Moving to a large metro area becomes a necessity; most of the jobs created since the Great Recession are in a handful of urban areas. Trouble is, these areas are wildly unaffordable.
The next predictable step is working a service-industry job that doesn’t require a degree while trying to get set up in a city with job openings in our fields. Yet a booming job market often also means a housing horror show. Misguided housing policies in places like New York, Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco have created such a tight market that it is often financially impossible for a young person to move there.
Still, we persist, often with parental help and significant struggle. Eventually, we get a job that previous generations probably wouldn’t envy. We pay through the nose for health insurance, have zero job security and pray we advance as soon as possible. Most of us, contrary to popular belief, try to fight our latte-obsessed, avocado-toast-addled, entitled-youngster image.
Many of us are eternally disappointed with the unjust system that blocked us from doing things past generations did, like get married, have kids and have a lovely oak-shaded, picket-fence life.
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