Flee the nest: how Spain’s improved economy is easing parent-child relations

Young Spaniards have long valued their education more than their independence, but could that all be about to change?

“Too lazy to earn a living” were the words uttered by a judge in northern Spain who turned down a legal request by a 23-year-old woman to continue to receive her parents’ financial assistance…

Cases such as these had become less unusual in Spain following the 2008 credit crunch and subsequent double-dip recession that forced many younger Spaniards to either remain in their family home or return to the embrace of their parents for financial support and a roof over their heads.

Allied to a culture that already meant Spaniards stayed at home until much later in life than many other Europeans, and sometimes the resultant cocktail was one of resentment, reduced opportunities and – eventually and in the case highlighted above – perceived as apathy and laziness on the part of the youngsters.

But all this appears to be changing as Spain’s economy improves, jobs return, and mortgages become available and more affordable for the average young Spaniard.

With strong family bonds traditionally highly valued in Spain, it hasn’t been that unusual for children to remain living with their parents until well into their late 20s. However, during the worst years of the recession, many 30-somethings found themselves under the same roof as their parents – a situation that managed to stir up no-end of frustration for both parties.

According to Eurostat, the average age at which a Spaniard leaves home is 29 – a full nine years later than the average Swede, and above the EU average of 28. Spain’s laws have always held that parents are obliged to provide for their offspring until such time that they reach economic independence.

With no upper age limit, this rather vague law was taken advantage of on numerous occasions, but the judge in the recent Cantabrian case exercised the lesser-known caveat that the law does not apply if a child’s behaviour prevents them from getting on in life, such as laziness or an unwillingness to seek independence.

In today’s much-improved economic climate, an increasing number of young Spaniards are finding that any excuses for being able to stand on their own two feet are fewer and farther between – and this is great news in the longer-term as more independent young Spaniards will provide a boost to the nation’s economy, while also easing any tensions between parents.

Spaniards also place a keen emphasis on higher education, with a fair proportion of those in their 20s still in full-time education.