Finding freedom at home: Can artists thrive while living with their parents?

Sound familiar?

I know I’m not the only one in this situation.

More and more young adults are living with their parents nowadays.

The current situation in Europe

According to Eurostat, in most European countries “more than one-in-three adults aged 18 to 34 lived in their parents’ home in 2021“. This is true not only for countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal, which have traditionally high rates of young adults living with their parents (often above 60%), but also for places like the United Kingdom where the proportion of adults aged 24 to 34 living with their parents rose from 13% in 2006 to 18% in 2024. In contrast, our parents and grandparents typically moved out at a much younger age to go and study in a different town, work or start their own families and settle permanently. Today, the phenomenon of the “boomerang generation” – young adults who return home after university or life challenges – has also become more common.

The rise in the number of young people living with their parents is less a result of unemployment – which has actually decreased in recent years – or laziness, despite common stereotypes which classify today’s youngsters as infantile. Rather, the main reason lies in high living costs, rising rent prices, and unstable employment, factors that have been aggravated by the global economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

How are art careers affected by precarity?

Among those most affected by precarious work situations and economic instability are young artists and creatives working in the cultural sector for whom financial independence often remains a distant dream. Although artistic work has always been characterized by precariousness, it is even more so today, forcing creatives to compromise by accepting day jobs, marginal roles, or even completely unrelated occupations. The need to juggle multiple jobs and responsibilities also limits the time artists can dedicate to creating art.

This is why I often find myself questioning my decision to pursue a creative career in the visual arts, especially as I navigate the uncertainties of an artistic profession while living back at home with my parents.

So why is it particularly difficult for artists living at home?

As painter Susan Abbott says:

“These budding artists need to be stubbornly single-minded in their focus, and to pursue their obsession alone, sometimes into difficult places. […] When we’re finally in our studio alone, hearing not mother’s or father’s but our own voice, we have the chance to really begin”

Coping strategies

However there are also some unexpected advantages to living at home, aside from the financial benefits. For instance, I have often found that emotional support from family can be a significant help, especially during times of uncertainty. Practical support is another major advantage, such as having healthy meals prepared or many household chores taken care of, which allows for more time and energy to focus on creative work without the distraction of everyday tasks. Although these aspects vary for each individual artist – shaped by factors such as location, support systems, and personal circumstances – I have based my reflections on my own experiences and insights gained from conversations with peers in similar situations. For example, I also find it quite useful to use my parents as models for drawing. 

Perhaps more than any other vocation artists naturally combine their work with their daily life, allowing them to adapt and incorporate their environment into their work. Therefore for many young creatives, living at home with their parents becomes more than just a practical arrangement – it evolves into an integral part of their creative process. Creatives have the ability to adapt their practice to any given place and circumstance, being ready to exercise “creative placemaking” at their own advantage. In this way, the home can be a nurturing space, fostering creativity and enabling artists to thrive, regardless of the challenges they face.