Italian Men Are Mummy Boys!

The BBC News website is one of the websites I look at everyday. When I came across this article I couldnt help but smile. You might think its really weird, but having lived with an Italian guy and know quite a few others, it doesnt surprise me. What does surprise me, is that it made the news.

I hope I can add to the article by giving my reasons why Italian guys live with their parents for so long. One of which is mentioned in the article relates to university. In Italy, you can be up to 6/7 years doing a degree. I've no idea why it takes so long, but generally, Italians go to college for longer than we do. My friend Peppe (who you can see in some of the photos) lives with his parents while at college. Not living away from home at college, makes him more dependent on his mother's cooking (which is absolutely amazing), making it harder for him to move out. By the time he's finished college he could be 26/27, and to make the transition to the real world would be tough.

Another reason I think is because the Italian culture for men puts their mother as #1. Peppe and I often joked about this. He would tell me that his mum comes first, then his family and then women. (And he, like most Italian guys love their women!) So even if Italian guys move out and get married, their wife will still only be their 2nd most important woman. I guess the reason why mothers are valued so much is because they make absolutely amazing food.

It is kind of sad that these grown men are living with their parents for so long. I pretty much moved out of home when I was 20, nearly 21. Since then I have only been at home for a handful of days in a row, usually around Christmas. I wonder how many Irish men in their 30's live with their parents?