I know Germans have been doing this for years. When my cousin was old enough to be on her own my aunt and uncle built an apartment in the house for her. Its very common.Yes, this is very true. And a few other posters have eluded to this fact, that many people/families in other countries are used to living together.... nearly forever. In some cases, the act of moving away from the family is looked down upon, or at least, is not looked at as a sign of raising one's social status.Breckenridge real estate , in America, for many decades now, the above is quite the opposite. And, the trend (as one other poster said) makes people feel that they are entitled to a 2000+ square foot "starter" home when the time comes to "leave the nest". And the trend has also been to separate oneself from the family as possible, both geographically and some cases, emotionally.Contrary to my earlier post, perhaps this new trend of more families living together is not a bad thing for our future. The feeling of separation, from the family, is seen as self-fulfilling. But I dare say that this "separation" from the family unit has been one of (many) causes of our (many) society's ills. I'm not a sociologist by any means, but that's just a thought/theory.I gotta feel sorry for the dad who lost his job and has a $5,000 dollar a month mortgage. No wonder the economy is in such a mess, people up to their neck in debt, without a job.