Many young people choose to live with their parents while studying at university instead of moving to a different city. Do the advantages of this trend outweigh the disadvantages?

The principal benefit of living with parents is financial. Rent, bills and daily meals absorb the largest share of a student's budget, so avoiding them allows a household to afford tuition without debt or a second job. In Morocco,

for instance

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, many parents in Rabat and Casablanca could not send their children to university at all if accommodation in another city had to be paid for, which means that staying put is often the only route to a degree. Closely linked to

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is emotional security, as a familiar bedroom, home-cooked food and relatives nearby help first-year students cope with the pressure of examinations,

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those who move away frequently struggle with loneliness during their initial months.

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, the arrangement does carry certain disadvantages. The most obvious is that young adults who never leave the nest may fail to develop practical skills,

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as managing a household or negotiating with a landlord, because their parents continue to handle these matters for them.

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, campus life offers friendships and activities that commuters miss when they return to the suburbs every evening. A student in Fez,

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, who travels two hours each day has little energy left for clubs or study groups, and,

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, their network of contacts remains small.

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, these problems are matters of attitude and organisation rather than flaws in the choice itself, since a determined learner can volunteer, join societies and take on responsibilities at home.