Projects.+Young+People's+Lifestyle+in+Norwich

= YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIFESTYLE IN NORWICH ﻿ =

** By **

Marta Puras Tellaeche Maria Gema Pedrero Serrano Maria del Rosario Piqueras Fraile Maria Rosario Requejo Villasevil

** Norwich ****, August 2010 **

** __CHANGES IN YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIFESTYLE__ **
 * __QUESTIONNAIRE__ **

1. After finishing your studies, what qualifications are needed to get a job?

2. Do a lot of people go to university? Do most of them finish?

3. Do you think young people have many chances of getting jobs? Changing jobs?

4. Talking about becoming independent, when do young people usually leave home? Where do they move to?

5. When do young people become financially independent?

6. When do young people marry or start living with a partner?

7. After 18, if young people stay at home, what is the relationship with their parents like? Do they depend on their parents economically? If not, how do they get their earnings? Are there any rules to follow?

8. Talking about social life, how do young people meet other people nowadays? How do they get in touch, communicate?

9. In which ways do you think life is different from your parents’/children’s? Do you think you have more opportunities?

10. Do you think life has changed for the better?

11. How do you spend your free time?


 * reading? If so, what type of books?
 * listening to music?
 * going to the cinema, theatre, art exhibitions?
 * doing sports?
 * going to the pub, play pool, play darts?

12. What issues are important for young people?
 * environment
 * politics
 * health
 * employment
 * fashion

13. What is young people’s main concern nowadays?

14. Do you usually watch T.V.? If so, what programmes? The news, …

15. Do you read newspapers or magazines? Which ones?

16. Would you like to live somewhere else?

17. What do you think your life will be like in ten years time?

18. Can you think of any words or expressions which are different from your parents’/children’s?

** __CHANGES IN YOUNG PEOPLE’S LIFESTYLE__ **

** Introduction **

We are going to talk about an issue that we think is interesting as there are some similarities and differences with the situation in Spain. These are the changes that have occurred in young people’s situation after finishing their secondary education: We’ve interviewed people from different ages and walks of life. Of course, it’s not hard science, as we haven’t had much time and the number of people interviewed is not great, but enough to get an idea of what their opinion is. We have talked to some grannies, seventy years old, some mums between forty and fifty and some 20- year- old students, here in Norwich.

The different aspects we have focused on are: · what happens after passing their “A” levels (or not) · leisure activities · job expectations: when young people become economically independent · what family life is like · concerns and worries In the case of parents and grannies, we asked about what it was like in their time and what their perception of their children’s situation is.

So, bear in mind that in a way this is hear say, but it gave us a very good chance to talk to very nice, helpful people.

So, before we begin, we are going to give you a list of words and expressions we’ve come across during the interviews and we’d like you to think of when you would use them and after listening to our speech, check if you were right or not. · To get funded · (Students) are means tested · Social housing · £15.000 · To scrounge off the state · A gap year · The dole · Housekeeping · High-flying jobs · £ 60 · Walks of life · Steaming · He’s my BF

There are some differences with the Spanish system. The main ones in our opinion are: · Firstly, when students finish their studies (Secondary Education / University) it’s very common in England that they take a gap year to travel before going to University or into the job market.

· Besides, in Spain we must prove that we’ve had a job for a certain amount of time to get the dole. However, in England all you need is to sign on at the job centre and from that moment onwards you get paid £ 60 a week. (approx)

· Social housing: in England there are many cases of girls who get pregnant under age, so they are given a flat and money to raise the baby for the first years. This happens in many dysfunctional families, and you may see girls having two babies from a different father and maybe their grandma is under 40.

There is a general feeling that these people are scrounging off the state, (taking advantage of…) One old lady told us that that was going to be modified due to the recession. In other cases we were told that if that system disappears, they’d be in a situation in which “one does the harm and another bears the blame”.

** Concerns and expectations: **

We find that this topic is very similar to the situation in Spain. Nowadays, what young people are concerned about is, to begin with, getting a job that will make them economically independent from their parents, which is happening much later than it used to. They think that it is essential to get a job that they enjoy.

Also, the relationship with their friends is important. Both, younger and older people interviewed, are aware of the fact that alcohol and drug abuse is a serious issue. In general, young people care for the environment, are interested in politics, and some girls said they are keen on fashion.

