I think you're misunderstanding my comment.

Typically, folks move in with room mates. Or into communal living (like a dorm). Or in with a girl/boy friend. Or find a job near where they live (not try to live right next to a job). Or any one of many other situations which the poster seems to think are unacceptable, yet very common - and probably the best setup anyway, since it's not like they have any experience living on their own most of the time.

I personally moved out (and in with room mates) when I turned 18, and was working full time before then. This was in a low cost of living, mostly rural area.

The number of folks who can move out of their parents place and have their own individual apartment RIGHT AWAY?

Laughably small, and generally if so it's funded by their parents. It's always been that way.

My first comment was about the high cost of housing causing people with high paying jobs to take on roommates. Policy is a substantial factor in that outcome.

I took your comment as a reply to that topic, I guess I still don't understand what your point was in relation to that.

I also think we can take a look at what drives costs for less expensive housing. My small town is basically allergic to larger apartment buildings, I think probably because the people with control don't want them (vs any good reason). One project got cancelled with people talking, with straight faces, about the historic nature of a post war car dealership building. Another got refused because people were afraid of having low cost housing adjacent to a hypothetical business hotel (a business hotel proposed to be in the middle of a bunch of parking lots, it was ridiculous).

The second one there would have been conveniently located for people filling the low income jobs we are talking about!

My comment is pointing out that people often have room mates, and always have often had room mates. Especially in high cost of living areas. Especially if they are young. Even if they have high paying jobs. A friend of mine is a quite experienced physician, and I've known her for a couple decades. She had room mates as an internist, and for awhile afterwards. It made financial sense.

If your argument is that a meaningful number of people who historically would not have had room mates, now do, not because of a different set of choices they are choosing to make, but rather due to economic situations requiring radically different choices then maybe some data would be useful?

I know a lot of people who are clearly choosing to live in a city who probably don't need to. I know of many people choosing to have room mates because of economics, but would historically likely have made other choices (cohabitating with a boyfriend/girlfriend, moving to a different location, getting a different job, etc.).