To leave or stay? : exploring of living arrangement of young adults in Hong Kong

Abstract

Leaving parental home is an essential process of personal growth. In the modern world, young adults highly embrace the values of privacy and autonomy, but the path to independence may not follow a simple logic and it varies across countries. Young people are stretching household budgets because of a lack of affordable housing options, and thus adjust their living arrangements, often by sharing their dwellings or staying in parental homes. (Gardiner & Alakeson, 2014; Shelter, 2014; Coulter 2016). Hong Kong has been the first place in terms of unaffordable housing prices in International Housing Affordability Survey for many years, and the situation is always far above severe unaffordability. Although financial matter has always been an indispensable factor to affect the decision of choices of living arrangement according to the previous studies, young adults’ willingness to leave or stay is also propelled by other factors, such as life-course events, housing tenure, and housing norms. This study provides a comprehensive overview of why a number of young adults in Hong Kong are keen to pursue independent living, but they are willing to stay with their parents at the same time. In addition, their residential satisfaction on parental homes and the impact of different factors on shaping young adults’ choices of living arrangement are explored. A total of 114 questionnaires are collected by using convenience sampling method. Data is analysed by quantitative method, and the trends in making a decision on living arrangement are found out. Moreover, 5 young adults from different backgrounds and 1 researcher are interviewed by using snowball sampling method. Through the in-depth interviews, the rationale behind the choices of living arrangement and the constraints they encountered can be further examined. At last, based on the findings and viewpoints from all respondents, the study has suggested some recommendations to the government in order to effectively address the expectations and needs of young adults on housing issues.