RISHON LEZION, Israel — One-third of British men under forty are reportedly living with parents:
Cost was the main factor for 59 per cent of them, but 57 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men also admitted that they liked being looked after by mum. Another 11 per cent of men said they would miss their parents too much if they left.
A lucky 56 per cent of adults who live at home get their meals cooked for them, while 55 per cent admitted that mum still does their washing.
Eighteen per cent even had their packed lunch made for them every morning.
With such pampering, many have no intention of leaving any time soon.
Nineteen per cent said they would stay until they became fed up with their parents and another 30 per cent intended to stay at home until they wanted to move in with a boyfriend or girlfriend.
One of the differences I have noticed between Israel and the United States is the attitude that people have towards living with families. Israel is a more-traditional country that places a great emphasis on family, but America has always been an individualistic country whose society has always encouraged people to leave home early and make something of themselves. In Israel, living with parents is common; in the United States, it is a sign of failure.
Nearly every twentysomething person I know — male or female — in Israel lives with his or her parents. The reasons are numerous. Wages are typically lower here. Minimum wage for a full-time job is the equivalent of $5.50 an hour, and even educated, non-management workers in the high-tech industry earn the equivalent of $2,000 a month before taxes. These lower wages come with higher taxes than in the United States to fund the country’s universal health-care system, and big-ticket items such as rent, electronics, and clothing can cost as much in in America as well.
In addition, those Israelis who do go to college take longer to finish their degrees. Nearly everyone serves in the military after high school until the age of twenty (for women) and twenty-one (for men). Then most people spend a year or more traveling throughout the world before settling down back in Israel. So they start college at twenty-two or later. Moreover, most Israelis study part-time while working full-time. Unlike Americans, Israelis do not want to take on student-loan debt — so they pay for it themselves through working and living at home. As a result of all these reasons, young people do not live on their own.
It is very likely that this phenomenon will spread to the Western world, at least for men, as well. First of all, more men then women are suffering as a result of the ongoing economic turmoil. Fields such as education, health-care, non-profit, and government — those that tend to attract women — are not as affected by the financial collapse as the fields of manufacturing, finance, and business — those that tend to attract men. Fewer men are going to college as well.
Although the reason for this societal change is negative, I think the end result might be beneficial for the West. Much of the problems that plague modern, American society stem from extreme individualism. More men and women are choosing to live a single life of purported fun rather than get married. Men are choosing to live in a “Guyland” of immature hedonism rather than act responsibly. Part of the reason for the economic turmoil is the selfish desire of finance managers to earn as much obscene profit as possible regardless of the risk to their firms and society as a whole. Middle-aged Americans put their parents in nursing homes rather than take care of them as people throughout the non-Western world do. In an extreme example, customers at an Indiana convenience store ignored a clerk who had been shot in a robbery and continued to shop rather than help him.
In such an environment, the United States should welcome a return to family and closeness rather than individual success at any cost.