If we compare young people’s concerns with those of older people, we can conclude that middle aged and older people are much more worried about politics and health (of course) than people in their twenties and thirties.

When asked if they would like to keep on living in Norwich, most of them stated that they enjoyed the way of life in this city, but in some cases they found it too quiet. Younger people said they’d love to travel and wouldn’t mind living abroad, well, at least in a bigger city with more excitement and nightlife, such as London. The answers varied according to the age group. Some middle aged and older people expressed their wish to go and live on the coast and some made a comment about there being something about Norwich that draws you back.

Most young people see themselves being independent with a family and a stable job. They think it doesn’t look bad on your CV if you change jobs every five years or so to upgrade your standard of living. Middle-aged people would love to travel and enjoy becoming independent from their grown up children. In general, everybody agrees that we’ll become even more technologically minded and computer literate.


 * Leisure and Social Life **

All the people interviewed told us that the most common way to meet people or communicate nowadays is through texting with mobile phones or on the internet Facebook being the most popular social website. Therefore, communication is the best advantage of modern-day life for adults and young people so they think life is easier now for this reason.

They also make friends in pubs and bars but they usually go in peer groups to have a drink or to play pool, not darts as they are disappearing from the pubs. As far as their leisure time is concerned, they usually read fiction books; some of them read history books. They go to the cinema but not to the theatre because it is a bit expensive for them and nor do they go to exhibitions.

What they normally do is listen to music and go to festivals. However, they usually watch films on tv through the movie channel they have at home. Besides films, they watch cult programmes and sit-coms like “Friends”. They don’t usually read newspapers or magazines but, again, they listen to the news on the Internet. Young people from Norwich are sporty people and so some go swimming, play badminton and so on.

And finally we would like to deal with some expressions young people use as some adults say they have a special language. For example:

“cool” “so.....” (to exaggerate) “You’re not so coming to my house?” You are so not coming to my house “awesome”: great “Phat”: good OMG (Oh my God) He’s my BF: He’s my boyfriend Thanx LOL: lots of love; Laughing Out Loud He’s a hench: A big and muscular boy, (cachas) Rod= steaming= sweet: good


 * Education and Job Expectations **

When young people finish school at the age of 16, they can go on studying or start working. If they choose to work they are required to pass O- levels at least in English and Maths. With these qualifications youngsters can only get low-paid, basic jobs.

Then, there are those who continue studying to get their A-levels and apply for a University place. Although the number of students getting good marks at A levels has increased, getting a place at University has become more difficult than it used to. This is due to the current recession as the government is reducing costs at all levels.

Once they get a university place they have to cope with different expenses. In order to pay for the fees, accommodation and so on, students get funded. That is to say, they get grants and loans. The amount of money they are given depends on their families income. Students and their families are means-tested, this means that depending on their income they get a grant and/or a loan. Most British students owe about £15,000 when they finish university. They’ll start paying that money back once they earn more than £15,000.

The rate of students who get a university degree is about 40%. After getting their degree they can go for a high-flying job, such as working as a lawyer, doctor, etc…but it’s becoming more and more frequent that they also study an MA to get the best jobs.

University students usually move to other cities, so they become independent at about 18. The first year they live in residences, but then the following years they share flats with some mates. Nowadays, students may choose a university close to their parents’ due to the recession.

Some students take a gap-year, either before going to university or once they’ve finished it in order to travel before getting into the job market. They save up their own money to be able to do it.

Those youngsters who don’t go to university but have a job can seldom afford to buy or rent an apartment, so they stay at their parents’ for longer. In those cases, they are expected to help with the chores and help with the housekeeping (which is what parents say, while students say they pay rents to their parents)

The elderly ladies we talked to had the impression that young people seem to depend on their parents forever. In their time, the situation was of course quite different. Firstly, there were not so many people who attended university as they left school when they were 15 and started working. One of them said that, although she worked she moved from her parents’ to her husband’s. They had the impression that at present people may feel they are happier but, as one granny said, we may be more contented as we have more possessions and opportunities but we are not happier. We enjoy more freedom and chances in life but we depend more on technology, and what’s worse, there’s more pressure for everything.