Like another poster said; if you have to drop by mom and dad's house to get a meal and laundry done, you have not moved out. If that is the case, you have just spent most of your paycheck on a very expensive dump that serves entirely for sleeping and drinking Natty Ice.
Almost every adult, especially young men want to have their own place but you should move out when it is financially feasible. If rent takes up more than 40% of your paycheck, you will not have enough money left to buy gas, food, utilities, car payments, insurance, health care, Internet access and a phone. You can also forget about having any decent beer, vacations, meals out, a good TV, electronic gadgets and anything else that is fun.
In Southern California, young people are squeezed between a terrible job market and very high housing prices. The only 21 year olds who are truly financially independent and who have their own apartments and do not have to ask mom and dad for any supplemental income are in showbiz, they have very nice trust funds or they are drug dealers (college kids, whose upper middle class parents are paying a grand per month so that they can share a rat-hole near campus with five other dudes, do not count).
If you live in Hokabok, Kentucky, where a 3 bedroom home costs 30k, that is a different story.
