Thursday,
February 01, 2007
62 % of Italians 18 to 35 Still Live at Home !!!!!!
The
ANNOTICO Report
A whopping 62 per cent of Italians aged 18 to 35 still
live at home !!!!!! Yes, This trend is common
across the developed world, but
There
are several commonalities, but the one big difference is, that I believe
Italians REALLY like their kids at home, where many other parents yearn to have
the house to themselves!!!I
Young people
treat their 20s as an era of exploration and experimentation. It's a hedonistic
decade of self-discovery, study, work, travel and romance. Long-term thinking
is deferred in favour of adventure and experiences.
Living at home makes sense. For one thing it's a great way to save while
studying or waiting to make the next big purchase.
It is also a
sanctuary for those returning from overseas trips with debt-laden credit cards,
and the perfect retreat to heal a broken heart. Not to mention the full fridge,
dinners on the table and laundry facilities.
There are also
more practical reasons. University, after all, is not free, as it was in their
parents' day, marriages take place much later, and a house is no longer
affordable without significant savings.
Importantly,
Youngsters nowadays don't feel the need to get away from suffocating parents,
or rebel against them, since their Boomers parents were/are very "permissive/inderstanding".
Boomer
Parents Give Kids No Reason To Leave Home
The
Sydney Morning Herald
Neer Korn
Young people
treat their 20s as an era of exploration and experimentation. It's a hedonistic
decade of self-discovery, study, work, travel and romance. Long-term thinking
is deferred in favour of adventure and experiences.
Living at home makes sense. For one thing it's a great way to save while
studying or waiting to make the next big purchase.
It is also a
sanctuary for those returning from overseas trips with debt-laden credit cards,
and the perfect retreat to heal a broken heart. Not to mention the full fridge,
dinners on the table and laundry facilities.
There are also
more practical reasons. University, after all, is not free, as it was in their
parents' day, marriages take place much later, and a house is no longer
affordable without significant savings.
This trend is
common across the developed world.
The baby boomers
have only themselves to blame. They have given their children no incentive to
leave home and plenty of reasons to stay. For one thing, they all get along
remarkably well. Being the boomers, they raised kids in households where sex,
drugs, finances and relationships were discussed openly. In other words, the
boomers have left their kids little to rebel against.
Ask the twentysomethings and they will tell you they do not mind
living with their parents, that the parents are pretty "cool". Other
than obvious areas such as fashion and music, for the most part there is little
conflict between them. The generation gap was coined to reflect the boomers
rebelling as teenagers against the ways of their own conservative parents. It
was an apt description then and still applies to them today. The boomers are
still rebelling against their parents' ways, challenging our perceptions and
expectations of ageing.
Having the kids
at home can be a huge ego boost for the boomers. They know it has more to do
with free room and board, but it also means their kids are not averse to
hanging out with them. It is the ultimate sign of having raised a close family.
They also genuinely enjoy hanging out with their kids and their friends. They
say it makes them feel youthful and keeps them in touch with the younger
generation. This is something they certainly did not feel about their own
parents.
At
the same time, they are not thrilled about it. This is, after all, their time.
For the past 20 years their lives have revolved around the kids. Money was
tight and their needs were neglected to ensure their children had everything
they needed. Their time was spent on the kids and their activities, and they
were constantly chauffeuring them around.
Now they are
supposed to be looking after themselves, and being selfish. They can afford to
buy more expensive brands that won't disappear the day they are brought home,
and desire to do so. It is a time to renovate, converting the kids' bedrooms
into hobby rooms and removing the Blu Tack stains
from walls that held posters of an array of ever-changing pop stars. It is a
time to buy better furniture. It's also a time to revive romance. Boomer men
are the new romantics. In focus group discussions they praise Viagra, smiling
widely as they do so.
The kids, as nice
as it is to see them and spend time with them, are getting in the way. One
woman summed it up nicely by lamenting that she looked forward to having long
baths and walking around the house naked. So if you're in your 20s and still at
home and one day you find the locks have been changed, take the hint.
Neer Korn
is a director of the social and market research company Heartbeat Trends.
The
ANNOTICO Reports
Can
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