To feel sad watching all these kids going to school

[Artvanderrlay]

and wondering what sort of world they are going to enter when they turn 18 or 22.

I am sure many will excel but I fear a large number will end up financially insecure for most of their life.

When I graduated all those moons ago, I joined a graduate scheme, nothing fancy like investment bank, law or consultancy, it was with a well known high street retailer and I was earning around £23k, but many of my fellow grads were homeowners in their mid 20s, and their financial security is almost exclusively down to purchasing a property when they were so young.

A friend, who joined my scheme 3 years before me, purchased a flat in W12 for £240k in the early 00s. Her father was a postie and her mother worked part time in a supermarket, so the purchase was driven solely by her. She sold the flat this year for £800k, having rented it out for almost 15 years.

She is going to use the money to get her children onto the property ladder as soon as possible.

I was able to purchase my first flat 2.5 years after finishing university. A similar flat recently sold for £500k. There is no way I would have been able to do that now, and it terrifies what is going to happen to all these kids when they try to make their way into the world.

I agree.
AI will destroy jobs that kids who do not have specialist skills do now - ie admin clerical etc
There is not one career that will not be affected even lawyers surgeons pilots etc

It's refreshing that you can recognise how difficult things are for the young.

I try not to think about my dcs future!

Maybe you need to reconfigure the centrality of home ownership to what constitutes a decent life.

If 60% of your salary is going to a commercial landlord, who has converted an office block into 200 tiny flats, and you don't have enough money to move out, then your going to be pretty miserable.

They need the skills to leave this country.

There will always be jobs for people who are motivated and think outside the box.

But they are not limited to a life in the UK.

well that's what i'm encouraging my dc to do (they have Euro passports) but not great for the ones left behind.

If you don’t see the connection between your friend renting out a flat for 15 years (and making around £600k profit), the housing crisis and the possibly future of today’s kids who may not have the Bank of M&D to assist, then words fail me.

I really commend you for recognising this. So many people of the generation who profited from property will not acknowledge that. Most like to think their good fortune is because of working harder than others rather than just the economy at the time.

Yanbu I feel sad for young people today, including my dc. I don't know what the future holds for them. With the rise of AI and job loss on the horizon I don't whether it's a good idea for my dd to apply to university, despite being bright and motivated. I fear there may be no job and a lot of debt for her. It's makes me sad 😢

I remember them saying the same thing about computers in the 80s. Everyone was going to be replaced by a computer. It didn't happen. Instead it created a whole industry and transformed and created jobs instead of destroying them.

I try not to be negative as I find it so unhelpful. Children are resiliant and adaptive. Life will be very different but it could be amazing. AI to help with the boring stuff, we could have come out of a recession/bust and be in a boom as they graduate. Theres no point dwelling on the past and being negative we need to be positive. DH and I are v prepared to move into a flat to release equity when we are older for deposits if needed. We will help them consider job sustainability etc when choosing degrees/career choices. We will teach them to see the wider world but also appreicate how lucky we are in the UK in many many ways.

I wish my MIL could see this. She bought a house when she was 20 (50 years ago) for about £15k and still lives there. Apparently it’s now worth £500k.

Despite the fact I’m just about to (finally) push the button on a new house after YEARS of slog and saving and working my tits off for a forever home “I didn’t work hard enough” because I had a holiday once five years ago.

I think you're right. Of course we need to be aware of developments and not bury our heads, but really, we can only live in the present and do our best in the moment to keep our options as open as possible.Just because the world is changing in frightening ways isn't a reason to stress our youngsters out. They need a healthy youth if they're going to be well-prepared for the adult world.

I remember years ago, when dinosoaurs roamed the earth and I was at school and we were told that in the future we'd all have much more leisure because of automation. That's not really happened for most people - those in work seem to work really long hours and then many people have no work.

People need to work and pay taxes to keep our welfare state, health service and infrastructure going. If we're all going to be laid off and our jobs taken over by AI, how exactly is that going to happen? Too scary to think about.

Let's enjoy the September sunshine...seriously.

They also said that computers would give us more leisure time. That didn’t happen, Computers enabled employers to employ fewer people and work them harder.

She sold the flat this year for £800k, having rented it out for almost 15 years.

Pity your friend didn’t share your concerns for the next generation.

That's why I prioritise their future financial security right now. There's another thread where a woman is spending £250 per week on hair, nails, zoo trips and soft play. Diverting a tiny fraction of that to the DCs pension will set them up much better than two hours of paid-for activity which will have no lasting impact on the child whatsoever.

Its not all doom n gloom, some will go into new job roles that don't exist at the moment

When I left school unemployment was the highest it has ever been. Youth unemployment was diabolical and my first job was a government scheme - milking cows 37 hours a week for £23 a week.
When my mum was born the war had just started and by the time she was thirty a quarter of UK houses still had no inside toilet.

I don't say this in a 'we had it worse' kind of way. I say to show that worrying about the moment doesn't allow for the change that will definitely come.

Things always change. Some things will get worse. Some things will get better. Mostly everything works out alright.

Being sad for young people, just setting out on a life of adventure and opportunity is such a waste of today.

Steeplejacks look pretty safe to me.

sure with climate change and all that thrown in it’s looking bleak so I just enjoy the time we have left - take the kids on all the adventures now. No waiting or wasting time to do things another time or when they’re older!

And gardeners, nurses, carers, decorators, builders, farriers, farmers, doctors, foresters, chefs, waiters, therapists, live musicians, actors......

There are many reasons to not be all doom and gloom.

Possibly not for our generation but I am convinced that our teen's generation will get vaccinations for cancer, the housing market is showing teeny tiny signs of resetting itself, now brexit is firmly established they are able to make decisions very early in their adult lives on if they want to actually remain here or go to a country that isn't inward looking and has more co-operation and investment.

There is opportunity for much more creativity in film and tv with the many streaming services producing high quality programmes, you can self promote music, and other skills online. Information is at your finger tips, and the younger generation are much more skilled at taking advantage of it.

Self drive, shared cars will eventually come in, reducing the difficulties on the road and enabling many more to access personal transport.

AI is a useful tool but it's crap at so many things, it's nothing to worry about, adapt to for sure but worry about, nah.

Once the gains of the boom in the housing market have filtered through, and it's not going to be that long, the housing market will stablise for the jobs and wages of the majority of the population. You can only sell a house for what someone will and can pay for it.

Our teens are quite positive and happy, they can't worry about the future, and worry does nothing, doing something about it helps, because what is the alternative.

Being 50 plus and with a mortgage paid of
Id swap the the lot the be 20 again and at the start of my life ,able to make different choices than I did
They may not have chance of financial security through housing ladder ,but they have youth on their side ,they can see the world by backpacking and earning as they go .
Life is short
Give me youth over money any day

@ImAPreMadonna wins the thread.

Shakes my damn head. How anyone can be so obtuse is beyond me.

Absolutely. And my PIL are going to try and move closer to us, selling their 4 bedroom house in Herts bought for £15k. Now worth £850k.

My DH says we will be benefiting from their generosity if they pay off our £80k mortgage, which is lovely of course, and very kind. But it's my DC who i do worry about as you say. Their hard work and workforce will be totally different, certainly not as fortunate in the way our parents were.