Is the UK seeing more pessimism from the young now than ever before?
Posted by tylerthe-theatre@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 215 comments
In modern times at least, it feels like there's a prevailing doomer mindset about the future of the uk and the world at that. From a lack of job opportunities, to social cohesion, to the state of the housing market, its become increasingly common for young people to not even aspire to become a house owner because it feels unattainable.
That and running the rat race if you do have a 9-5, most of your money going on rent, bills, food, so much so that you don't have much to save or do anything else with. It definitely feels like the post grad world sold to milennials and Gen z is completely different, I'm not sure what a great career path even is now with the looming threat of AI (electrician or plumber?).
And I think any fears and worries people hold are completely justified, the housing ladder, career ladder has been getting steeper with each passing generation. Interested to see what you think if you're 20 - 27/8, whats your outlook on the future, are you more hopeful or negative?
AssumptionBudget279@reddit
I recently turned 30 and know people around my age who are still working part time jobs due to the job market.
visitingshortly@reddit
Living standards are having their first real terms drop in their life time. You have highest tax burden since WW2. A graduate crisis. Not to mention social/migration related issues. Public safety/trust eroded and property crime has hit record highs. You have on top of that years of near stagnant growth and productivity. Decades of planning blockage which inflated property prices, which can’t be deflated for fear of crushing pensioners equity value.
It’s pretty legitimate reasons for the youth to be pessimistic. What’s problematic are the solutions the youth are looking to.
Superb_Copy1644@reddit
I hate the sentiment of “money can’t buy you happiness” just a hallmark sentimental view. It’s not the pile of cash that makes you happy, it’s the decisions, the life style, the ability to take risks and have a family, enjoy yourself. The world is fucked financially and youth have it more than anyone else.
W51976@reddit
Money can take away the stress that comes along when you don’t have enough money.
Summertimings@reddit
It also buys you time. If you can afford a cleaner/gardener/nanny (even irregularly), you can spend your spare time more freely and not get bogged down with chores and the like.
powpow198@reddit
But you lose time working to pay for this stuff...
Educational_Worth906@reddit
I think the point is that if you can earn enough in one hour to pay for more than an hour of someone else’s time, then it’s worth it. If I can work an hour to pay for both a cleaner and a gardener to come and do jobs for an hour each, that I don’t want to do, that’s an hour saved in total. Unfortunately I can’t do this, along with most other people.
powpow198@reddit
I think the point is if you are always working you have less free time.
Educational_Worth906@reddit
But you’re not having to spend the free time that you do have cleaning or gardening because somebody has already done that for you. It only works if you’re earning more per hour than the people you’re employing.
People that do this aren’t necessarily working more hours than average, they’re just earning more money while working those hours.
powpow198@reddit
Depends whether you like working or doing things though eh?
Educational_Worth906@reddit
That’s kind of what I said. I’m not necessarily going to pay a gardener if my favourite pastime is gardening or a window cleaner if I enjoy cleaning windows. I’d rather work an hour in a job I don’t like to pay the wages of someone else if it gives me back two hours of free time to do what I really enjoy.
Corona21@reddit
If 10 minutes of my time pays for an hour of someone else and my chores take 2 hours. It makes sense.
I factor this in whenever I consider a convenience purchase.
Summertimings@reddit
That’s true of everyone and exactly my point. If you’re working five days a week, the time you have off is precious. Well-off people can cut down on chores, go out to socialise, etc if they have the money to get someone to keep their home in order/look after their kids; they’re less overwhelmed.
powpow198@reddit
But sometimes those people are working longer, more stressful days and have less "freedom" than someone earning less.
JeffersonRP96@reddit
I mean sure, sometimes higher earners work longer hours but it depends on the field. There’s plenty of high earners with relatively “normal” workloads, and plenty of underpaid people who are run ragged.
For instance I wouldn’t want to work in many high earning law professions due to the poor work-life balance, but I would be quite happy in a lot of well-paid engineering roles.
ZT0141@reddit
I don’t know if you know, but engineering roles are often the worst with regards to work life balance
JeffersonRP96@reddit
Often across the board or often in a particular sector? I’m sure there’s roles in engineering that are bad for it, I can think of a few, but as someone who has been in several engineering roles over their career there’s definitely a lot that aren’t. Again it depends on what discipline and also where you are in the hierarchy (often the benefits of managerial positions don’t feel worth it with the extra logistics and headache imo).
Engineering is such a broad job type that mileage is going to vary. You can get into a well paying job that’ll stress you the hell out as much as you can get into one that allows you to bolt out the door at 4pm. Depends on what you pursue.
