WHAT DO THE PARENTS THINK?
At home in southwest London, Tish and Angus Stewart – Nick’s parents – have relished the return of their eldest child. To them, his decision makes complete sense.
“These days, it doesn’t seem unusual for young people to switch jobs and take a little time to figure out what they want to do,” says Angus, 66. “It’s the sensible thing to do, especially when the majority of income goes on rent now. I mean, why wouldn’t you [live at home]?”
It wasn’t like that in their day. By the time Angus, who has semi-retired from financial services, was Nick’s age, he had already moved from his native Vancouver to London to work as a stockbroker, met and married Tish there, and moved as a couple back to Canada, where they lived in rental accommodation for four years until Nick arrived and it was time to buy a house.
Tish, 62, did it all even younger. At 31 she’d been living abroad for five years, was expecting a baby, had started a PHD in British intellectual history, and left a job at the BBC in London.
Still working as a PA, she “can count on two, or even three hands” the number of friends whose children have also returned to the nest in their late 20s or 30s. “It’s not a shock at all. Some might have been working abroad for a bit. And if they’re lucky enough to live in a commutable area like we are, they can start a new job more easily.”
With Nick’s sister, 28-year-old Rosanna, living and working in South Africa, they say the contrast of having one child on a different continent and the other in the next room is nice. Plus, Nick is an ideal houseguest.
Angus enjoys the spirited post-dinner debates over a glass of wine; Tish likes “the banter, and the young person’s perspective around the place”.
On the domestics front, at least, Nick gets off lightly.
“I’d rather run the show there,” Tish admits. “He is an excellent cook, making very agreeable dishes, when I can’t.”
“As a parent, you ideally want to support your children and help them get started on the career they want. Luckily, we can help,” says Angus. Guy Kelly