Millennials Are Coming For The Houses

My birth year puts me squarely in the Gen X camp. And I have all the claptrap to prove it. From VHS tape stacks of John Hughes movies to 12” New Order extended remixes to my beloved Brett Easton Ellis “Less than Zero” novel, you won’t mistake me for a Baby Boomer or a Millennial. Heck, I still have an old yellow SonyWalkman.

Every generation thinks the next one is terrible. It’s a story as old as time. Now, in my case, it was particularly true, as the 1990s were especially atrocious when it came to music and fashion. Those terrible wide legged baggy jeans? Awful. Kind of like Disco – an era best forgotten.

Now before you send me hate mail, I know my prejudice is the result of coming of age in the 1980’s. And yeah, we had our terrible stuff too. In fact, we have one particular “have-to-look-away-or-you-will-go-blind” video that makes everything the next generation produced pale in comparison. I mean, once you see this video, the argument is over and I should just shut up. And I warn you – if you are a Gen X who desires to continue to fondly look back at their younger years, don’t watch. For everyone else, click here – just don’t say I didn’t warn you. Yeah, bloody embarrassing. Us Gen X’ers have to stop saying anything bad about any other generation until we can figure a way to expunge this video from the internet.

Millennials are nowhere near as different as everyone believes

Why am I writing about Gen X and Millennials? As much as I joke about their style, I actually respect many of their decisions. In some ways, they are way wiser than any past generation at the same point in their lives. But where I differ from many market pundits is the argument that Millennials are fundamentally different than previous generations. Yeah sure, Millennials have put off having kids, buying houses and cars, and have erred on choosing experiences over things, but I don’t buy that they are some sort of completely different human being. If you listen to many strategists speak, it’s as if they have written off Millennials as abandoning the usual life cycle, and will forever sit around in micro-apartments eating avocado toast while snapchatting their friends.

Well, I don’t buy it. The Greatest Generation complained about their peacenik Baby Boomer flower children who seemed more interested in thumbing their nose at the establishment than being productive citizens.

But how long did this rebellious attitude actually last? How long before these very same Boomers were trading in their VW Buses for BMW sedans? How long before they became the very thing they hated?

And when it came to those Boomers’ kids, the same complaints rung through the air. Gen X’ers are lazy. They don’t want to have kids or families. They’re selfish. Yada yada yada. It was the same story, just a generation later.

Now don’t misconstrue what I am saying. I know that Millennials are putting off having kids until later. I know they are buying fewer cars. I know they are getting married less, and later. There is no doubt these trends are real.