My Dad's words, which ring clear even to this day..."You're 18, you're now on your own".
March 18, 2026, 06:59 AM
stkfox
August 1973 into the Air Force at 17 years old.
March 18, 2026, 07:14 AM
Timdogg6
17 on my way to college, came home for two summers and then that was it for home.
__________________________
March 18, 2026, 07:45 AM
mrvmax
17 but I lived with a relative. In exchange for room and board, I did work for them. By 19 I was completely on my own.This message has been edited. Last edited by: mrvmax,
March 18, 2026, 08:03 AM
Georgeair
18 on the way to college. Admittedly, I did have the great fortune of living off the parental teet for college costs, but worked on nearly every break for extra "fun" money.
Clear rules after getting engaged that we could certainly get married any time we wanted, but that would signal the end of our childhood phase and we'd be completely on our own. That was a wise move by parental unit that I can now appreciate even more.
In the end, still married the same person 40 years ago, but them pressing pause was wise.
You only have integrity once. - imprezaguy02
March 18, 2026, 09:30 AM
BigCity
22, when I got married.
John
The key to enforcement is to punish the violator, not an inanimate object. The punishment of inanimate objects for the commission of a crime or carelessness is an affront to stupidity.
March 18, 2026, 09:36 AM
egregore
I might also mention that after obtaining a full-time job but still living at home, my folks charged me board. I remember it being $50, but not whether it was once a month or every semi-monthly payday. Partial credit for the job providing lunch. Also, the year I graduated from high school, I was given a set of dishes for Christmas.
"The Almighty, He put some livin' things on this earth so a man can eat." - Festus Haggen, Gunsmoke
March 18, 2026, 09:44 AM
Warhorse
20 years old.
____________________________ NRA Life Member, MGO Annual Member
March 18, 2026, 09:50 AM
Expert308
I only did 2 years of college and lived at home for that time. I was a couple months shy of 20 when I left.
March 18, 2026, 09:51 AM
Jaycat
17 for college. Never went back
Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun!!!
March 18, 2026, 01:37 PM
Tooky13
21, when I got married.
We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln
March 18, 2026, 01:43 PM
joel9507
Left when I started college at 18, but came back summers and long breaks until graduating at 21.
March 18, 2026, 01:58 PM
aileron
17 to go to college and never came back; there was a big world to explore.
March 18, 2026, 02:22 PM
Russ59
19.5 years old, left for 2 years, came back, then left for good when I married at 22.5
P229
March 18, 2026, 02:35 PM
mark60
A couple months shy of 18 I left for bootcamp.
March 18, 2026, 06:31 PM
cas
I'll be the guy who doesn't answer the question asked.
I didn't. By the time I graduated high school, I was alone in the house.
March 18, 2026, 06:34 PM
229DAK
quote:
Originally posted by aileron: 17 to go to college and never came back
^^^^ This.
_________________________________________________________________________ “A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.” -- Mark Twain, 1902
March 18, 2026, 08:31 PM
StorminNormin
19. Then I moved back in at 23 with my wife who was my fiancée at the time while we waiting for our first home to be built which was about 5 miles down the road. Then we got married and moved into the new house when I was 24.
NRA Benefactor Life Member
March 18, 2026, 09:01 PM
Karmann Ghia
18, graduate HS in June 87, married in June 87, Army basic training in Sep 87. Been gone ever since. 22 yrs AD Army, Still married.
Also, the year I graduated from high school, I was given a set of dishes for Christmas.