Moving in with your parents used to feel like a setback. For these 5 families, it was a smart strategy.

Living with your parents isn't always the first option, but for Lindsey Gregory, it made the most sense. Not only are Gregory, her husband, their daughter, and her in-laws living under one roof, they bought a home together.

While some people view living with their parents as a last resort or a safety net, Gregory saw it as an opportunity to strengthen her family.

"For us, living this way was a choice," Gregory wrote in an essay for Business Insider. "No one was ill or unemployed. But when there has been a job loss or expensive home repairs are needed, we've been able to stay afloat."

Gregory is far from alone in choosing a multigenerational living arrangement. An American Institute of Architects (AIA) survey of more than 300 residential architecture firms found that in the third quarter of 2025, one of the most popular categories of home features was in-law suites and junior accessory dwelling units (ADUs).

Forty-six percent of respondents said that in-law suites and junior ADUs were increasing in popularity from the previous year — the largest percentage increase among the surveyed home features, which also included outdoor living space and multi-function rooms.

It's a trend that's been rising for years. A 2022 report from the Pew Research Center found that the number of people living in multigenerational households has quadrupled since 1971, reaching 59.7 million in March 2021. As of the report's publication, 18% of the US population was living in a multigenerational household.

In-law suites and ADUs are steadily growing in popularity. Arturo Peña Romano Medina/Getty Images

While the Pew study noted that lower-income households are more likely to opt for multigenerational living, that's not always the case.

Content creator Lexi Poer spent $350,000 building a home for her mother that's connected to her and her husband's home in Roswell, Georgia.

"She very much wanted to make sure that she had all of the things she needed to live independently in her space, like somewhere to park her car and enter her home without having to come through our house, access to the outdoor space without having to enter our house, her own laundry room, her own kitchen," Poer told Business Insider in April.

Saving money isn't the only benefit of multigenerational living

The common assumption is that those who choose to live in multigenerational households are doing so to save money — which isn't far off, as 40% of those surveyed by Pew cited "financial issues" as their reason for multigenerational living.

But the leap into multigenerational living also often has caregiving benefits for both children and adults. Thirty-three percent of survey respondents said caregiving was a major reason for living with family members.

For Shawn Lentz, it was a bit of both. In 2024, he sold his house and bought a small manufactured home to place on his in-laws' 5-acre property so he could live there mortgage-free with his wife and teenage son.

"This wasn't some dreamy escape into the minimalist #vanlife trend," Lentz wrote in an essay for Business Insider. "In reality, we were desperate to be free from a mortgage, and we wanted to live closer to my in-laws so we could assist them as they age."

Genevieve Dahl, whose mother-in-law moved in with her, her husband, and their two children, said she benefits from having an extra adult around to help with daily responsibilities.

"Four months later, it's the best decision we've ever made," Dahl wrote in an essay for Business Insider. "My kids now have a full cheering section at their games. The house is spotless (she actually loves to clean). When we work late, dinner is waiting for us. She even bakes and freezes protein muffins so I don't skip breakfast."

Thirty-three percent of the Pew survey respondents cited caregiving as a major reason for living with family members. skynesher/Getty Images

For Brandi Spering, buying a house with her in-laws was a better option than moving them to a nursing home.

"While we weren't expecting the next chapter of our lives to look like this, we couldn't ignore how we would benefit: being surrounded by family, combining our incomes, having a chance to invest in property, and splitting the mortgage," Spering wrote in an essay for Business Insider.

According to the Pew survey, 30% of adults living in multigenerational households say the experience has been very positive, and 58% say it's convenient, while 54% say it's rewarding all or most of the time.

"There will always be a standard I hold, a responsibility I feel, and pride myself on; deciding to move in together means helping care for them," Spering wrote. "While I need to be diligent to step in whenever necessary, it doesn't mean it has to be without boundaries, for us all."