Quote: (06-23-2015 05:31 PM)Samseau Wrote:
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/3...5cf54dcba4
Okay, right from Eurostat 2008 (the last time research was conducted on these matters) we have some professional opinions:
"In a Eurobarometer survey published in 2001[1], material difficulties were mentioned as the main obstacle facing young people in gaining their independence. These material difficulties reflect differences in the housing market, the labour market, or the conditions under which the young people study.
Going away to study or to work are obviously key factors in leaving home for this age group. Due to the limited number of cities with universities or vocational schools, young people from rural areas or mid-sized cities often need to move to urban areas not just to continue their education, but also to look for better job opportunities.
Another explanation as to why some leave and some not may be due to the fact that some countries offer better opportunities than others to young adults seeking affordable accommodation, through subsidies to cover rent or education expenses.
Other factors explaining differences among countries may be found in cultural aspects such as the relative importance given to the nuclear family, or different lifestyle arrangements enabling children to be more independent. These are, however, by definition difficult to assess.
[1] Eurobarometer 151, 2001: 67% of young adults aged 15-24 quoted material difficulties as the main reason not to leave their family home. Such difficulties were the main reason in all countries except Luxembourg and the Netherlands."
So, directly according to 2001 Eurostat's professional survey team the #1 cause of people staying at home is due to material causes - i.e. no jobs and money - in all countries except Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The explanation of cultural differences is listed on the bottom of possible causes and cannot be reliably measured, and cultural reasons did not come up as the #1 reason when the youth were surveyed. And this was in 2001! Things have only deteriorated heavily since then.
Thus, the fact so many young Greeks are stuck at home is because of a terrible economy like I surmised earlier in this thread.
PS -
Rumors are circulating Greece is getting ready for another bailout with another round of taxes on citizens to pay for it! Oh boy this sounds like a great idea!
Sure, I understand that you want numbers/facts/data to support your claim and I completely respect that.
Understand that these are not mutually exclusive; from a statistical point of view, culture is the independent variable throughout time and financial situation the dependent. In 10 years, perhaps, the variables will switch roles.
My opinion is more of a fact and my claim is supported by (also minor reasons):
a) My understanding of the culture as it is my culture; I am Greek and these are things we discuss between us it is intertwined in to our culture.
My aunt married an Italian and we are having dinner, discussing how our family values are different to most Northern European states, we are very inclusive. To put it in my uncle's Sicilian terms, 'we take care of our own'.
In my family, this created a lot of tension between the Mediterranean men and their foreign women, in some cases wives.
Young people are encouraged to stay with their parents and eventually take care of them. The wives/daughter-in-laws are taught how to be housewives by the head mother etc.
b) My experience, having lived in Cyprus for 14 years, 1996 - 2010.
My first neighbourhood was populated with these kind of people, building for their children. My teachers, some straight out of university lived with their parents despite making a good income at a private school. We are all familiar with each other's parents and there is lots of respect, Aunty/Uncle/Mr/Mrs, no matter how familiar you are.
We go to army at 18 - 20, so we stay with our parents. We go for further education (check out the higher education % rates -another reason of debt-) and stay with out parents afterwards. This delay means we have older graduates and as a result, will stay longer with parents.
In Greece, the army is at 26, this also plays a role as some men delay their moving out until this is completed.
c) My age group, I am 24 and the demographic you speak of is my demographic.
Taking my childhood friends; 2/8 live with parents, of which all are from middle class families. 5 live in the UK, 2 in Cyprus, 1 in South Africa, all 'plying their trade'.
Out of the 2, 1 is going back for financial/employment reasons and the other is a bit of a mothered individual who indeed, is saving money. His brother is 28 and lives with his parents despite a stable job because he is single and his mother takes care of all the housewife responsibilities.
Given the economy, us 6 (outside of the island) are not going back unless we intend on starting a family as we could save more money hustling overseas than living with our parents.
The ones who are affected are staying in Cyprus due to geographical or linguistic/cultural immobility of labour.
They live with their parents, not purely for financial reasons however but for some unexplained reason, Greek parents consider it blasphemy for their children to live outside of home unless they are married.
This also comes down to the fact that lot of Greeks are not as independent as they may portray.
Mothers want to feed sons, fathers want to shoot the shit with their sons.
Mothers want to train daughters, fathers want to protect their daughters.
I apologize for my apathy towards looking for peer-reviewed papers or statistics to support my claim. I consider my sample size and experience range large enough for these conclusions and as a social scientist, I get if you disregard it.
I'll never forget moving in to university dorms and there was a 24 year old (I was 20) student whose mother stayed on the floor of his single room for a whole week, making sure her son was coping.
My mom came to see everything, sorted me out and stayed in a hotel for 2 days and then went on her own holiday with her friends.
I could give countless examples; maybe some other Hellenic members can chime in.
Of course, I am half Cypriot but having grown up there and having done part of the army, I consider myself more Cypriot than anything else.