Graduates are finding there's no place like home (again)

CHICAGO - When Johnny comes marching home again, hurrah . . .

Hurrah?

The caps and gowns have been used and returned, yet many BabyBoomers are finding that the commencement to their grown-up kids'life away from home has been put off indefinitely. In a developmentthat would have repulsed many Boomers in the generation gap days oftheir youth, returning to the nest - or not leaving it - is becomingincreasingly commonplace.

A weaker economy and shrinking job market appear to haveaccelerated the trend and produced more of what AmericanDemographics magazine calls "boomerangers."

This year, about 670,000 or 56 percent of the college Class of2001 plan to live with their parents for some period of time,according to a March poll by JobTrak.com, a job listing and resumedatabase.

Sociologists and other experts say that besides the financialreasons behind the graduates' decision, Boomers themselves - thoseturning ages 37-55 this year - are encouraging the trend.

The financial security of the most prosperous generation ever andtheir bigger houses have made this once-unthinkable livingarrangement much more appealing to both sides.