We’ve talked before about the crux and social stigma that surrounds our households before in our previous articles about the nuclear family and isolation. Today we wanted to dive deeper into the social stigma that surrounds multigenerational living, particularly the attitudes towards living with your parents when you are single and why living in a multigenerational household needs to make a big comeback as our cultural landscape changes.
As we continue to battle the global pandemic, our entire landscape is experiencing a drastic shift culturally, economically and socially. It’s difficult to predict what everything will look like at the end of this but it is clear that things will never return to the normal that we are used to. But that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. If anything, Covid-19 has shone a bright yet ugly light upon the cracks in our society caused by rampant individualism and decades of economic policies that have left the lower and middle classes behind. If anything, now is the time to change the culture and shift back towards a society that looks out for each other not just themselves. And we can start in the home.
As we discussed in article on the shortcomings of the nuclear family, historically a household would contain many members of the family across its generations. It was typical to have children, their parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents living under the same roof. A cultural shift towards individualism pushed extended family out of the home as the dominant household structure became immediate family only. However, this household structure only really worked for the economic and cultural environment at the time during that economic boom in the early and mid 19th century. Our current landscape cannot sustain that type of family structure.
With the rising costs associated with all aspects of living in combination with stagnant wages, the nuclear family structure just isn’t feasible. More young adults are living with their parents. In the US, 52% of young adults live with one or both of the parents while in Canada, 35% of 20-34 year olds live with their parents. These figures have been on the rise for the past few decades and, in certain cities, the percentage is even higher. For example, in Toronto, 47% of young adults live with their parents.
There’s many reasons why this trend is dominant across North America. Increasing housing costs, whether to rent or to own, have prevented many young adults from being able to afford to live on their own. Coupled with rising debts from education and a stagnant wage and economic downturn, many young adults have no other option but to live with their parents. Additionally, many young adults are starting their own families far later than previous generations. It’s just more practical to live with their parents.
However, the stigma of living with your parents continues to persist. Why? Pop culture throughout the decades has used the archetype of a young single adult living with their parents as the butt of an overdone joke for decades now. Look at popular shows such as Arrested Development, movies such as the Hangover and Failure To Launch, and you’ll find the same archetype thrown in your face again and again. Further back in the 19th century, many single adult women who lived with their parents were to be pitied for not being married. In the past few decades, living on your own has become a marker for adulthood. Living apart from your family, whether you live with friends or own your own, became an aspiration.
However, the reality now, social and economic, means that this kind of thing isn’t possible or sustainable for many. With the effects of Covid-19 continuing to drag on, we need to take a hard look at ourselves and assess what kind of cultural dynamic we want to set. While only 6% of Canadians live in multigenerational households, this number is on the rise and is one of the fastest growing demographics amongst households. Though this household is popular among immigrant and Indigenous families, GoCo believes that more demographics should embrace this model.
Living in a multigenerational household can ease the economic burdens of living. Cohousing and coliving is becoming a popular trend of entering the increasingly expensive housing market, particularly in Toronto. In fact, poverty rates among multigenerational household are lower than single generational households according to a study by Ottawa’s Vanier Institute of the Family. Pooling resources at a financial level as well as easing the burden of work and household chores is beneficial for many multigenerational families. It has the potential to improve the overall living standards of all those involved.
While living with family isn’t always easy, there are many ways to overcome many issues and challenges that you may face when living with family. GoCo always advocates for open and frank communication with coliving members of a household, family or otherwise. Compromise, compassion and cooperation are the pillars that GoCo believes hold up a successful co-ownership and coliving situation. When investing and buying property, it is imperative that proper contracts are drawn up between the parties as well to ensure the partnership is successful and any disagreements are resolved if they arise.
Co-ownership and coliving is a trend that is rising across North America, especially in expensive cities such as Toronto. There’s no way to predict the future but GoCo believes that the way forward for ourselves, our communities and our cities is to embrace a different household model than what our cultural stigmas dictate. Multigenerational households are the way forward. And GoCo will be there every step of the way of the way!