How do millenials survive considering how much they love to travel and not work?

Everything you described can be found in Oregon. America is a rural-urban divide, more than anything.

Portland and a few other cities out there are nice, though.

Thanks for the thoughtful response. I will say that the cost of my financial security is that I do feel tied down to my home and to my relatively well paying job, and I can relate to the idea of the freedom that simply renting a room in an apartment must afford. That wouldn't work for me as I have a family (which as been the single most rewarding part of my life) and that creates certain responsibilities. Fortunately, at age 45 I have been able to build enough of a retirement nest egg such that I don't have to stay at my job if I decide I really hate it (although it would require me to sell my house and roll the equity into something more modest or in a smaller town).

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond. I do find your description helpful in understanding the perspective of those living a different lifestyle a bit better.

Completely agree, could have written this myself.

For the record, for me, owning a home is not about the possession itself, it is about building equity that I can access later in life when my kids leave home and I move to a smaller city and downsize.

Is this a byproduct of families having fewer children? By dedicating all of there time and resources to a smaller number of children are they creating a bunch of momma's boys like they have in Italy? Are millennials the mammoni of America?

If I concluded that I didn't care about marriage, children or living a long retirement, I'm not so sure that I'd reach any different conclusion than these guys have. My values are different that's all - not better, just different.

My only concern for millenials is that I wonder if the values expressed may change over time. Because if someone suddenly decided at 40 that hey want to have kids and can't share an apartment anymore, or want to live in a good school district, or whatever, it is hard to address that issue if you've primarily lived in the now instead of for the future. Same thing with health care over euthanasia. Of course, I could die tomorrow and never have he chance to do the things I plan on doing later in life. But if those values stay relatively constant, I get why you would take the "primarily living for now" approach.

I have two friends (we are just out of college) whose parents just continue sending them about 2K/month allowance for "whatever". One parent has an automatic deposit set up to send him 2K/month into his checking account. In addition, that parent also pays his credit card bills. So, tax free, they are both up $24K/year with cash. The one without the parent picking up the credit card tab works at home depot about 20 hours/week to supplement. But the other does nothing and seems to run up credit card bills like crazy that I guess the parents cover (he most certainly does not earn any income). Thankfully, he almost always treats at bars and restaurants - so I guess I'm a free-rider on his parents income as well.

We're just smarter bro. We watched out parents toil away at garbage jobs wasting there lifes. Why would I do that? I'm living large in Chang Mai making some youtube revinew plus loads free gear from sponsors for social media plugs. Why wuld I slave away for nothing at a dead end job? Get woke!

You're also sort of assuming that we don't have a Roth and/or a 401k. I do, and so do most of my friends. Buying a house when you're young limits your flexibility. I like paying cheap rent and knowing that I can skate off to a job on the other side of the country whenever I want.

I also want to have kids and marry at some point, just not anytime soon. Life in your 20's is awesome when you have a good job, no debt, and ample flexibility.

Certainly a consideration...considering my values have changed a lot from a decade ago when I thought I was fine making less than 10k/yr with very basic health insurance...obviously given what I enjoy now that wasn't feasible long term. I can appreciate the degree of stability I am granted with what comes with my job now & the small luxuries I can afford...and the greater degree of international travel I can afford. I also thought that I would be all in on my present career...and now I realize it's just not worth it. So in some ways my values have become more "traditional"...but really only as a means of enhancing my greater values of travel & adventure. But it's knowing that these values can change or "evolve" that keeps me from quitting & just working odd jobs as I travel or picking up seasonal work in tourist locals or teaching english in different countries. Also the only reason I save anything (knowing values could change). But there's no ignoring that - well into my 30's - if I lost my job today & had to "start over,"/couldn't get at least as good of a job in my same field, I'd likely just hit the road as a "snow bird" the rest of my life and I still feel I'd be OK with that. I'm actually closer to that sentiment than I ever was in my 20's...

