港式婚姻 已婚却分居 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.

三十岁出头的Jim Lai与Grace Lai去年举办了自己梦幻般的婚礼。但5个月过去了，他们还是分别与自己的父母同住。

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.

欢迎来到香港千禧一代的世界，他们经历着与美国、欧洲同龄人一样的烦恼。香港城市大学(City University of Hong Kong)城市研究小组的调查显示，尽管香港失业率仅为3%，但在18至35岁的香港人中，76%仍与父母同住。

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

该比例几乎是美国、英国或法国水平的两倍。

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.

对工作机会的担忧以及被房地产市场拒之门外，意味着香港千禧一代与他们的西方同龄人有很多共同点。但是，在欧美年轻人正在进入一个令上几代人感到陌生的世界之际，香港千禧一代面临的问题对于他们的父母来说实在太熟悉了。

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.

土地资源稀缺的香港是“全球房价最难负担城市”，它已保持这一头衔多年。去年，香港房价中值（或许已达到峰值）达到了家庭税前年收入中值的19倍，是英国的两倍多，虽然伦敦部分地区早已升至同等水平。

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.

在亚洲，虽然多代同堂家庭长期以来都属常态，但过去10年持续暴涨的房价加剧了年轻人继续与父母同住的趋势。智库香港集思会(Hong Kong Ideas Centre)的一项研究显示，香港“已婚却分居”的夫妻数量去年创下历史新高。

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

Lai氏夫妇知道的跟他们处境相同的已婚夫妻就有3对。

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.

香港城市大学研究小组的Ji Ling将香港新一代年轻人的住房选择形容为一项经过深思熟虑的策略——以在面对不确定性和财务压力时“弥合梦想与现实之间的差距”。香港与中国内地间的政治紧张正在加剧，而随着中国经济增速下滑，香港的经济增长——香港政府预计今年的增速仅为1-2%——也正在放缓。

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.

年轻人与父母同住的决定会造成深远影响：香港的生育率水平只有1.1，即每名妇女平均生育1.1个子女——远低于人口替换率。

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

但起作用的还有另一个因素——一个香港以外的父母或许也会认可的因素。

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.

城市研究小组的调查显示，95%的与父母同住的年轻人喜欢这样。香港千禧一代喜欢这种不用交房租、把更多的钱用于消费的状态；大多数人说他们喜欢被父母照顾，还不用做家务。

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回忆自己的母亲曾暗示他们小两口自己住会“有趣”，但她自己基本没有过这种怀疑。

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

“我们有朋友把大多数工资都花在房租上，”她说。“为什么要在这方面损失这么多呢？”