Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, it's tough that people who have low-wage jobs aren't able to afford the lifestyle they would like in city they were raised in, but at some point they've got to just deal with it. Why is it "failure to launch" just because they're not living in their own place at age 22? (or whatever)
One option that will often greatly reduce individual expenses and improve standard of living is to get married. I'm not suggesting that one gets married purely for economic reasons, but it's certainly one traditional way of "launching" into adulthood. Two married people can typically live in less space than roommates, so you can rent a smaller, cheaper place; if you were paying $800 for a roommate situation, for example, multiply that by 2 and you can do $1600, which can get you a 1-BR or studio in some NYC neighborhoods. It can more than get you a 2-BR in some Bay Area neighborhoods, another of the nation's expensive housing markets (although a couple with no kids and entry-level wages clearly won't need to splurge on the 2-BR).
Yes, the reality is that young people in less-expensive cities have an easier time affording housing than do young people in big cities. That's life. We all make compromises. If you want nicer, affordable housing than you can afford in the big city where you grew up, you can move. Just like lots of young people in less expensive places make their own compromises, and sometimes choose to move to big, expensive cities where their housings standard goes way down. Or you can figure out a way to increase your income. That doesn't have to be college, although at least those who live in NYC can benefit from the really affordable resident tuition at CCNY.
I have friends in boston, nyc, philadelphia, and other smaller cities (spokane wa and portland, OR) and I am in seattle.
I'm doing fine in seattle, i can afford rent, im in my twenties, but my friends who are in boston and nyc are still living with their parents or living with roomates. even those who live in government housing there are doing ok, but sooner or later they have to move out or get married. in nyc, a studio is 1500 in Brooklyn. in boston, a studio is 1,600. How on earth can they even launch, if my friends make 10 an hour (better than min wage) its still about 1,600 a month after taxes.
I have visited all the cities mentioned and have lived in a few of them for a short term. the smaller cities, they are doing ok, while the expensive cities its either make very good money or just struggle. my friend in NYC pays 800 a month for a room while I pay 750 a month for a small 2 br.
my question is, how do you see the big cities in the next 10 years? I think even in seattle its going to get to a point where its going to be too expensive, its expensive now but i can sense its creeping up (small increase in rent/food/gas prices yearly). I think the quality of live is slowly going down.
The "hipster" lifestyle is huge with people in their twenties right now. That lifestyle consists of working a minimal job if a job at all, living with parents or several roommates, and spending your income at trendy cafes/bars and on trendy clothes and of course marijauana. I wonder how many of these "failure to launch" cases are by choice.
The "hipster" lifestyle is huge with people in their twenties right now. That lifestyle consists of working a minimal job if a job at all, living with parents or several roommates, and spending your income at trendy cafes/bars and on trendy clothes and of course marijauana. I wonder how many of these "failure to launch" cases are by choice.
Get real. It's huge only in your mind.
20 somethings are doing very well in the DC area. We have a lot of IT jobs that attract them. DC itself is overrun with recent college grads and it's revitalizing the city. If you're young and want a job move here.
20 somethings are doing very well in the DC area. We have a lot of IT jobs that attract them. DC itself is overrun with recent college grads and it's revitalizing the city. If you're young and want a job move here.
Loudon and Fairfax Counties are the wealthiest counties in the US- the Northern Virginia suburbs in the DC metro area. I wouldn't be surprised that DC is the place to be for highly skilled professions like lawyers, lobbyists, and IT.
Loudon and Fairfax Counties are the wealthiest counties in the US- the Northern Virginia suburbs in the DC metro area. I wouldn't be surprised that DC is the place to be for highly skilled professions like lawyers, lobbyists, and IT.
No matter how bad a recession is, politicians and lobbyists will always have jobs.
20 somethings are doing very well in the DC area. We have a lot of IT jobs that attract them. DC itself is overrun with recent college grads and it's revitalizing the city. If you're young and want a job move here.
DC is a bit of an anomaly IMO. Living there is like being in a bubble, economically speaking. I'm personally not cut out for living in a place like DC, so I wouldn't do it -- but I see the highest wages in the country there, for my field, by a long shot... and a lot of them, too.
As a 29 y/o I agree that my generation of men (And especially younger) put work as a much lower priority than previous generations.
It ain't 1950 .. the view is that... (A) you don't need to get married to get laid, and (B) Women make their own money so you don't even need a job to have a hot girlfriend. You see family formation slowing down dramatically, and IMO this is not just some secular trend that will go away with economic growth. Men lost a huge incentive to compete for money, they just go to the gym now, or start a band.
These aren't the only factors but they represent something immensely important that nobody seems to have the stones to say out loud.
As a 29 y/o I agree that my generation of men (And especially younger) put work as a much lower priority than previous generations.
It ain't 1950 .. the view is that... (A) you don't need to get married to get laid, and (B) Women make their own money so you don't even need a job to have a hot girlfriend. You see family formation slowing down dramatically, and IMO this is not just some secular trend that will go away with economic growth. Men lost a huge incentive to compete for money, they just go to the gym now, or start a band.
These aren't the only factors but they represent something immensely important that nobody seems to have the stones to say out loud.
Just to add onto that. Because of A & B, many women in their 20s think they can have kids without being married. This is financial suicide, but humans are generally short sighted and irrational when it comes to finances.
I think that one only has to look where the elite live to see its changig with time. they for instance have always had their coutnry estates to escape to even if workig i city. City poor moved there for jobs a cnetury ago when the transport and power required to manufactuer where concentarted. After WWII that started to dfisappear and so has demographics . Slowly people are changigwhere they live more to what they once could not affors by poverty of living there.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
No matter how bad a recession is, politicians and lobbyists will always have jobs.
