Moving back in with parents makes dollars and sense

Paul Novak says living at the family home with his mother, Natasha, allows him to pay off his student loan. Picture / Nick Reed

Paul Novak left home at 17 but returned to the family fold four years later to save money while studying and provide company for his immigrant parents.

Now 24, he is trying to pay off a student loan before saving for overseas travel, which he says would be impossible if he were renting a house in Auckland's inflated property market.

"I definitely can't afford it on my current pay," he told the Weekend Herald. "My student loan is definitely a big one for me at the moment - I need to pay it off before I make any moves outside the country."

But that suits his mother, Natasha, as he is her only child and the Ukrainian-born family have no other relatives in New Zealand.

Mr Novak, a coffee despatch assistant employed on a casual roster, is also looking for a job with more hours and an affinity with his training in business development.

Although his parents own their unit in Mt Albert, Mrs Novak says it is small and she would like to be able to afford a larger house. She hopes that may be possible once her son gains fulltime employment, but is happy in the meantime to have him staying with her and her husband Leon.

"It's a cultural thing," she said of having an adult son at home. "It's what we do in our culture."