When previous generations have conspired - yes conspired, knowingly or unknowingly - to drive housing values sky-high in desirable places to live, it shifts incentives away from 'traditional' middle age. Let's not get started on the cost of higher education.

The world economy is changing. Most things cost much less.

Some things cost much more.

This drives people to want different things.

This is why you see Millennial behaving differently.

Raise property taxes, remove the mortgage interest deduction, change zoning laws, and we may see a shift towards more traditional goals.

Until then, why save for an overpriced home when you can spend the money living experiences. Material goods matter little at the end of the day.

Harvard business review might have your answer - https://hbr.org/2016/08/millennials-are-actually-workaholics-according-to-research

Life in your 20s is awesome. Enjoy it and have some fun for me while you're at it.

I wasn't assuming no retirement funding, by the way. I asked a genuine question of how people value these things, and the primary response that I got (and that was concurred with) was that retirement may not happen and that was OK since people are doing what they enjoy now and will presumably do what they enjoy later. I was just responding to that point and highlighting it, in part, why that would be such a challenge for me personally.

Do whatever you want. I don't understand this discussion. If you are not on actual government welfare then who cares about your economic lifestyle decisions? Personal preference.

I will say that it's not that much different than any other generation. People do young people stuff when they are young. Then they get older and priorities change. I love having a home and would not want to be sharing an apartment with friends or roommates at my age. I would argue that owning a home is WAY different than other lifestyle "material" possessions. Not even in the same league as fancy cars, clothes, etc. a home is a home and is much more than a material possession. That's my opinion.

I love having a family. Having a family is a tradoff though. I can't leave at a moments notice to travel but I don't want to.

Definitely agree about priorities changing and that my generation isn't really different.

I do think that the timeline for mid-life things like marriage and home buying has been shifted ~10 years later. It's just not as conceivable for the average millennial to be able to buy a home in a good metro area in their 20s unless we have a big price correction.

Then again, this all falls in line with lower birthrates, later marriage, etc.

This gen is better educated, healthier, and more productive than ever before. We don't feel the rush. There's a lot of time ahead of us.

Harambe wrote:

There's a lot of time ahead of us.

Then one day you wake up and you're 45 years old. Suddenly there's not as much time as you think!

Let's start with the fact that his name is "Quattro."

Yung Idjits wrote:

I read an article in the WP, linked below, about teens delaying markers of adulthood. If you have a kid at home, be prepared for the little blood sucker to stay under your roof, on your dime, for the long haul people. Kids are evolving into ever softer, weaker creatures who need Mommy and Daddy to assuage their endless anxiety and to place free food in their bellies.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/neither-drinking-nor-driving-more-teens-are-putting-off-traditional-markers-of-adulthood/2017/09/18/b46027a0-93f1-11e7-8754-d478688d23b4_story.html?utm_term=.afc7dbaf41f3

Jose the Plomero wrote:

Harambe wrote:

There's a lot of time ahead of us.

Then one day you wake up and you're 45 years old. Suddenly there's not as much time as you think!

Well, you know how to make these next 20 years NOT fly by before you know it?

Do new things. Mix it up. Don't get in a rut. Don't accept that you have to grind at your job to accomplish traditional goal x/y/z.

You could take some advice from us millennials ;).

why work? wrote:

I have two friends (we are just out of college) whose parents just continue sending them about 2K/month allowance for "whatever". One parent has an automatic deposit set up to send him 2K/month into his checking account. In addition, that parent also pays his credit card bills. So, tax free, they are both up $24K/year with cash. The one without the parent picking up the credit card tab works at home depot about 20 hours/week to supplement. But the other does nothing and seems to run up credit card bills like crazy that I guess the parents cover (he most certainly does not earn any income). Thankfully, he almost always treats at bars and restaurants - so I guess I'm a free-rider on his parents income as well.

I'm not saying that it's the right thing to do and that it won't make kids lazy, but is it better to give your kids some money now for education, interesting experiences, a bit of an easier life, or all of it when you're dead?

Your friends seem like an extreme case though and that they're almost taking too much advantage of this situation.