Rising rents and prices of basic commodities are forcing some young people to move in with their parents. Students say it’s getting difficult to afford day-to-day life.
Fausta, who studies physiotherapy at the Lithuanian Sports University (LSU), returned to live with her parents several months ago. Until then, she had been staying in student dorms of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), where rent was cheaper. However, the prices have shot up.
“It happened that when the price of everything went up - electricity, water - the dorms raised the rent: it was 76 euros, and then it went up to over 90 euros. [...] I was living on an allowance from my parents, they sent me 130 euros a month,” Fausta told LRT RADIO.
“When I found out that they were going to raise [the rent], I decided to move, because I realised that I wouldn't be able to get by on what my parents could give me,” she said.
Lithuanians move out of their family homes at around the age of 25, among the youngest in the European Union.
Swedes statistically leave their family homes the earliest, at the average age of 19, while people in Portugal do it last, at the average age of 34.
“In times of economic hardship, children leave their parents' homes just a little later,” said Sigita Kraniauskienė, sociologist at Klaipėda University. “As the economy improves, they assume they can leave their parents' home sooner because they can find a job quicker.”
Youths returning to live with their parents is “not a new phenomenon”, she added.
“In the Soviet era, it was the same - young people also returned to live with their parents because there was a terrible shortage of housing. And they didn't even live alone, but with their own families, and then children were born, and two families lived in a cramped apartment,” said Kraniauskienė.
A recent study showed the main source of income for students to be allowances from their parents and relatives. According to Gabrielė Šturmaitė, a representative of the Lithuanian Students' Union (LSS), families tend to cover food bills and other expenses.
However, not all parents can foot the bills, while support from Lithuania’s institutions often falls below the minimum wage.
“You understand that it is difficult to make a living. Unless we are still living with the stereotypical thinking that a student can live on buckwheat and instant noodles,” said Šturmaitė.
Therefore, many students choose to stay with their parents.
“If your parents live in a different area from the city of study, it is really difficult. Imagine if a student studies in Kaunas and their parents live in Mažeikiai [northwestern Lithuania], it would be very difficult to go to lectures every day,” she said.
For LSU student Fausta, returning home was only a short-term solution.
A couple of months later, she found a job and moved back to the dorms. “I can live on my own now. My parents, like everyone else, were hit with rising prices and said they couldn't support me anymore,” said Fausta.
According to sociologist Kraniauskienė, having a job is extremely important for Lithuanians.
“You are pushed to find a permanent job as soon as possible, and this is linked to the social security system,” she said. “Because if you don't have a permanent job that guarantees a regular income, you are out of the social security system and basically at risk of poverty.”
According to the expert, studies show that a permanent job is one of the key expectations of parents for their children under 25.
“The top five expectations for both sons and daughters are very similar in principle: first, to have a paid job, second, to have graduated from university, third, to have travelled around the world, [....] fourth, to have moved out of the house, and fifth, to have a home of their own,” Kraniauskienė said.
However, as Fausta explained, combining work and studies is a challenge. Her grades have dropped since she took on a job.
“I'm studying physiotherapy, which is quite hard and stressful,” she said. “I'm lucky that I have a very good supervisor, I can work on weekends and I have Wednesday off from lectures, so I still work on Wednesdays.”
“But it's hard to find time for my personal life, because it's either studies or work and I don't see much else,” she added.
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