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Three young young adults describe how moving back in with their parents during the pandemic made them reassess their lives for the better.

"Before the pandemic, it was a bit like, 'oh, you’re living at home? Are you not doing well?'" says Shana. "But now, we know it doesn’t mean that at all."

The 25-year-old, like many young professionals, was living in London, sharing with friends from university before the first lockdown was announced on 23 March. Shana’s office closed, and she found herself working from home until she made the choice to go back to her parents’ house in Essex, and not to renew her lease when it ended in the summer.

Housing costs were certainly a factor for Shana. "I think a lot of people have liked the fact that [moving back home] has helped them save up – London is so expensive, so much of your salary goes straight to a landlord," she says. "It’s really tough if you’re recently out of uni and on a basic salary, you don’t have enough money to enjoy yourself because most of it goes on rent, travelling to work and food."

Shana says she felt a stigma around living with parents as a young adult as a result of the narrative that’s seen often in the press. She'd read headlines announcing 'record numbers' of young adults living at home, articles debating at what age it’s considered embarrassing, and advice to parents on how to handle it.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the finger was pointed largely at the housing crisis – across the UK, 49% of 20-to-34-year-olds were living with parents in 2017, compared to 37% in 1998.

She wasn’t the only one who decided to move back home during the pandemic. A by the University of Southampton in September looked at data from five nationally-representative surveys, some specifically on the impact of COVID-19, others on lifestyle. The survey suggests that while most respondents said their living situations didn’t change during the first three months of lockdown, 57% of those who had moved were aged 16-29.

Polly, a 27-year-old freelance writer and marketer, was in a similar situation. She’d lived in London since 2012, describing herself as "really poor at points, sofa surfing, and I sublet my room at one point and slept on the sofa downstairs."

After establishing her career, she was set to join her boyfriend in San Francisco, where he was on a six-month work placement. Her flights were booked for the week after lockdown began – and then, they were cancelled.

"I’d given up my flat, so the only choice was to go and live with my parents," she says. "I left London and came back up to the Midlands, to Bromsgrove."

James, 25, also upped sticks from London when he was furloughed from his job in marketing, to move back into his parents' home in Milton Keynes. Like Polly, he had travel plans stopped by the pandemic. "I accepted a new role in Melbourne, Australia, in January, with the plan to move in June," he explains. "By May, it was clear that wasn’t going to be an option."

James, Polly and Shana all recognise how fortunate they are in having a family home they could move back to, and to have held onto their jobs, but the sudden, sharp change in how their futures looked was nevertheless disappointing.

"All of those things that frustrated me before about living at home are still there, coming back has been a change after five or six years away," says James.

"There are certain things you never get used to, like the constant requests to set the table or empty the dishwasher! The first couple of months when I knew Australia wasn’t on the cards, I kept thinking, 'I’m now in Milton Keynes but I should be in Melbourne'.

"But there’s been so much upheaval and uncertainty for everyone, I know it sucks, but I’m not in the worst situation."

"It’s always been slightly uncool to live back at home, you’re 27 and living with your mum and dad," adds Polly.

"The only time you ever hear it now is when people are thinking about saving to buy a place.

"There’s not enough bedrooms anymore, because I moved out ages ago, and my brother and sister are still here. It’s been absolutely manic trying to get back into family life... but also juggling my clients while my brother’s working in one room, and my sister’s getting ready to go to uni."

Rather than seeing their new living situations as a setback, all three decided instead to use it as an opportunity – not just to save money, but to pursue ideas they hadn’t previously had time to.

James and his friend Ash, who he met at university, found themselves looking for things to do that weren’t staring at their phones, and found the answer, unexpectedly, in Ash’s love of jigsaw puzzles.

"I used to do a lot of jigsaw puzzles when I was younger, and when lockdown first started, I did a couple," Ash explains.

A few Whatsapp exchanges later, Ash and James came up with a business plan, and Piece and Quiet was born.

Their new company, which is currently entirely self-funded through product sales, sells jigsaw puzzles designed by independent artists, who also get a cut of the profits.

"One of the things we noticed about puzzles was that a lot had relatively plain and boring designs that catered to an older audience, and we thought, 'Why isn’t there someone doing really cool, quirky and vibrant puzzles?'" says James.

The pair have already have plans to expand, and want to bring more artists on board to create more designs, and partner with mental health charities to raise money for them through sales.

"The long term goal would be to turn it into a full mindfulness brand where it’s not just puzzles, but getting people to incorporate time for themselves into their daily routines," says James.

For Shana, lockdown meant time to think about what was really important to her.

"In the first lockdown, I had a lot of time for reflection," she says. "There was everything that happened with Black Lives Matter, and a lot of companies started to think about their advertising and how authentic and diverse their companies actually are.

"It’s something I’ve always thought about – I’m South Asian and grew up never being seen, or feeling like I had role models in advertising. It was something I started to challenge at my workplace, but it’s also why I started my side hustle to really bring it to life and put diversity and inclusion in a positive light."

Shana has designed a workshop on inclusivity and diversity in advertising, and with the help of her company, has been delivering it to different departments.

"I’ve always looked at advertising as an area that needs a lot of improvement – brands have been caught out if they don’t have authenticity," she says.

"A couple of us at work started sending round some monthly newsletters internally, and people really liked that and it started a conversation."

The initial interest in her initiative has spurred her to start looking for new clients outside of her workplace, who need advice on making inclusive campaigns. Being at home and having more time, Shana says, was crucial in helping her expand her idea.

"It was really nice to have that period of slow, to step back and think about what I really wanted to be doing with my life," she says.

For Polly, the main benefit has been financial.

"When I was living in London, because the money situation was so fraught, you can’t really think about planning into the future – it’s like, 'I’ve got enough money for my rent, or to go and see friends, or to go out for a couple of meals'," she says.

"Whereas now, me and my partner are trying to buy a place. We were looking in London but because I’m freelance the situation with trying to get a mortgage was really hard.

"Now we’re looking to buy in Cornwall. We love it, we go every year, so it seems to make sense to get a little bolthole there."

The money saved by living with her parents – and the prospect of cheaper living costs by moving out of a big city – has allowed her to pursue things she previously neglected.

"I love food writing and cooking. I used to work at a start-up that did events and food, but when I went freelance and was living to each paycheck, I was taking on clients that weren’t the kind of work I’d want to do," Polly explains.

"I think that rolled on for a year, but since being home and having time to reflect, I’m going to get back to what I wanted to be doing – cooking more, and doing professional classes.

"I’ve realised I didn’t need to go to America to find myself – I found myself in Bromsgrove."