le nid familial

I had an interesting and revealing discussion with my eldest host sister last weekend. She is 16 and in the middle of preparing for the first round of the baccalauréat, the super important concours that signal the end of primary education and, for a select and special few, entry to the grandes écoles. When I was her age, I was already living on my own at boarding school and couldn't wait to go to college and finally be an "adult". In France, it's relatively uncommon for students to move away for university unless they've been selected to attend one of the grandes écoles, most of which are in Paris.

My host sister, who is very responsible and independent, surprised me when she said she wanted not only to stay in Lyon for university, but even live at home with her parents and siblings. While it's true that this is more common in France than back home in the States, it was nevertheless shocking to me that she didn't even want to leave le nid familial after finishing high school. She was even talking about moving into the small studio below the apartment so she could have her own space, but still be close to her family.

I wonder if this is typical of most French families, or if my host family is just particularly tight knit? Come to think of it, all of the French friends I have at school have come from other parts of the country to study here -- I don't know any real Lyonnais! While it's essentially implicit that an American university student wouldn't live at home with their parents, is that another result of our self-made/American dream/independence schema, or is that just something that I assume based on the culture I was brought up in?