What young people really think about housing in Hong Kong
Ray Forrest and Yip Ngai-ming say a survey of young Hongkongers' attitudes to housing reveals that many are pessimistic about the future as they struggle to balance their own wishes and family responsibilities
There has been a lot of talk of late about the frustrations, expectations and aspirations of young people. There have even been suggestions that the political protests were fuelled as much by housing as democratic deficits. It is certainly impossible to disentangle housing from wider politics. So what do youth in Hong Kong actually think about housing and related issues?
We can answer some of these questions from two waves of a social survey carried out over the past year, funded by the Research Grants Council. People aged 18 to 35 were asked about their current situation and how they saw the future. Almost 80 per cent were living with their parents or other relatives and 12 per cent with their partners. About 5 per cent were living in households including a partner and parents or other relatives. Very few lived alone. Hardly anyone was sharing with friends. It seems that, in our culture, there is little interest among younger people in pooling housing costs through these kinds of sharing arrangements.
So how do young people feel about living with their parents? Among those questioned, two-thirds had rooms of their own, and 30 per cent had some experience of living away from home. When asked if they liked living with their parents, 96 per cent said yes. There are, unsurprisingly, financial considerations at work here. More than two-thirds said they couldn't afford to live anywhere else. So, would they move out if housing were cheaper? We asked if they would be more likely to do so if they had to pay only 20 per cent of their income. More than half said, in those circumstances, they would be very likely (25 per cent) or likely (29 per cent) to move out.
Living at home, at least for a few years into adulthood, clearly has some financial benefit. There is more money to spend on other things. Three-quarters of those questioned said that was one of the reasons they liked living at home. Perhaps more striking findings, however, concern the non-financial aspects of family relationships. There was little evidence that young people as a whole felt prevented from leaving home by their parents.
We often hear that our youth are more individualistic and less concerned about the family these days. However, our findings contradict that. Young people seem to like being taken care of and not having to worry about housework and other mundane tasks. But a staggering 87 per cent said they liked living at home because they could take care of their parents. A similar proportion thought that "Chinese people should preserve close family ties". About 63 per cent agreed that living with parents was an act of filial piety.
But it would be wrong to paint too rosy a picture of family relationships. There are evident generational tensions. Among those living away from home, almost a third refer to "a lot of disagreements" when they lived with parents, and 40 per cent say they wanted a "different kind of lifestyle".