In many Hispanic cultures, moving out before you are married is almost completely unheard of. Moving out of your house and into your own place with your significant other before you are married is downright blasphemous. Normally, this isn't much of a problem since in Hispanic cultures, generally speaking, it is not uncommon for people to marry and have children at a young age. Read about some common attitudes among Hispanics about marriage here. With trends in the U.S. leaning more towards marriage and children at a later age, this difference in culture creates a problem among Millennials.
In American culture, getting married or having children before 25 is considered young and for some just completely out of the question. Yet when it comes to moving out, 18 is a perfectly acceptable age. Herein lies the problem. With more and more Hispanic Americans getting married and having children at a later age, the option of waiting until marriage to move out is getting pushed further and further off the dinner table, much to the dismay of Hispanic parents.
I was 22 when I decided to move in with my boyfriend who I saw a potential for a future with. My Catholic mother went bat shit.
“Are you getting married?”
“No”
“But what will people think?”
Not being particularly religious myself, I had none of the same concerns she did. I felt I was doing what people my age were supposed to be doing. Working, studying and trying to forge a quality relationship with someone. In the American films and television shows I grew up watching, people date for a while and then live together if things get serious and marriage is an option. In fact, in most of the rom-coms of my generation, the characters are single or cohabiting well into their early thirties. Normal. For my mom, and many other Hispanic parents, not so much.
Check out Knot Yet a national marrying project that examines the changes in marriage amongst americans today.
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