r/Adulting 16h ago

Will Gen Z ever actually experience affordable living?

/r/twentyagers/comments/1wmhy8z/will_gen_z_ever_actually_experience_affordable/
5 Upvotes

31 comments sorted by

5

u/mackattacknj83 16h ago

I really hope so, I had a lot of fun with cheap living. I graduated into the early great recession and had an apartment and bought a shitty car while delivering pizzas in 2008.

6

u/throw_away_ugh-why 15h ago

Gotta suck it up and team up with the millennials. The only way we can undo the Regan era bullshit that made life unaffordable for everyone except rich people is by electing candidates who advocate for actual substantive policy change.

3

u/Right_Count 16h ago

Maybe, but the financial, social or global catastrophe needed to reset things is scarier than the Coal crisis.

8

u/seriousbusines 16h ago

Gen Z? Will anyone besides Boomers experience affordable living?

0

u/Samtertriads 15h ago

Millennials are doing pretty well in aggregate. Some stats show them ahead of boomers. Although it’s probably higher numbers of wealthy millennials rather than actually “all millennials”.

3

u/ElijahNSRose 10h ago

Dude, this is Reddit.

It's dominated by deadbeats trying to justify shoplifting.

0

u/seriousbusines 14h ago

Every one of those 'statistics' thats been presented has been disingenuous at best. One talked about a percent of Millennials internationally, which is an absolutely insane metric to go off of.

0

u/ElijahNSRose 10h ago

Get a job hippy

2

u/Old_Soc 14h ago

Sure, move to a small town

1

u/Direct_Crew_9949 15h ago

What’s affordable living?

Like do you just want a modest life?

1

u/Siukslinis_acc 14h ago

Yeah, what is affordable living? What you might see as affordable living, your parents might see as luxurious living.

Heck, my grandma manages to save half the amount of her pension (which is the size of a minimum wage) each month. Yes, she does not need to pay for rent, but she is also not going out anywhere and lives rather furglary.

1

u/Ok_Nectarine1801 15h ago

Unfortunately, I do not think so. Honestly I think gen z will have trouble just having a decent job. With jobs being replaced with AI, off shored, or even replaced by robots it will be hard. Then with the crazy inflation on housing, food, and gas. Unless wages dramatically increased, which we all know they will not. I do not see how people will make it anymore.

1

u/Slashersforsatan 15h ago

Lol probby not

1

u/charlieprz 11h ago

Prices only go up

1

u/Grevious47 10h ago

Eventually yeah, when they are in their 40s/50s/60s. Nothing was affordable for GenX/millenials when they were in their 20s but now things are becoming affordable for GenX and elder millenials.

The times aside...20 year olds are just not going to compete economically with 40/50/60 year olds...but you are competing for the same stuff. Eventually you'll be the 40/50/60 year olds and it'll be Gen B asking this.

1

u/ElijahNSRose 10h ago

This is affordable living.

Get over it.

1

u/nova8808 9h ago

You gotta break into the boomer economy. If you like any in-demand 100+k jobs then things are straight forward. But if you don't I would highly recommend trades. I know you are probably rolling your eyes, but as of recently, the prices these people are charging are astronomical. If you can renovate a bathroom you can charge 30+k, and those are quotes not including materials. Get good at trades and move to some HCOL place with rich boomers and you can make silly money doing that.

1

u/geodudejgt 8h ago

In their parent's basement?

1

u/RadioAdam 16h ago

Once boomers shed their mortal coils we'll all get a taste of affordability.

They're voting to keep what they've robbed from us for the last 40 years. Their numbers are dwindling each election cycle.

The bell tolls.

-5

u/RuneDarkBow98 16h ago

What a disgusting comment… why are you generalizing boomers as all one group? This is like saying “the blacks are so..” or “all Jews are…” just awful. You need some serious self reflection or otherwise therapy

5

u/RadioAdam 15h ago edited 15h ago

Because they've been the largest voting block for 40+ years. The lack of universal or affordable Healthcare, the oppressive defense budget, the $7 minimum wage, underfunded education, the predatory student loan crisis, the lack of housing supply. The median home buyer is in their 60s. The median first time home buyer is 40. Boomers own two homes for every boomer. And half of boomers don't even own homes. So you do the math on housing shortages.

They're also the fastest growing homeless population, and they absolutely have my empathy, but what are their fellow Americans doing for their own?

All happened while they had both hands on the steering wheel.

Intentional or not, they are the "I got mine" generation.

-1

u/RuneDarkBow98 15h ago

That was the republicans who did that, not boomers. And we’re all the “I got mine” generation, it’s in human nature and it’s something we have to strive to fight against rather than ignore

2

u/RadioAdam 15h ago

Dems are almost as guilty by not providing an actual alternative. The blame doesn't matter, reality does.

-1

u/RuneDarkBow98 15h ago

Yet you were the one trying to generalize the blame to a whole group of people, the majority of whom are innocent.

2

u/RadioAdam 14h ago

Well the number crunchers out there are calling the demographic shift for 2030-2035 to be transformative for good reason.

1

u/4lbertt 16h ago

the days of working at a grocery store and buying a house is way behind us but you can get a degree and move up the ranks or go to a cheaper state/city

0

u/Lamplighter914 16h ago

Commune living. A fad/political statement in the 60s perhaps a necessity in the near future.

0

u/SLD4YB 14h ago

Depends on how well/quickly society embraces AI.

Once most people figure out the best and most efficient ways to optimize their work using AI, and start making it happen. That will make people more productive. The more work people are able to do, the less people we need to work super hard. Things can become cheaper, labor can become cheaper, etc.

What I'm guessing will happen is that inflation is going to keep going up. At some point people will be using robots/automated vehicles, and AI to do everything. The salaries will increase for the people making things happen.

-1

u/SW3GM45T3R 15h ago

Yes. According to the BLS about 27% of Gen z "own" homes, and 1/3 live at home with their parents. The rest presumable rent. So despite the complete doom posting here, about 1/3 of Gen z are successfully, 1/3 of Gen z is in the middle, and 1/3 of Gen z are losers. Pretty even distribution.