Aibu to think that "suspended adulthood" is going to lead to large problems?

[BlancheBlue]

www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/22/young-people-living-in-a-suspended-adulthood-finds-research

Just this really. There was a telling comment about this article with the ever increasing age profile of parents the chance of children knowing grandparents is going to be remote.

I think lots of the boomer generation really fail to understand this. Whenever it is said it is tough for young people que loads of "well I worked my arse off and owned a house by the time I was 21" type comments.

And of course all the smart phones they have! Cause three smartphones over 6 years reeeeally adds up to a house deposit...

Yes I saw that - article is a complete nonsense. Its all based on an opinion poll conducted by a special interest group that shock horror discovered the opinion poll supported the aims of the special interest group.

And of course all the smart phones they have! Cause three smartphones over 6 years reeeeally adds up to a house deposit...

I have (much) younger work colleagues drooling over the new iphone 7. Apparently contracts are 50 quid plus a month. So over that 6 year period that's best part of four grand.

The fact is that for the older generation the cost of a house may have been double their yearly salary. Nowadays a modest home could be 10x your yearly salary. I once heard an older lady say her and her husband used to share a drink in the pub to save money...that would make no difference to your ability to buy a home now.

My house has doubled in value in the past 5 years....(not a stealth boast..just a fact). Our income hasn't doubled.

And 4k is really going to sort you out on the housing front isn't it? (£216,000 odd average price as of July this year)

I don't want to turn this into a bashing "boomers" thread but I find the lack of appreciation from SOME of the older generation about young people appalling - i.e. people who have experienced full employment (leave a job and easy to get another quickly) grants and no debts for education, decent pensions, cheaper house ownership, mass access to social housing etc etc

Latest research from Aviva said that 1 in 3 recent leavers regret going to university because the debt levels are having such a significant impact on their income (including non-tuition fee debt) and because their qualifications are worth a whole lot less than they were told they would be. I think that's rather sad and shows how much we've messed things up for the younger generation.

And 4k is really going to sort you out on the housing front isn't it? (£216,000 odd average price as of July this year)

Young first time buyers do not buy UK averagely priced houses - they buy first step on the ladder property. And 4k will go a fair way to your legal costs and deposit in most of the country on a first time buyer property.

The fact is that for the older generation the cost of a house may have been double their yearly salary. Nowadays a modest home could be 10x your yearly salary. I once heard an older lady say her and her husband used to share a drink in the pub to save money...that would make no difference to your ability to buy a home now.

At 3-5 quid a drink it could - possibly more. How much does a young 20 something blow on a night out twice a week four times a month? Is that 4-500 quid? More?

Don't confuse salary multiple with house price and cost - repayments on 65k at around 6% (back in the 90s) are the same as 100k with current interest rates. Price is higher but its costing you the same.

t4 I think you are in some sort of bubble. "4k goes a fair way to legal costs and deposit" - have you actually seen the price of so called "starter" homes and flats? I don't think you appreciate how salaries are lower in so-called "cheaper" areas - yes more people could buy on their London salaries in certain areas but when you look into the availability and salary of jobs in those areas, the sums also don't match.

And don't come back with stupid daily mail links to "you can buy a whole street of terraced houses in Salford for £50k" or something. What is the point of buying a wreck which needs major refurbishment to be habitable - these are cash purchases (no mortagage avliable) and people who are struggling for housing have not got the money for a new roof etc

I mentioned "Generation rent" only yesterday on MN ...

We are seeing the entire demography of the UK (and Western world) shifting under our feet.

There is already a generation that have accepted they will never own a house, with a second already forming - you read about it daily on Mumsnet. They are evolving into a new demographic which will bring challenges everywhere. At the most basic level, if you accept you are never going to own a house, you are never going to try and save for a deposit.

This is already happening - not some possible future.

Trying to cast the runes (what I am paid for) suggests that a rising swell of renters with "spare" cash that isn't earmarked for a deposit will find other areas to spend in.

Add to that "Generation can't drive" and it seems we will be living in interesting times.

One of the saddest factoids of the changes in society is that the first baby many people ever hold is their own - not sure why that upsets me so much ... at least I was able to hold my DB and cousins when they were tiny.

It's £390,000 for a crappy 1 bed flat here. That's a starter home imo. A 10% deposit is getting even harder now as many banks now want 20-30%. Even 10% is £39,000 without fees.

£50 a month is £600 a year. It's would take 65 years of not having a phone to save £39,000.

