Occasionally, after I make avocado toast and a pot of french press coffee, I like to sit in my kitchen, look out into the world, and think to myself: What industry do I want to kill today?
Or, at least, that’s what many pundits (almost universally from generations besides my own) seem to think I — and my millennial-ilk — do with our bevy of free time.
Here, in no particular order, are the industries we are definitely, no question, single-handedly doing away with:
■ Real estate
■ Hotels
■ Chain restaurants
■ Diamonds
■ Fabric softener
If I were to list them all, it would take more space than my editors allow for my entire column. We millennials are the scourge of many an industry, the doom of which is plotted over Instagram-worthy meals of ramen and artisanal soda.
If only we wielded that power.
The real irony is, millennials (or at least most of the ones I know) would really love to keep these dying hallmarks of Americana alive. We just can’t afford to.
Recent studies show that my generation is very likely going to be worse off than our parents’. We make less money and we have more debt.
Even when we do everything right, achieving the ‘American Dream’ is out of reach for many of us. We went to college and packed on the student loan debt on the promise that we’d be able to easily pay it off with lucrative, enjoyable jobs upon graduation (even if we needed to pay our dues for a few years first.) We wanted to own homes in areas with a lively social scene so we could get to know our neighbors and enjoy the life that we were told comes with hard work. Many of us wanted to settle down, get married, and have a few kids.
But, after graduation, reality came knocking. The jobs we were told would be there if we put in the work were gone, either decimated by the recession or taken by people with decades more experience who were pushed out of better, higher paying jobs and into ‘entry level’ positions typically filled by young go-getters. Since the housing market crashed, prices have continued to rise, with the average American home costing more than $225k. Millennials are making more than they ever have, but that number is still just $69k. According to Nerd Wallet, a millennial couple making $69k a year with two car payments and student loan bills (totaling $1,200 a month) could only afford a home valued at $155k.
When facts like that are staring a generation in the face, we do what we can to cope with it. We find one-of-a-kind restaurants to enjoy, because why bother saving toward a house you can never afford? We prize experiences over luxury goods, because how many of us can buy a diamond necklace with an end of the year bonus? We find cheap rooms to rent when out of town, because why spend money on a hotel when you can hardly afford a vacation to begin with?
We aren’t setting out to ruin the entire industries, no matter how fun we try to make it seem. We’re just playing the hand we were dealt, and sometimes, there are some casualties. But hey, who really likes Applebee’s that much, anyway?
Kate Mitchell is a copy editor and page designer at The Blade. She writes this column every other Monday to offer a Millennial perspective on life. She can be reached at kmitchell@theblade.com.
First Published April 29, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
