History Main / BasementDweller

* Can't [[IfYouKnowWhatIMean get any]] and hasn't moved out to start a family.

This trope will also never involve a character looking after ageing, sick, or disabled parents. This is even more of a DoubleStandard but it's sexist against both men and women - a single female character will be stigmatized if she refuses, but a male character will be stigmatized if he accepts. This is because a single man's career is just too important for him to interrupt it by ''caring for the people he loves the most in the world'', while a single woman's career is meant to fill up the hours until she can marry a man and leech off him so it doesn't matter if she takes a few years off. It's a nasty trope, but nastiest of all in this variation.

*** The first time he moved out, he ended up in an apartment above the garage of the Jewish versions of Frank and Marie. They even cooked his dinner, bossed him, and ignored him in order to pay attention to Ray.

-->"Hey fella, I bet you're still livin' in your parents' cellar\ Downloadin' pictures of Sarah Michelle Gellar\ And postin' "Me too!" like some brain-dead AOL-er\ I should do the world a favor and cap you like Old Yeller\ You're just about as useless as jpegs to Hellen Keller"

* ''BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' episode "Night Of The Huntress": The middle-aged "The Calculator" operates his evil ventures from his mother's basement. When Huntress comes to bust him, His mother is all too pleased that there is a girl here to see him. [[FoeYay One wonders what she has in mind...]]

* VentureBrothers, Henchmen #21 briefly lives and operates his own comics supply business out of his mother's house, before being called back by The Monarch.

** Uh, there actually is no stigma. At most, you might get a ''"wow, that's really caring of you"'' or a ''"poor you, must be tough on the nerves"'', especially when you're single and your job description definitely shows that you can afford your own place.
*** In some parts of Europe, maybe. In the Netherlands however, it's generally seen as uncommon and somewhat overly dependent to still live with one's parents if one is comfortably in one's 20s and has some way of supporting oneself. Though some students living close enough to their educational facility continue to live with their parents, a decision often related to difficulties finding a place or Hotel Mama being more convenient and less costly, most students look down on this, especially if still done beyond the first or second year of one's studies, and prefer the freedom and independence of a grotty student room. Adults moving in with their ailing parents seems to be fairly unusual as well. There may be in-country cultural differences in this, though.
**** to be fair: There is a big problem with people living in social/student housing when they really shouldn't and getting a proper home is getting harder.
* Because of the current recession it can get rather difficult to avoid this if you're a college student, the BasementDweller stigma makes it even worse to live with.
** To be fair, the "living at home makes you a loser" stigma has been dying off for the past couple of years, even more so thanks to the sluggish economy, so no one would really care if you live with mom and dad as long as you are helping out around the house. In fact, some cultures outside the United States encourage children to live at home with their parents so they can bond with their families.
*** The stigma is certainty there but the aforementioned economy is a constant reminder that "Hey, it's kind of unavoidable nowadays."

** To be fair, it's also because something like only 12% or so of Japan is actually inhabitable, which leads to crowding and ''insane'' prices. Well, let's see, I could either bankrupt myself trying to live in my own apartment, or stay with my parents and not spend almost all of my income on rent and mortgages. Decisions, decisions...

This trope will also never involve a character looking after ageing, sick, or disabled parents. This is even more of a DoubleStandard but it's sexist against both men and women - a single female character will be stigmatized if she refuses, but a male character will be stigmatized if he accepts. This is because a single man's career is just too important for him to interrupt it by ''caring for the people he loves the most in the world'', while a single woman's career is meant to fill up the hours until she can marry a man and leech off him so it doesn't matter if she takes a few years off. It's a nasty trope, but no more nastier than in this variation.

* Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski lived with his mother throughout his term of office. He isn't married, has a law degree, so apparently the Polish electorate didn't hold it against him. The stigma is generally less in Europe, whether because of a strong emphasis on family life (as in Poland), prohibitive property prices (as in the UK) or both.

*** The first time he moved out, he ended up in an apartment above the garage of the Jewish versions of Frank and Marie. They even cooked his dinner, bossed him, and ignored him in order to pay for attention to Ray.

** Interestingly the practice of having the family living close to someones has allowed some people to start [[FamilyBusiness familiar busines]] which in turn [[EarnYourHappyEnding have improved the economy of their countries]. Also, Latin American people will always have a safe haven in case of social or economic failure, which may or may not be related to why instead of [[DrivenToSuicide commiting suicide]] or [[CrazyHomelessPeople ending sleeping in a park]] Latin Americans simply [[TacticalWithdrawal pull back to their parent's homes]] [[YouAreNotAlone to heal their wounds]] and [[AWorldHalfFull get ready for another one!]]

*** This troper included. The stigma is certainty there but the aforementioned economy is a constant reminder that "Hey, it's kind of unavoidable nowadays."
*** Further, many people in their early twenties may well have had teachers in High School who encouraged going to college while living at home having foreseen the economic crash.

** Interestingly the practice of having the family living close to someones has allowed some people to start [[FamilyBusiness familiar busines]] which in turn [[EarnYourHappyEnding have improved the economy of their countries]], also, latin american people will always have a safe haven in case of social or economic failure, may or may not be related to why instead of [[DrivenToSuicide commiting suicide]] or [[CrazyHomelessPeople ending sleeping in a park]] latin americans simply [[TacticalWithdrawal pull back to their parent's homes]] [[YouAreNotAlone to heal their wounds]] and [[AWorldHalfFull get ready for another one!]]

[[folder:Manga and Anime]]
* According to the author's note from the third AxisPowersHetalia manga volume, Prussia ended up like this.
-->'''Himaruya:''' "Now he lives as a good-for-nothing at Germany's house and as an exclave in Russia!"
[[/folder]]

** Interestingly the practice of having the family living close to someones has allowed some people to start [[FamilyBusiness familiar busines]] which in turn [[EarnYourHappyEnding have improved the economy of their countries]], also, latin american people will always have a safe haven in case of social or economic failure, may or may not be related to why instead of [[Seppuku commiting suicide]] or [[CrazyHomelessPeople ending sleeping in a park]] latin americans simply [[TacticalWithdrawal pull back to their parent's homes]] [[YouAreNotAlone to heal their wounds]] and [[AWorldHalfFull get ready for another one!]]

* The [[NostalgiaCritic]]'s fan [[TakeThat Douchey]] [[StrawFan McNitpick]] is revealed to live in his mother's basement in The NEXT Top 11 Nostalgia Critic Fuck-Ups.

* The [[Nostalgia Critic]]'s fan [[TakeThat Douchey]] [[StrawFan McNitpick]] is revealed to live in his mother's basement in The NEXT Top 11 Nostalgia Critic Fuck-Ups.

For a more serious treatment of this as a social problem, see {{Hikikomori}}. Not to be confused with BerthaInTheAttic.

* Technically UNABLE to earn a living for yourself. (i.e. unable to get a job)

A stereotypical HollywoodNerd who, despite being a grown adult is still an adolescent right down to living with his parents. While the decor of their PosterGalleryBedroom is subject to the tastes of the character, be sure there will be a computer to communicate with the outside world. It's always PlayedForLaughs as an [[AcceptableLifestyleTargets acceptable lifestyle target]]. More importantly, the subject is AlwaysMale. There is little stigma to a female character living at home, and in some American subcultures it might even be expected. This makes the trope a huge DoubleStandard against men as well (but see below).