In Italy Is It Very Common For People In Their 30s To Still Be Living With Their Parents ?

Question

My American sister who just recently moved to Napoli for 1 year has a boyfriend there who is 32 years old and he still lives with his father and mother.

Answer 1

Hi, i'm italian and i can say you that, yes, it's true, it's quite common here to be over 30 and still live with your family!...but this fact has social and economical reasons: in Italy if you're looking for a good job you've to study many years and even if you're graduated it's still very difficult to find an employement. Often people with graduation got humble jobs, because nowadays everybody get graduated but the problem is that there are few employement occasions.

Moreover houses rents are so high that it's impossible for a student to move from his parents' place, 'cause you should have a very good salary to efford all the costes (but students don't have the time to have a full time job!).

So, in the end, most of young people is forced to stay at their parents' place 'till they're 30....but rarely it is a spontaneous choice!!

Bye bye!!

Answer 2

Italians are very close to family and is not uncommon for a family like parents and grand parents and children to live together in the same house

Answer 3

Yes - we have relatives in Italy whose children were in their mid 30's and still living at home and single.  They become highly educated - completed university, worked and while living at home purchased different real estate properties before they got married.  Makes sense to me. This is very common in Italy - hopefully your sister's new Italian boyfriend has acquired real estate while still living with his parents like our cousins have.   Ciao

Answer 4

that is actually pretty common there!

Answer 5

Yes, this is a very common habit! Here in Italy men and women use to stay with their parents until they get married.. I gess it's because of our education: we are very attached to our family and even when we finally move out we still remain very bond to our parents. The only reason for kids to move from their parents' house is to study in another city, which is still very common, or to accecp a job far from home. But I have to say that here in Italy it's not easy to find a good job and most of the times young people is offered just precaruous jobs that aren't paid enough to afford the rent of a small house! The rents in Italy are very high: in Milan, where I live alone (I'm 24), a studio apartment is about 700 euros a month.. while the wages for a first job is about 800-1000 euros! I know that it seems weird but in Italy it's quite common to stay in your parents house until you shack up with a fiance.

Answer 6

yeah, it's super common. some of these men even have their own place but still choose to live with their parents. they are called "mammoni" or "momma's boys." their moms still treat them like kids: they cook for them, do their laundry, clean their room, run errands for them, etc.

Answer 7

Yes that's true. I think the main reason is that it's become very expensive for young couples to move in together (their wages aren't enough to cover rent/mortgage, bills, furniture etc) and at the same time Italian people don't like to tighten their belts for the sake of independence... they'd rather stay with their parents.

Answer 8

yes, but the reason is economic (generally)

I'm italian

Answer 9

yeah it's common, but nowdays things are changing, there are loads of youngs living with friends during university , or people that lives alone(mostly in the north).

i personaly(i'm from milan) walk out of home at 24yo most of my friends around the same age when they started 2 earn enough money or found a woman.

the things is mostly due to the high prices for renting a flat, u have to know that here if u rent a place u have to pay the bond

wich is normaly 3months and 3 months in advance for the rent(while in uk or usa or australia are normaly week) that  makes a big ammount of money just get into.. that's the main rason for this phenomena thoug there's also people that doesn't really want 2 grow up and prefere to stay home with mom and dad!

Answer 10

I always hear to say these things from the people of other countries. But...do you know that to buy a house (a small house because here our houses aren't made of wood!!!)you have to work about 30 years with many sacrifices?In Italy many people can't have kids because it is really expensive?The food is more expensive than in America 'cuz we prefer to buy products of quality but less(biological,meats and fishes grown up without hormones), I know you prefer the quantity. And the salaries? If your salary in America to work as barman is 1600 dollars, here in Italy your salary for the same job is 700 euros (I know that euro is stronger than dollar now, but there is a very big difference from our salaries and yours).

Answer 11

im afraid so..generally you dont leave home until your married. trust me im sicilian and am going against all my family by moving out...they all think its terrible and disrespectful, especially being a girl!!

Answer 12

They are die hard traditionists.   They are so family oriented that that are not able to make changes.    Ugh.

Answer 13

it isn't for tradition...is just because we can't find a good job and buy a house here is possible only if you are Berlusconi's son!italy is in a economic crisis and politics doesn't help young people!i hope this situation will change!!

Answer 14

Yeah- it's quite common because the economy makes it difficult for 'young' people to be able to move out and survive on their own.  It's also quite common for italian moms to want to be with their children and see nothing wrong with them staying as long as they like.  My 50 yr old brother in law eats at his parents' house every day - even if he has is own apt. two floors down from theirs!

Answer 15

There are several people where I work that are over 30 who still live with their parents. There is one guy at work whose parents gave him an apartment - he rented it out to someone else and kept on living at his parent's house. Others don't live with their parents during the week, but do go back home almost every weekend to stay.

There was a court case here a few years ago where the father had thrown an older son out of the house. The son had had several opportunities, but wasn't working because he said they weren't good enough jobs. The son won the case.

Answer 16

yes, is normal. Usually you leave your parents only when you get married.

Go living by yourself in Italy is extremely expensive, and find a job is also difficult.

Answer 17

No Maggie C, you should say what you know, not what you guess... but anyway..

i'm italian, actually in Italy it's really hard to move out by yourself, we don't have the mentality (especially in little towns) to go with some friends and being in a house of room-mates.. which it makes more difficult to afford all the monthly cost of an apartment or most of all a house...

there's something to say: i know people who really don't care to move out, they have always a meal ready without cooking thanks to their mom, they always have ironed shirts (thanks to the same holy woman) and so and so.. they're happy that way and they don't think (at the moment) to move out and do everything by themselves (if only they'll be able!).

Then, another important thing is: instead to "waste" money in bills and rents or mortgages for having their own life, they prefere let their parents pay for everything so they can save money to go out in the weekend for clubs, happy hours and so and so.. most of them, of course, are still single, something else that keep them in the parents' nest.

To me it's a shame but everyone makes his own choices.. for moving out from home i had to go out of my country, in Ireland where i found an apartment (shared with other room-mates of course) and a job and i lived there 10 months.

If i was trying to do that in Italy, it was almost impossible, and today it's going to be worst because, believe me or not, everyday the cost of the life is increasing on everything. We have taxes that kills and no control.

These are some of the major reasons for the people can't move out or don't want to... i also know a lot of people who wishes to go out but they still can't afford it...

Answer 18

Very, very common. I lived with a family while studying abroad in Ferrara, and my host mothers' son (who was about 31, I believe) brought home his laundry for her to do. I don't think Italian sons ever leave the company of a mother or wife.

Answer 19

Yes,  I have a friend in his 50's who still resides with his parents. He never moved out of the house.  The families in Italy stay together unless the child get married.

In recent years, the children are given help to buy a place of their own  or even given a home for them to live in so many are beginning to move out on their own, but it usually is after the have finished school,  and found a good paying job.

I know a few who have moved into an apartment with their partner or boyfriend/ girlfriend. However, the latter is not very common and is  not accepted by many.

Things are very expensive in Italy. In Italy, one must furnish the entire home;  bathroom fixtures, kitchen, closets, etc.  The bathroom fixtures; sink, tub, toliet, etc are not included unless they are renting the apartment that has already been furnished with these things.  One must buy the kitchen;stove, sink, cabinets, etc.

It is very expensive to have to furnish an entire apartment or home in Italy.

Answer 20

Housing costs are high relative to wages.

Also married couples prefer to live near their parents. Daily care for children is expensive, in some places not even available, so grandparents are very useful for (free) babysitting.