Nina Xarhakos has opened up about the benefits of multi-generational living after she moved in with her mother, Maria, in 2020.
In an interview with ABC News, Nina shared how she moved in with her 92-year-old mother after she began to suffer mobility issues and was becoming isolated following the death of her husband and the closure of her Greek social club due to COVID-19.
She said the decision was ‘satisfying to be able to make that sort of contribution towards her quality of life and I think it strengthens our relationship as well.’
According to Edgar Liu, a senior research fellow at the UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre, the largest growth in Australia in multi-generational living arrangements had occurred in households where two generations of adults lived together.
Dr Liu said finance, especially the cost of care for both the young and the elderly, influenced people’s decisions to form multi-generational households.
In Nina’s case, she said she decided to move in with her mother because it was becoming increasingly difficult to find carers with the language and cultural skills to care for someone like her mother whose English was limited.
Ultimately however, she said the living arrangement was benefiting them both.
“I’m learning certain skills from my mother, she’s passing on customs and traditions that I hold dear as well. So there’s a lot to learn from someone with such wisdom and such capacity,” Nina concluded.
Source: ABC News.
