Between Brexit, student debt and the cost of living in general, more graduates are moving back home with their parents after graduation.
In fact a report by the National Union of Students (NUS), found almost half of students who paid the £9,000 tuition fees have moved back in with their parents, and I am one of them!
Like most undergraduates, I completed my degree and really thought my dream job would just come knocking. This didn’t happen, and now I have had to move back to Cornwall and back into my parents’ house. It is a pretty big change from my life in London. Cornwall doesn’t have the opportunities I would like but the price of living is too much for an undergraduate like myself.
The cost of renting your own property outside of London has risen 5.1% in the last 12 months to April ‘16. People choosing to live in the capital have been hit with a 7.7% increase, which means you could be forking out £1,543 a month.
On top of rent you will need to add the average cost of a weekly shop of £30-£40 for one person, plus bills of £10 a week. And then you add-on top travel costs, in London a weekly travel card (Zone 1-4) will set you back £46.40. So when you add all of this together in London, you are spending £1927 a month before adding any social life or luxuries.
The study by NUS found that not only are graduates that move home more likely to be unemployed but over 50% of graduates from 2023 didn’t think their degree was worth the money, and 60% had non-student debt left over from their degree, which averaged £2,600.
They also found 71% of students were concerned about the level of student debt. Completed undergraduates could be looking at a bill of £45,000, plus interest! 76% were worried that the government might change the terms of loans to make them pay more back.
From personal experience most students leave university well into their overdraft of £2,000 just to keep afloat. People who I know who have moved out and begun full-time work are struggling to pay rent as well as have a social life. Many of which completely rely on their overdraft just to make it through the month.
With tuition fees set to be raised yet again, will generation rent never end?
