Getting a job, finding a home1999

How easy or difficult is it for young people to get a job and to find a home in the countryside?Debates surrounding youth policy tend to focus on young people in urban areas, despite a high proportion of young people living in the countryside. Furthermore, problems that are often thought of as specifically urban - such as housing need, unemployment and social alienation - are also experienced by rural youth.This report examines the experience of young people getting a job and finding a home in rural districts. Only a very small number of the 60 young people interviewed actually found a sustainable, independent place for themselves in rural communities. Getting a job, finding a home:looks at the housing and employment circumstances of the young people interviewed;discusses how the young people judged their experience of living in the countryside;focuses on the experience of single young people balancing housing, employment and transport options;considers problems associated with making transitions to adulthood in the countryside.The authors conclude with a number of policy implications, including issues relating to rurality, family support, employment, housing, transport and household formation. Helping young people to make a successful transition to independence in rural areas requires an holistic policy response that considers housing, employment and transport as a joint issue.