I want to live the life of a millennial

Parent Cafe
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<p>I was dining out with another couple and we were commenting that many younger people were living a more carefree life. Lots of travel. Lots of fun. Money was not the focus. </p>

<p>I saw this article today. </p>

<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/booming/i-want-to-be-a-millennial-when-i-retire.html[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/05/booming/i-want-to-be-a-millennial-when-i-retire.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I think a lot of OTHER millennials would like to be working in a robust economy with the possibilities of their hard work paying off in an financially secure future for them and their family.</p>

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<p>You want our life? Starting off with more debt than any of our ancestors and graduating into an extremely tough economy and a dwindling middle class? The first generation that is likely to do, on average, worse than their parents? </p>

<p>Sounds like a dream.</p>

<p>I think a more appropriate title would be “I want to relive my early 20s”</p>

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<p>"I think a more appropriate title would be “I want to relive my early 20s”</p>

<p>That would be nice. :slight_smile: Can I have that young body back too?</p>

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<p>Of course, it helps if what you do actually pays the bills, and you don’t have expensive spending habits.</p>

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<p>Regarding OP,</p>

<p>There have been folks in previous generations who lived like that and most millenials I know don’t life such a carefree life. </p>

<p>If anything, college loans, un/underemployment issues, and more mean their lives seem far less carefree and more worrisome from a financial perspective than for most folks in my generation (Late Gen X) and before. </p>

<p>This article also seems odd considering worries about college debt/loans seem to be much more commonly brought up/discussed by millenials than Gen Xers and before.</p>

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<p>Money is not the problem for many of these millenials because they have the Bank of Mom and Dad to fall back on. I know many like the guy in the article. They have jobs, not careers. They spend every dime they make traveling, going to clubs and concerts, buying the latest phones,etc… They have nothing set aside for emergencies or buying a house or a long period of unemployment.</p>

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<p>“Lots of travel. Lots of fun. Money was not the focus.”
-These 3 a complete contradictions for my. I do not like to travel. Travel is not fun for me. And if Money is not the focus, how one can travel, on feet, on a bike? But even if you do so, you still need money for food / shelter. I am very confused with this very contradictory statement that assumes:
-Travel is fun for everybody
-Money grows on trees, so stop by any, collect and continue traveling.</p>

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<p>The title should be, “I want to live the life of a millennial with affluent parents who are able and willing to be my safety net.”</p>

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<p>The “kid” in the article is supporting himself, so why argue with a 25-year-old doing what he loves? It probably won’t last forever. That’s what unencumbered youth is for. Plenty of people his age in more conventional jobs are no better off financially.</p>

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<p>I do not think anybody is arguing. But everybody is interpreting what this mean for them. Personally, 25 y o must be very very rich. So, what is a point? I watch “Rich and Famous” or whatever the name now on Travel channel and also tha show that have people who won lottery. I love it. I cannot say though that I can every live like this. So, my interpretation, good for them, good for a 25 y o, but is there for me? O love being employed, this is my biggest entertainment. I love go on vacation. If I could afford staying on vacation for over 1 month, I would not be able to do so, I would get bored, not much fun at all. 2 weeks is a great fun, afte that I want to sleep in my own bed and go to work. But in my early 30s I could do few months if I am there with my family ( I imagine that I could).</p>

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<p>Perhaps the author of the piece wants to live life like a millenial with the financial security of a leading-edge boomer.</p>

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<p>This is an interesting article my prof told us about this summer:</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.salon.com/2013/05/25/i_dont_hate_millennials_anymore/[/url]”>http://www.salon.com/2013/05/25/i_dont_hate_millennials_anymore/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>As a Gen Xer, she told us that she felt for us. Gen Xers are typically more laid back than Gen Yers, and while we’re all like “omg I got a B, how can I get an A?!,” her generation is more like “I got a B; whatever.” My generation (and my year specifically) is obsessed with what’s going to be on the test, and that’s a new thing for older generations to take in and understand. </p>

