Young Aussies staying at home for longer amid cost of living pressures

A young Aussie bitten by the travel bug has revealed she wouldn’t be planning a trip across the world if she wasn’t living at home and battling cost of living pressures.

It comes as recent research shows that more young Australians are staying in their parents’ homes for longer amid the housing crisis.

Having been born and raised in Sydney, 25-year-old Alana Avallone only discovered her love for travel during a Contiki to Italy in June last year, and was already planning another.

However, Ms Avallone said she was only able to save up enough for the holiday because she is able to stay at home and be supported by her parents, and said many young Aussies should do the same if they can.

‘I don’t think I would be planning my next trip if I was living out of home and having to pay rent every week especially If I was living in the more expensive parts of Sydney,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

While living at home eases some burdens, she said that her finances are still tightened as a student.

‘Living at home means I’m not spending money on rent, however I have other bills like my phone and car that add up but not as much as rent money,’ Ms Avallone said.

She said that she wished she had gone travelling earlier.

‘If I had done a gap year at 18 I would have probably developed my confidence and independence early on, rather than at the age of 25,’ she said.

‘I also could have probably really sat and thought more about what I really wanted to do and find my passions’.

She added that the current economic situation makes it harder for young Aussies to travel the world and get the life experience she gained on her trip with Contiki.

When she thinks about moving out of her parents’ house, she quickly remembers how much money she is saving by staying there. 

Ms Avallone was bitten by the travel bug after a trip to Italy in June last year and said the cost of living crisis would keep other young Aussies from the life experiences she learnt on her trip

Having gone on the solo trip shy and nervous, she returned more confident in herself and said she is now returning to university to follow her passion as a travel writer

How more young Aussies are staying at home

Recent research from the University of Melbourne’s Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey revealed  54 per cent of young men and 47 per cent of young women aged 18 to 29 years old were still living under the same roof as their parents. 

According to the researchers, there were a number of factors preventing young Australians from gaining their first foothold on the property ladder.

Professor Roger Wilkins, Deputy Director, HILDA Survey, at the University of Melbourne,  said many young Aussies were taking longer to find their feet in the workforce, incomes were falling and cost-of-living was going up.

‘We’ve seen a rise in higher education participation, declining full-time employment opportunities for young people, a rising cost in housing, and a trend towards later marriage and family formation’.

‘The traditional markers of adulthood are happening later in life now.’ 

Ms Avallone urged high school students about to finish high school to consider taking a break from studies and go on a a gap year

Lyn Craig, Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Melbourne, highlighted a very serious implication for young people who lived at home for longer.

‘While we are living longer so we have time to stretch out and slow events and transitions during our life course – one thing we can’t really slow is fertility.

‘So, there may be implications for young people being able to embark on the great adventure of parenthood,’ Professor Craig said.

‘Since the mid-20-teens, fertility has fallen below replacement in Australia for the first time and I think that has something to do with the price of housing and young people not being able to afford to establish an independent household away from parents.’

Professor Wilkins said successive governments were to blame for many young Aussies staying at home due to the housing crisis.

‘Policy action to make housing more affordable and to increase housing supply is a clear way to tackle that,’ said Professor Wilkins.

‘On the positive side, as a richer society with longer life expectancy, perhaps some young people are making a rational and conscious choice to delay getting into the hard yakka of life.

‘They decide to enjoy themselves and have some fun while they are still young.

‘As a whole, baby boomer parents are also a relatively wealthy cohort, so their capacity and preparedness to house their kids into adulthood has increased. Perhaps it’s not the imposition it once was on parents who were more constrained economically.’

Young Aussies being held back from travel due to cost of living pressures  

Meanwhile, recent research from international tour company Contiki revealed young Aussies were putting off international travel due to cost of living pressures. 

While 42 per cent enjoy university, they worried about never being able to repay their loans. 

Additionally, 47 per cent of students found university expensive and need to work part-time jobs to afford their expenses. 

Even with full-time employment, 48 per cent of young adults are always anticipating their next payday, and 62 per cent express a strong desire to save more for travel. 

Only 39 per cent prefer to spend their money on traveling rather than saving for emergencies. 

Research from tour company Contiki reveals about two thirds of young Aussies would rather experience the world on an international trip instead of going into university studies (stock)

The research from Contiki also revealed students were not enrolling into tertiary courses out of a passion for the subject.

Instead, a majority of students didn’t want to disappoint their families or were worried they would miss out on high-paying jobs.

‘Young Aussies feel they are expected to pursue a degree or course, many are feeling the pinch of the cost of living and, understandably, feel a little guilty about booking a holiday,’ explained Contiki’s Managing Director, Toni Ambler.

The tour company recently launched a program, called Contiki University, to help university students take a break in tourist hotspots, and still learn about what they were passionate about

The trips include brushing up on Greek History while island hopping through the Aegean Sea or learning about temple architecture across Southeast Asia.