LurkingHusband Thu 22-Sep-16 13:37:59

"I mentioned "Generation rent" only yesterday on MN ...

We are seeing the entire demography of the UK (and Western world) shifting under our feet."

With all due respect, this is not the entire demography of the Western world shifting: this idea that you have to own property to be an adult is a very British one.

My Swedish nephews and nieces cheerfully moved from home and even got married long before they could afford to buy anything. In fact, most of my professors at university lived in rented property.

"Generation can't drive" is also a much more common phenomenon on the Continent- and not a particularly new one. Most of my friends at uni did not drive and many of them still do not do so.

art yes, one bedroom flats in my block = £370k but a previous poster thinks we can afford this by not having a phone or a drink in a pub now and again!

Lurking this SHOULD be a powerful voting block now let alone in ten years - there is a real gap in the "market" for a political party to talk to these people but the challenge is getting them to the ballot box.

With all due respect, this is not the entire demography of the Western world shifting:

It is, just the UK tends to be ahead of the curve for various reasons.

Generation can't drive actually started in the US.

The demography is changing - how societies react and develop will be a function of their political and social institutions.

cory Its not really comparable though - there is mush more security of tenure when renting in countries like Germany/Sweden.

Arghh, the babyboomer mentally (best exemplified by my mother in law) drives me wild. It's ignorant and self serving.

House prices have become utterly divorced from salaries. That's the problem. Not a smartphone and the odd starbucks.

And you actually need a smartphone in my line of work. Now, if you're senior enough they pay for it, but they don't pay the interns phones. Yet, they're 100% expected to have one.

I don't understand why not owning your own home means you have to suspend adulthood.

I would also point that you can get a pretty reasonable first home where I live (South Yorkshire) for 60k but I won't. It's probably not relevant because it is outside the south east and therefore it (and its population) don't count as part of "the western world"

Not knowing your grandparents was pretty common in the past too - on account of people not living so long.

t4nut I live in West Yorkshire so was lucky that my "first step on the ladder" house was £150,000. My friend, who lives in South London, spent over £200,000 on her "first step on the ladder" 2-bed flat 2 years ago. Don't make generalisations. Whether you like it or not, people of my generation are struggling - not because we're special snowflakes who love iPhones and can't manage our money, but because life is so much more expensive than it used to be. I'm 27, my salary is just above the national average and I own a house. I am very much within a minority in my group of friends.

Agree it is not comparable- but there might be a possibility to push for greater security of tenure in this country. Insisting that you cannot be a proper grown-up unless you drive a car and own a house might not be the only way to go about things in these days of environmental pressure. Otherwise, yes I do agree about the young of today having a much harder time in many ways.

It depends on how you define 'adulthood.' Multi-generational living is considered normal in some other cultures, and doesn't mean that adults living with their parents aren't 'real' adults. Young people today are growing up with different social norms, and some (not all) older people don't really understand it. I remember my dad being angry and telling me I wasn't trying hard enough because I couldn't get a job in a supermarket or cafe at the age of 13 - because he'd done it at that age, he thought that I could, too. It wasn't until the recession that he realised how much the job market had changed (he's self-employed, so has never needed to apply for jobs, etc).

Yes, some people in their 20s spend very irresponsibly. I spent my early 20s living with my dad and saving practically everything I earned for a property deposit - I didn't have a phone and bought second-hand clothes. Not everybody wants to (or can) do that, though, and not owning a house or being able to drive isn't some moral failing or a sign that a person is still a child or childish.

barbarian - really? rightmove Link please to this bargain and to the masses of jobs available in the area?

If a crappy 1bed flat is 390k where you are then why live there? Is it really that amazing?
I spent my 20s in London but headed north to "settle" so I could have a better standard of living (3bed semi with a garage).
My one piece of advice to my ds regarding career will be to choose anything he wants but make sure it's something that is not dependent on being in one of the most expensive cities in the world.

museumum Lucky you that you or DP had a job that you could easily move "north" and still pays pretty well to afford your semi - many don't have that luxury. But hey "move" is the default answer to anyone who thinks housing prices are out of control hey

Search it yourself - type in Rotherham and set your search radius to 30 miles. You can find dozens of flats and 2 bed houses for that in Rotherham, Barnsley, parts of Sheffield, Goldthorpe and Darfield. Despite what you may have heard, we have jobs in the area too. In Sheffield alone several people are reported to have jobs