The newspapers and blogosphere have been a buzz lately with news of how young adults are starting to live at home with their parents in order to save more money. Until now that news had all been based on unofficial surveys and interviews. But now, it’s official. The 2011 census results are in, and it’s true. More young people are starting to remain at home with their parents. At a time in their life when traditionally, they were going out into the world on their own and with no safety net. So the question is: is this a byproduct of Canada’s economy with a lack of jobs? Or is it simply “delayed adulthood”?
The chart below shows just how many young people aged 20 – 29 are still living at home with their parents. The GTA makes up municipalities such as Richmond Hill, King City, Pickering, Vaughan, and Caledon. In these areas, over 75 per cent of young adults are living at home with their parents. Right in the heart of Toronto, it’s a little less with 56.3 per cent of young people. The rest of Canada has fewer than this, with 42.3 per cent of 20-somethings living with Mom and Dad.
This amount of young people making the same choice may point to just one thing. That’s the fact that the world is simply too expensive a place for them to live. Student loans are higher than they’ve ever been, and job opportunities today aren’t what they once were. But for some, there’s also sentimental reason behind it.
“Most of us tend to stay longer with our parents so we can look after each other,” says Arian Saffarian, 26, who moved here from Iran with his parents in 1996. “We feel responsible to somehow pay them back, although they don’t ask for it, by helping out because of all the sacrifices our parents made.”
Real estate sales rep, Diane Natalizio, agrees that it’s tradition more than anything else that’s keeping these young people at home.
“We see people in here who are 28 and nervous about being on their own for the first time,” she says. “That’s the European background – you live at home until you get married.” She also says it’s the same thinking she had before she moved out at the age of 25.
“It’s not looked on at all as failure to launch. It’s a beautiful, comfortable life. You’re getting three meals a day and helping your aging parents at the same time.”
But, University of British Columbia professor, Mary Ann Murphy, compares more results from the census than just the young people living at home. She compared the census results indicating how many young people are married, and how many are still single. Given that the latter group is growing larger by the day, she says that this is an indication of a much bigger problem. She calls that problem “delayed adulthood.”
“We’ve got failure to launch,” says Ms. Murphy. “We’re delaying marriage, we’re delaying parenthood. What are the future implications for these older parents who have young children? As they get into their senior years, they may be 70-something with children at home.”
What do you think? Is this in fact, a failure to launch? Or is today’s economy just too hard for young people to make a way for themselves? Let us know your thoughts by commenting in the section below or, liking us on Facebook.
