It is not just because they are comfortably entrenched in the nest and used to mum and dad doing their washing, paying the bills and having dinner ready on the table when they need it. Neither is it always fear of the outside world. Young people in the Valencian Community don’t leave home until their early thirties, in most cases because they simply cannot afford to. According to a recent survey, only 41.8% of young people under 34 in the Community have flown the nest and most of these are over 30, writes Samantha Kett.

Reasons cited by these young people are varied - they include laziness, inability to live without mum’s Sunday lunches, and an extremely good relationship with their parents that they are unwilling to exchange for living alone. However, the main problem is money, or rather lack of it. One 24-year-old girl interviewed during the survey claimed that she would like to leave home within a couple of years but on her salary of 560 euros a month, thinks this unlikely within the next decade. Another woman in her twenties stated that she would like to buy a flat, considering rent payments ‘dead money’. Despite this, she is unable to find one for much less than 150,000 euros, a price that is way beyond her reach. Some despairing youngsters find that banks ‘rip them off’ when they apply for mortgages, or refuse to grant them, whereas others still living at home feared the bills that come with owning or renting a house, more so than the cost of renting or mortgage payment. “It’s frightening - water, electricity, gas, telephone, food...” they lament.
Those whose parents are able, and willing, to offer financial help tend to be rid of their adult offspring sooner, highlighting the fact that it is frequently money that keeps them in the family home. 26-year-old Inma* from Dénia explained that her father bought her a flat to help her on her way and that the parents of some of her friends pay rent or mortgage for their offspring.
This said, the importance of the family in Spain, particularly in rural areas, is certainly a contributing factor. It is not uncommon to find entire clans of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews all living on the same street, and regularly gathering together for Sunday dinner, so it is perhaps not surprising that there are still plenty of people in their twenties and thirties who, even if they could afford to, would not leave home because they are perfectly contented where they are. Rosa*, 29, from Oliva says: “Why would I want to leave home? I hate cooking, so I’ll never be able to get married, I hate ironing and I get on really well with my mum.” Paco, 30, also from Oliva intends to leave home when he gets married next year, but until then plans to stay put. “I’m always having to wash his filthy football shirts,” his mother grumbles good-naturedly. “It will seem quiet, though, when he’s gone.” Certain twenty-somethings who have already left home share this view that failure to do so is largely due to a reluctance to give up the creature comforts they have become accustomed to - and company, too. Swapping a full household with central heating and good food for isolation in a leaky bedsit and living on microwaved tortillas has limited appeal for both. “They do have money, but they’re comfortable at home and don’t want to live on their own. Single people, anyway,” considers Encarni*, 29, from El Verger who is married with a three-year-old daughter. “If I was single I would live with my parents, because I don’t like being alone. But things are changing,” she confirms.
There is no doubt that the rapidly rising house prices are pushing young people out of the market, and wages are not keeping up with the cost of renting (on the coast, a small flat can start at 400 euros per month and some tenants even have to move out in the summer for paying holiday guests). However, for a minority, living at home is simply more cushy and family members do not want to separate from each other - although they probably have a fleeting change of heart every Christmas...

Some names of those interviewed may have been changed
British youngsters are slowly beginning to follow in the footsteps of their Spanish counterparts. Heavy debts after graduating, soaring house prices and rental costs are forcing the British to remain in the nest for longer. The following statistics are a surprising picture of how different the youth of today is from previous generations:
The average age of a first-time buyer is 33. In the 1970s, most were in their late teens or early twenties.
The average first-time father is aged 31, four years older than in 1999. If trends continue this way, the average man will put off having children until age 50 in 2030.
The average age of a first-time mother is 29 - however, with teenage pregnancies on the increase, gymslip mothers are included in these calculations. The actual average age that a woman decides to have a baby could be much older.
Within ten years, the average student will have to save £70,000 pounds to be able to pay off debts accumulated during their studies and put down a deposit on a property.
Until the early 1980s, women were unable to secure mortgages in their own names. Few single women were therefore able to buy a property, whereas the majority of UK households nowadays comprise just one person.