Let’s Live Together
Linda, Chan Lai Man
Turning into a wife, Helen Kam entered another stage of her life. She married with Kuong Chi Kong in this June. At this moment, the couple has moved into Kuong’s house to with his brother and mother before they can save enough money to buy a house.
Save Money for Future Home
Agents of Macao real estate companies said that the local property price has skyrocketed since 2009. In Areia Preta (黑沙環), an apartment with one living room and two bedrooms cost MOP 600,000 in 2001 but costs MOP 3.8 million in 2011, according to Ming Pao.
Many couples have difficulties in affording their own house, so they live with their parents like the case of Kam and Kuong who now earn about MOP 25,000 per month. Their target is to save around MOP 500,000 for the mortgage payment and housing decorations. “We will buy our own house sooner or later,” said Kam.
Share the Same Space
There are two living rooms and two bedrooms in the house of Kuong’s mother. Kuong and Kam share one room, while Kuong’s mother and younger brother share the other one. “I believe my younger brother needs his own private space, especially for his study in Master degree, so one living room will be used as his study room,” Kuong said.
For Kam, she used to watch television in her own room before. After she has lived with Kuong’s family she realizes that she needs to spend time on communicating with Kuong’s mother. Kuong’s mother expressed, “I feel glad to live with them. Living with my daughter-in-law is just like having one more daughter.”
Eight in One
For how to share the space with the family members, Kam may take a look at Zo. Cheng’s family. She has married with Teddy Leong for two years with two sons. Cheng and Leong now live with Cheng’s parents and her two younger sisters. Totally, there are eight people sharing the same space in their home.
The house with three bedrooms is big enough for a family with three daughters, but it seems a bit crowded for eight people and thus the couple and their sons have to share one room. Cheng said, “I don’t think it is overcrowded. I just feel close to my sons.”
Why Living Together?
Before their marriage, Leong only lived with his mother and younger sister. At that time, he visited Cheng’s family and found that they lived happily together. After he has moved in, Cheng’s parents treat him as if he were their own son. “Now I can also share their happiness,” said Leong.
Leong works as a casino teller so he needs to be on shift. “When I go to work, my children are sleeping and they have gone to bed when I come back,” Leong expressed.
With a tight working schedule, Leong needs somebody to look after his sons. Instead of hiring a babysitter, he would prefer his mother-in-law to take care of his kids as she is an “experienced mother” who brought up three daughters with her amazing cooking skills. Cheng’s mother enjoyed taking care of the children as she said, “I don’t need to work now and I love to spend time with my lovely grandsons.”
Be Independent
Everything seems nice and they are having a good time at this moment. However, Cheng realized that it is inconvenient to share the same room when their sons grow up. Therefore, four of them are going to move to a new apartment. Although she is not willing to move apart from her parents and sisters, she said, “We need to build up our own space with my husband and sons.”