Should I live with my parents?

I'm 27 and live in my own flat, and I couldn't even contemplate moving back in with my parents.  My parents' house was never a safe environment for me really, as they never seemed to understand me and the support that I needed and my reltionships with my siblings were very difficult at the best of times.  Whilst it is not easy living alone and being responsible for everything to do with the flat, it does at least mean that I can be alone easily when I need to be and do things my way.  I am lucky enough that I found a full-time job that I can just about sustain, but as I therefore look like I'm managing social services seem to think they can ignore me while the stress of sustaining things is wrecking my health. 

Personally I'd also be vary wary of giving up a tenancy in a social-rented flat, especially a one-bedroom now that they are more in demand due to the "bedroom tax".  Social tenancies can be very difficult to get and private renting, with often only two month's security of tenure and many unscrupulous landlords (not to mention the cost) is not great for autistic people.  [Insert rant about dysfunctional housing system and stupid, draconian, and discriminatory "welfare" cuts here].  That said, there is limited value in long-term planning if the situation is not sustainable in the short-term.  If continuing to live in the flat is going to be bad for your health, it may be best to let it go and take a chance on future accommodation.  In particular, if living with your parents is going to give you more chance of getting a job (more support/less else to worry about) then that may be worth it.

I'm not sure that moving to a social rented flat with paper thin walls is necessarily "climbing down the social ladder" or that "climbing down the social ladder" is a bad thing though.  When I left home for uni I lived in shared houses, which was a nightmare, and eventually ended up moving into a privately rented bedsit in a run-down block and with very thin walls.  My parents, who live in a nice detached house in a suburban cul-de-sac, were not impressed when they saw the block, and people's reactions when I told them where I lived were very interesting.  But I felt more a part of a community there than anywhere else.  Most people there were just trying to get by in the face of a lot of difficulty, and I was respected for doing the same.

It is very difficult, psychologically, to know what you are missing out on because of being autistic (or otherwise disabled) though.  I don't mind that my older brother has a far bigger salary than me, that he has a car, or that he has expensive holidays.  But it is very difficult to come to terms with having virtually no social life and going years without a date while everybody else who I know my age gets long-term loving relationships :(. 

I'm 27 and live in my own flat, and I couldn't even contemplate moving back in with my parents.  My parents' house was never a safe environment for me really, as they never seemed to understand me and the support that I needed and my reltionships with my siblings were very difficult at the best of times.  Whilst it is not easy living alone and being responsible for everything to do with the flat, it does at least mean that I can be alone easily when I need to be and do things my way.  I am lucky enough that I found a full-time job that I can just about sustain, but as I therefore look like I'm managing social services seem to think they can ignore me while the stress of sustaining things is wrecking my health. 

Personally I'd also be vary wary of giving up a tenancy in a social-rented flat, especially a one-bedroom now that they are more in demand due to the "bedroom tax".  Social tenancies can be very difficult to get and private renting, with often only two month's security of tenure and many unscrupulous landlords (not to mention the cost) is not great for autistic people.  [Insert rant about dysfunctional housing system and stupid, draconian, and discriminatory "welfare" cuts here].  That said, there is limited value in long-term planning if the situation is not sustainable in the short-term.  If continuing to live in the flat is going to be bad for your health, it may be best to let it go and take a chance on future accommodation.  In particular, if living with your parents is going to give you more chance of getting a job (more support/less else to worry about) then that may be worth it.

I'm not sure that moving to a social rented flat with paper thin walls is necessarily "climbing down the social ladder" or that "climbing down the social ladder" is a bad thing though.  When I left home for uni I lived in shared houses, which was a nightmare, and eventually ended up moving into a privately rented bedsit in a run-down block and with very thin walls.  My parents, who live in a nice detached house in a suburban cul-de-sac, were not impressed when they saw the block, and people's reactions when I told them where I lived were very interesting.  But I felt more a part of a community there than anywhere else.  Most people there were just trying to get by in the face of a lot of difficulty, and I was respected for doing the same.

It is very difficult, psychologically, to know what you are missing out on because of being autistic (or otherwise disabled) though.  I don't mind that my older brother has a far bigger salary than me, that he has a car, or that he has expensive holidays.  But it is very difficult to come to terms with having virtually no social life and going years without a date while everybody else who I know my age gets long-term loving relationships :(.