Benefits of Living in a Multi-Generational Home

The happiest place on earth is and will always be the home. It is inside the home where you generally make the best memories together with your family. This is the place where you build your dreams, think of ways to improve your life, and reap the benefits of your hard labor. The home is the central piece of any family because this is where everyone goes at the end of the day to rest, get a good night’s sleep, and prepare for the day ahead. But how about a multi-generational home? Have you lived in such a kind of home for your family?

Multi-generational home

A multi-generational home consists of families of different generations living together under one roof. This means that the sons or daughters who wed and build their own families stay in the same house. The same event, in turn, happens to their sons and daughters. Their families will start living in the rooms of the home together with the other families of their siblings and relatives.

This is not an extraordinary phenomenon in US families. According to research published by Pew Research, about 64 million people or around 20 percent of the general American population are choosing multi-general homes to be their lifestyle for their families. Two or more generations of US families are staying in one room. This statistic is a combination of different racial groups which include Caucasians, Asians, and Hispanics.

Benefits of a Multi-generational Home

Your neighbors may be living a multi-generational home lifestyle and you are also thinking of doing the same for your family. Do the advantages overcome all the disadvantages? Listed below are the benefits of living in a multi-generational home.

Fewer expenses

Have you ever found yourself spending more and more on monthly utilities and expenses? This is one of the most underrated items that must be considered when building a family. Seen as a single expense, each one of them is small. But when all of them pile up, it can take up a large portion of your monthly income.

You also have to compute the expenditures that you will have to pay for the maintenance of the home. If there will be emergencies for repairs like roofing, wall renovation, or backyard maintenance, you also have to shoulder it yourself.

Living in a multi-generational home can alleviate your monthly expenses. All of the families who are living inside the house will chip in for the payment. The money that you save on your monthly and maintenance expenses can instead be used on other more important family needs.

Sharing in responsibilities

Mowing the lawn can be an excruciating task for some. Fixing the clogged water drain lines or doing carpentry work may be impossible for a dad to do if he is alone. You can’t always spend money on hiring or renting work services. The household duties that you need to do will be postponed further until you will are left with a damaged house.

With a multi-generational home, you can help each other out to do the household chores. You can assign one family at a time to do the work per month. The task responsibilities are designated from one to the other until all of them have done their part.

Closer relationship

Do you know why some families are not closer in their relationship with one another? It is because they do not have time to be with each other. They only meet on special occasions like birthdays, weddings, and holidays. Three to four hours of being together is not enough time to bond and develop and deeper relationship with fellow relatives, nieces, parents, and grandparents.

Multi-generational homes provide a haven for all the relatives to be with each other. The families can talk to each other every single day. They do not have to wait for special celebrations to meet one another. They just have to go out of their rooms, knock at the door of the adjacent one, and start chatting with a nephew, a granny, or other relatives. This kind of home provides convenience in nurturing relationships and establishing a good foundation on how to build and care for your family.

In a study conducted by Boston College researchers, it is found out that having close relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren have reduced symptoms of depression on both sides. This means that grandparents feel less likely to feel sorry for themselves because they are not sent to senior homes. The kids, on the other hand, get additional love aside from their siblings and parents through their grandparents.

Security and safety

Cases of burglary and murder have been increasing in recent years for different households. This is due to a variety of reasons. You may not control what is happening outside of your home but you can surely put more value on what is inside the house. Having a lot of people inside the house allows for more security. You will not be left with an empty home most of the time which discourages thieves and others from entering your house. In cases where an attack at your home occurs, you have a lot of family members to rely on during these events. You feel more secure in your sleep knowing that you are well-protected inside your house.

Privacy

Privacy is one of the contentions of why people are swayed away from choosing a multi-generational home. But if you plan your home right, you can have all the privacy that you need for your family time. Homes can have separate rooms and individual dining and living rooms for each of the families. These sections of the house can give you privacy if you want some alone time with your family.

Conclusion

Multi-generational families offer a lot of conveniences and benefits. Living in a single home does not have to limit you from doing what you love and what you want as a family. It should only help you spend money right, build your family’s relationships, and provide protection and security for them every day.