Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Please support KAZU’s Spring Pledge Drive. Click here or call (831) 582-5298.

Letters: Leaving Home And Making New Friends

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

It's Tuesday and time to read from your comments. Last week, we spoke with Sally Koslow about the difficulties many young people experience as they try to leave home and why the lack of jobs and enormous student loan debt can soon send them back to live with mom and dad. Chris Small(ph) in Bradford, New Hampshire, responded: I don't know a single boomerang child who doesn't want to be self-sufficient. Ms. Koslow fails to recognize that young people are not letting opportunities pass by, he wrote. Those opportunities are no longer available.

But Zoe Wesloski(ph) emailed from Pittsburgh to say: I don't get it. I'm 39. This was not an option for my generation. Not only did I enter the job market without a college degree, but I found a way to survive. And when I left home at 22, I never went back. I found a way to make it through nursing school as a single mother in my 30s. She continued: I don't know what's wrong with this generation, but it sure as hell ain't the economy.

We also spoke with New York Times writer Alex Williams about the challenges of making friends after college. Anne Scranton(ph) in Blue Ash, Ohio, wrote: Everyone told me I'd make lots of mom friends when my kids got in school. But as a working mom, I found it tough to connect on weekends when many families are having family time. I decided to enroll in a leadership class held in the city where I work, and through that class, I've met other working families and folks of all ages and stages. Everyone needs to be open-minded in reaching out to people of all ages. We all have experiences to share.

And finally, Greg Alexander in Bloomington, Indiana reminded us that the beginning and end of the story of adult bonding is happy hour. It's good to go to a place where everybody knows your name. Cheers.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME")

GARY PORTNOY: (Singing) Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came. You want to be where you can see. Our troubles are all the same. You want to be where everybody knows your name.

CONAN: If you have a correction, comment or question for us, the best way to reach us is by email. The address is talk@npr.org. Please let us know where you're writing from, and give us some help on how to pronounce your name. And if you're on Twitter, you can follow us there @totn. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.