College is the first time that many of us live on our own — meaning when our parents drop their little treasures off at college, eighteen years of suppressed liberty suddenly turns into crazy experimentation and recklessness. “I’m going do my laundry at 4 a.m., man, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” Discovering the pleasures of independent living often leads to questionable hygiene and a poor diet, but more importantly, it makes you realize that living at home was a sugarcoated version of life. As graduation approaches most seniors will continue their independent quest far from home as they find jobs or go to graduate school. As for myself, four years of crappy haircuts and the rash that won’t go away have me believing that moving back home might not be such a bad idea.

I looked into it a little further and discovered I’m not the only one. Once considered a sign of failure, returning to the nest is becoming increasingly popular with college grads. So many are moving back that witty reporters have a named them “boomerangers.” Well, I have my own name for them: geniuses. Yes, returning to your old stomping grounds does have its drawbacks, but when you add up all the advantages there is no reason not to jump on the bandwagon.

The most obvious benefit about returning home is that it can save you heaps of money. Despite any high-paying job you hope your Stanford degree will land you, I guarantee that the majority of your salary will go straight into the pockets of a greedy landlord. Not only will you avoid paying rent by moving home (unless your parents are evil), but utilities and basic food expenses will likely be covered as well.

Speaking of food, home cooked meals won’t just be during the holidays anymore. You know the kind of food you get every break? Imagine that every day. I understand that some of you actually enjoy cooking, and others of you have parents who would not be able to distinguish between a colander and a crock-pot. However, there are benefits beyond prepared meals. You will also never have to purchase a Juiceman Juicer or those Ziploc bags that are too small to hold anything.

I realize right now many of you are concerned about the location of your parent’s house. While your friends whisk away to urban hot spots like New York City, D.C. and San Francisco, in order to live with your parents you could be confined to residential wastelands known as “suburbia.” Jobs will be hard to find and the typical twenty-something nightlife will likely be nonexistent. However, there are ways to adapt. You can probably get your old job back at the local ice cream parlor and work your way to the top. Do you like going to concerts and sporting events? Two words: elementary schools.

For those readers who happen to be from trendy urban centers, you have no excuse. Unless, of course, you come home to find your old sanctuary has been transformed into the new exercise room or home office. The dreaded room remodel can be a setback, but a house is called a home for a reason. Tiny luxuries of home life other than your room are not to be ignored, including the morning newspaper, carpeted floors, a clean shower and, if you are lucky, the family pet. Throw in a few siblings and a TiVo (not necessarily in that order) and suddenly sleeping next to the new Bowflex doesn’t look so bad.

If you are worried about your social life taking a hit, have no fear. You can always befriend some local deadbeats you meet at the state fair and look up that girl you haven’t talked to since high school. Look on the bright side: with all the money you saved on rent you can now take your new “townie” date to extravagant restaurants, expensive bars or maybe a weekend get-away. Just, for God’s sake, don’t take her back to your parent’s house.

Finally, the independence issue is a predicament. After all, you are still your parents’ child and if you are going to live under their roof you might encounter some words you haven’t seen in a while, such as “curfew” and “chore.” To offset this you must think of the other responsibilities you are relinquishing. You are not technically the “home owner” or “lease signer,” and therefore you can postpone that liability — at least for a few more years. Plus when else in your life will you be able to give your landlord an IOU in the form a “free-take-out-the-trash” coupon?

If I haven’t persuaded you by now then you are hopeless. Go ahead, throw away your money. When you’re eating Ramen noodles in a table-less kitchen/bathroom/bedroom that’s costing you $1500 a month, don’t come crying to me. For the others, I hope you now understand that moving back in with your parents could be a good thing. Once we get over the blatant stigma, and go beyond our conceptual ideas of “fun,” everything else is sunshine and dandelions. And 2 a.m. curfews.

Are you a college graduate living at home? Share your success story by emailing Kevin at kpadrez@stanford.edu.