Maltese people leave their parents’ home at an older age than the EU average because there is no real reason for them to leave at a young age, a leading sociologist has told The Malta Independent.

Factors include high property prices, short distances to work as well as close-knit families.

An EU survey found that Maltese tend to spend more time living in their family homes than most of their EU counterparts. Staying until an average age of 30.2 years, Malta classifies as the third highest country in a table that shows the average age by which people move out of their family home. Croatia tops the table where the average age is 32, followed by Slovakia where the average age is 30.9. Malta is in third place with Italy.

The Malta Independent spoke to Maria Brown, a researcher of adult education and community-based education within the Department of Arts, Open Communities & Adult Education at the University of Malta.

She believes that the determining factor why Maltese youths leave home at a later stage is that “there is no reason whatsoever that forces you to leave your family home at a young age because if there was a major reason, somehow, the property market would provide affordable accommodation for people who struggle financially. In other countries, a system of hostels is granted to the financially weak.”

Brown mentioned certain segments of society who live in poverty such as immigrants who are ready to share a household or apartment and are even ready to share the same roof with people whom they don’t know. Brown reiterates that there is no reason for young people to move out of the family household.

She said that while today people in Malta define themselves as having a culture that is not as traditional or religious as it once was, as well as the influx of different nationalities bringing their own cultures into the mix, there are still certain traditions observed.

Maltese youths still celebrate traditional holidays such as Christmas and Mother’s Day with their parents, which shows that the family bond is still present, she said.

The strong family bond between youths and their families of birth or guardians would be a reason for youths to think twice about leaving their family homes in search of an independent life, which calls for self- sufficiency, she said.

Brown added that another contributing factor that leads youths to leave their family home at a later age would be the skyrocketing property prices, which would discourage youths from moving out. Young people or people who are in their 30s who choose to decide to further their education also take longer to move out of their family home, said Brown.

When talking about education, Brown said that people spend more time in education in search of fruitful careers, so when youths invest money in property, they could invest in something that is of good quality.

The minimum wage is also an issue that discourages young people from moving out. A report published by NGO Caritas confirmed “that there are serious shortcomings in the way the minimum wage is being computed here in Malta. Malta is one of other EU countries with a very low minimum wage, a wage which doesn’t give workers the dignity and respect they deserve.” The minimum wage in Malta currently stands at €784.70.

Asked by The Malta Independent, Brown said that with the current minimum wage, young people would find it very hard, especially due to the current market real estate prices.

When asked about young people leaving their family homes to live in another property that is closer to their place of work or study, Brown explained that this is not really a factor given Malta’s small size.

“Because Malta is a very small country, young people don’t have the motivation to move away from home, unlike other youths in foreign countries who must travel lengthy journeys.”

Continuing to explain why Maltese spend longer periods living in their parents’ home, Brown believes that there is no determining incentive for a young person to leave.

Brown reaffirmed the geographical factor, that youths in other EU Member States travel long distances, whilst in Malta this is not a frequent occurrence.

In addition to this, there are certain benefits to living in the family home, such as food, shelter, and maintenance.