港式婚姻 已婚卻分居 Hong Kong cost of living forces married couples into separate beds

Jim and Grace Lai, a couple in their early thirties, had the wedding of their dreams last year. But five months later they are still living apart with their respective parents.

三十歲出頭的Jim Lai與Grace Lai去年舉辦了自己夢幻般的婚禮。但5個月過去了，他們還是分別與自己的父母同住。

Welcome to the world of Hong Kong millennials, every bit as vexed as the experiences of their counterparts in the US and Europe. Seventy-six per cent of Hongkongers aged 18-35 are still living with their parents, according to the Urban Research Group of City University of Hong Kong, despite an unemployment rate of just 3 per cent.

歡迎來到香港千禧一代的世界，他們經歷着與美國、歐洲同齡人一樣的煩惱。香港城市大學(City University of Hong Kong)城市研究小組的調查顯示，儘管香港失業率僅爲3%，但在18至35歲的香港人中，76%仍與父母同住。

That is almost twice the level of the US, the UK or France.

該比例幾乎是美國、英國或法國水平的兩倍。

Concerns about job opportunities and being locked out of the housing market mean Hong Kong millennials have much in common with their western peers. But while American and European youths are entering a world alien to previous generations, the problem confronting Hong Kong’s millennials is one with which their parents are all too familiar.

對工作機會的擔憂以及被房地產市場拒之門外，意味着香港千禧一代與他們的西方同齡人有很多共同點。但是，在歐美年輕人正在進入一個令上幾代人感到陌生的世界之際，香港千禧一代面臨的問題對於他們的父母來說實在太熟悉了。

The land-scarce territory has the least affordable homes in the world, a position it has held for years. Median prices last year — which may represent a peak — were 19 times gross income, more than twice the proportion in the UK although some parts of London have already reached a similar level.

土地資源稀缺的香港是“全球房價最難負擔城市”，它已保持這一頭銜多年。去年，香港房價中值（或許已達到峯值）達到了家庭稅前年收入中值的19倍，是英國的兩倍多，雖然倫敦部分地區早已升至同等水平。

Even though multi-generational households have long been the norm in Asia the relentless rise of house prices has accelerated the stay-at-home trend over the past decade. The number of couples “married but living apart” hit a record high last year, according to a study by Hong Kong Ideas Centre, a think-tank.

在亞洲，雖然多代同堂家庭長期以來都屬常態，但過去10年持續暴漲的房價加劇了年輕人繼續與父母同住的趨勢。智庫香港集思會(Hong Kong Ideas Centre)的一項研究顯示，香港“已婚卻分居”的夫妻數量去年創下歷史新高。

The Lais know three other married couples in the same situation.

Lai氏夫婦知道的跟他們處境相同的已婚夫妻就有3對。

Ji Ling of the City University research group characterise the new generation’s housing choices as a deliberate strategy “to bridge the gap between dreams and reality” at a time of uncertainty and financial stress. Political tension with the mainland is rising and the economy — forecast by the government to grow just 1-2 per cent this year — is slowing, as China’s rate of growth declines.

香港城市大學研究小組的Ji Ling將香港新一代年輕人的住房選擇形容爲一項經過深思熟慮的策略——以在面對不確定性和財務壓力時“彌合夢想與現實之間的差距”。香港與中國內地間的政治緊張正在加劇，而隨着中國經濟增速下滑，香港的經濟增長——香港政府預計今年的增速僅爲1-2%——也正在放緩。

There are deep repercussions to young people’s decisions to stay home with their parents: at 1.1 children per women, Hong Kong’s fertility levels are far below the replacement rate.

年輕人與父母同住的決定會造成深遠影響：香港的生育率水平只有1.1，即每名婦女平均生育1.1個子女——遠低於人口替換率。

But another factor is also at play, one that parents far from Hong Kong might recognise.

但起作用的還有另一個因素——一個香港以外的父母或許也會認可的因素。

An overwhelming 95 per cent of those living with their parents like to do so, according the Urban Research Group. The city’s millennials prefer to have more money to spend by not paying rent; most said they liked being taken care of and avoiding domestic chores.

城市研究小組的調查顯示，95%的與父母同住的年輕人喜歡這樣。香港千禧一代喜歡這種不用交房租、把更多的錢用於消費的狀態；大多數人說他們喜歡被父母照顧，還不用做家務。

The newly-wed Mrs Lai recalls her mother once suggesting it was “funny” to live separately but has little time for such doubts herself.

新婚不久的Grace Lai回憶自己的母親曾暗示他們小兩口自己住會“有趣”，但她自己基本沒有過這種懷疑。

“We see friends who spend most of their salary on rent,” she says. “Why suffer so much for it?”

“我們有朋友把大多數工資都花在房租上，”她說。“爲什麼要在這方面損失這麼多呢？”