Why this story matters:
Just when Maltese youth started exploring the world, as many Europeans their age do, the market hit them hard and led many of them to stick with the Mediterranean habit of living at home well into adulthood. With Malta's overheating rental market, which some opposition politicians conveniently blame on foreign workers, starting independent life is off-limits for people who are only beginning their careers.
The building boom has done little to offer affordable accommodation to young people, and the fact that Malta grants citizenship to real estate investors means that people with money to spend are willing to pay exorbitant prices even for substandard accommodation.
Like young people elsewhere, young Maltese study longer and marry later than their parents. And while there is more openness to lifestyles outside the 'job-marriage-house-children' imperative, most wait until they are in a long-term relationship before they fork out a large share of their earnings for rented or mortgaged accommodation. Relatively short commuting distances on the archipelago protect them from the pressure to move closer to schools or workplaces. Living with parents is affordable and convenient, but it would take a different survey to find out if this is really what four fifths of young Maltese women want.
Details from the story:
- 82 per cent of Maltese women aged 16 to 29 still live with their parents.
- Malta topped the EU list last year under that parameter, according to Eurostat.
- Young men in Malta even more likely to go on living at their parents’ homes (87%), but in this aspect Malta is fourth on the list.
- The number of those still living with their parents beyond age 30 is on the rise and at its highest this decade.