<p>From what I’ve read, I’d totally rather be a Gen Xer or a Baby Boomer. :)</p>

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<p>Agree with NJSue. And if he wants to have a family and support them comfortably, things will probably have to change. Bigtime.</p>

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<p>" her generation is more like “I got a B; whatever.”
-Just keep in mind that few of those B’s while could have been “whatever” before might derail spmebody’s dream completely this days. So either Gen Yers are “OMG” type or they are dealing with their current reality. Your choice to sort it out! The fact is that surrent reality is not the same as reality couple decades ago, actually 5 years ago.</p>

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<p>I recognize this attitude. D, until recently, and many of her friends still, worked odd jobs, saved enough to travel and then traveled. Or didn’t travel. You don’t need to be rich to do this, but you need to be willing to live cheap. None of these kids have money or support from their parents. </p>

<p>I see this lifestyle, over an extended time, as a form of nihilism. Around here, normal people in normal incomes cannot get ahead, so why play that game? </p>

<p>Now D’s wings have been clipped as she has a more permanent professional job with an average entry-level college grad salary. If she stays on this track, she’ll be commuting almost two hours a day, and only have two weeks a year off. She will still be unable to afford a decent apartment, and mathematically will never come close to affording the average house (just under a million) in our city. D’s being a better sport about this than me, but I’m having trouble seeing the point of abandoning her former exciting and carefree lifestyle for what is a grind with little visible reward. </p>

<p>I think many of her friends, assessing this type of career path, just don’t want to bother.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure this grade perception issue is generational. There are plenty of Gen Xers who were “omg I got a B, how can I get an A?!”. On the flipside, there are also plenty of millenials who were/are “I got a B/C; whatever/cool*”. </p>

<p>I’m of the opinion this is much more related to personality traits related to competitiveness, degree of importance one places on academics, and/or whether one’s inclined to put in 100% or has a “whatever” attitude towards everything they do. Traits which could affect individuals from any generational group.</p>

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<p>It’s also not just an American phenomenon. </p>

<p>Japan has the “Freeter” phenomenon where more young people refuse to follow their parents’* footsteps into corporate salarymen jobs because they saw how the promises of “lifetime employment” made to their parents were undermined by the Japanese Recession of 1989 and the subsequent decade-long economic stagnation. </p>

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeter[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>They are also put off by the expectations of long hours and dedication to the corporation to the point salarymen of their parents’ generation suffer from Karoshi, death by overwork:</p>

<p><a href=“Jobs for life”>Jobs for life;

<ul>
<li>Almost exclusively fathers as despite some legal improvements, women are still commonly expected to leave the workforce upon marriage or when having children. This 1950’s attitude towards gender also plays a part in not only the “Freeter” phenomenon, but also that of “Parasitic Singles” who refuse to get married:</li>
</ul>

<p><a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_single[/url]”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parasite_single&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Doughmom, I find your post interesting. I guess your daughter really likes what she is doing or sees this as a necessary step to accomplish what she wants. </p>

<p>There isnt affordable housing within an hour if her job?</p>

<p>Cobrat’s post looks interesting too…</p>

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<p>Your D’s attitude is not necessarily a bad one so long as she’s doesn’t neglect past debts or accumulate new ones. </p>

<p>One piece of advice I’ve heard from older adults which I regret not taking was not traveling more during my early-mid-'20s. All those adults said those years, unless one’s financial/marital/family situation is inapplicable, early 20somethings should make the most of one’s single status and relative freedom from greater professional and family responsibilities. </p>

<p>Responsibilities one is likely to be saddled with as one gets promoted, married, and starts a family which often preclude traveling as widely, freely, and cheaply.</p>

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<p>Doughmom: Your point about a nihilistic attitude is a good one. They think “I’ll never get ahead, so why try?” The Depression era people (our parents) grew up with nothing, lived through a time of much higher unemployment with no safety net and yet the attitude of that generation is ‘work, work, work, save, save, save’. This generation (again just some of them) see is as futile.</p>