out of your comfort zone while you feel you are still young enough to take some risks. It probably would also good to move out of home if he can afford it (although I think travelling will be the better option)

It's now 2025 and he still has no desire to leave

He's been doing BJJ now and loves it

I was fresh out of uni (took a gap year then changed my degree so took yet another gap year and then did a four year course). I moved countries (to London) and spent the first few months trying to find a job in my discipline. I lived on my own in a friend of a friends’s flat as she was abroad. Didn’t find my dream job so worked in retail for six months until I did. It was pretty depressing after all those years getting a degree, but perseverance eventually paid off. My social life before then was pretty non existent- I didn’t know anyone. After I got my design job I met a few same age as me and work became my social life too. It was the time when as soon as you got a job you bought property so that’s what I did (probably was 25 by then). I remember my boss’s secretary asking me what salary they should tell the bank! I just remember us all uncoupled and free and just doing what we wanted, though a visiting friend who was still at uni said I wasn’t fun anymore (as I had a job to get up for and a mortgage to pay).

I had a one year old, we were living with my parents as my relationship with his Dad broke down when he was a newborn. I was ok financially as I fortunately trained as a nursery nurse after school so took DS1 to work with me and got really good staff discount.
I didn’t have much of a social life, occasional nights out with the girls from work.

life wise, it was stressful, a messy break up resulted in solicitors and a long drawn out court case (went in mine and DS’s favour thankfully!)