ZT0141@reddit
In know term is used broadly, but in meaning proper engineering. Engineers at the large consultancy’s are pretty much 9-5 type guys. But design engineers and project engineers are often working against tight deadlines, need to work to incredible accuracy, have strict budget requirements and a lot of liability. Saying that the money is generally good
Summertimings@reddit
No disagreements there. I was mainly speaking in the abstract sense like the replies above mine.
ThunderChild247@reddit
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can be the security and stability to let you do things that make you happy.
Hame_Impala@reddit
Aye, endless wealth won’t automatically make an unhappy person happy, but enough wealth to comfortably live and feel like you’re getting better off year on year is great for the soul. Hard to feel like you’re advancing in life when everything gets more expensive and you feel poorer.
BillWilberforce@reddit
It gives you freedom and not having the worry that seemingly how whenever you come across a bit of money. Bad luck seems to happen, such as your filling falling out or breaking a tooth, so it all goes on a dentist bill.
LowarnFox@reddit
I think after a certain point, increasing money doesn't increase happiness but when you are having to cut back on hobbies or small treats to pay for essentials it is absolutely the case.
Let alone worrying about paying bills and rent because everything is going up and wages aren't.
doctorace@reddit
Yes. They’ve done studies on this. It was in the US and old, so the number isn’t relevant. But the graph really levels off once you can pay your bills and have security.
WilkoCEO@reddit
It used to cost us £5 for two singles into town. This month, it now costs £5.60 for two singles. Wages for our age group have increased 50p
PsychologicalRun1911@reddit
The world is fucked financially but half the country was happy to take that COVID money to sit on their ass for a year and that's what brought us here.
Superb_Copy1644@reddit
Mate, don’t be such a sanctimonious prick. I personally feel we should’ve let covid run rampant. We have a population crisis, people don’t fucking die, hold on to wealth and property. Covid literally targeted the elderly in a world where they’re hoarding wealth and property when society needs room. But eitherway, no one needs to hear your dull half baked opinions.
PsychologicalRun1911@reddit
Property they purchased with their labor. You're not owed it. Built your own shit.
Superb_Copy1644@reddit
To have the same purchasing power for property as you did in 1995 minimum wage would need to be between £25-£30. I’m not saying it’s anyone’s right to it, but it was a fuck of a lot easier, and implying they worked harder is a very dim mindset.
W51976@reddit
Well, some people had no choice but to take the money.
PsychologicalRun1911@reddit
But they shouldn't have been happy about it. The amount of people who treated it like a holiday.. well we are all paying for your holiday now.
PutAutomatic2581@reddit
That's bullshit. The whole thing was an excuse for companies to gouge us on everything.
PsychologicalRun1911@reddit
If it was an excuse why did so many of them go bust. You can blame the government but blaming companies is peak stupidity.
PutAutomatic2581@reddit
Small businesses did, large corporations have been making record profits.
PsychologicalRun1911@reddit
Tons of large companies went bust. Companies made record profits because of record inflation. In real terms their profits were not any higher. If you have 50% real inflation (not the fake government number) you're going to see 50% record profits and it's actually the same.
W51976@reddit
Some people needed it, but, I get where your coming from. The folk who clearly didn’t need it, while sitting at home for 6-12 months and watching Netflix.
AttackOwlFibre@reddit
Get a grip.
Hummusforever@reddit
Money can’t buy you happiness but a lack of it can make you sad
GourangaPlusPlus@reddit
Having moneys not everything, not having it is
Interesting-Scar-998@reddit
People who say money isn't everything, or that money can't buy happiness are deluding themselves.
Bossman_Mike@reddit
On the flipside, I have no truck nor time for anyone who says "Money doesn't motivate me [...] money isn't important" as they sit in their £15m house with six cars parked outside.
Opposite-Ad-288@reddit
You can have a family without money its societal expectations what you’re describing. The same society making young people sick.
Watch into Zoochosis. Its what we all seem to have.
Yeah having money must be nice, but also having money, and anything/everything you want is a really dismal place to be, you want for nothing, yet nothing satisfies
Aethion@reddit
It’s what Joe rogan calls fuck you money.
Where your in a position of fuck you im doing this because I enjoy it not because I had to do it to live.
To be a position like that must offer such mental peace and quite instead of the dread and despair of is my pay gonna last me the month hope my car doesn’t pack in, can I afford this costa oh can o treat myself to a take away.
When my parents worked a normal job mum stay at home had 2 cars house and 2 holidays a year on 1 builders pay my dad.
Bloody mental stuff
UnnecessaryRoughness@reddit
I think its more like "money doesn't guarantee happiness".
It definitely helps. It can make some people really happy.
But if what makes you sad is loneliness, poor health, an inability to have children, etc, then no amount of money may fix it.
mcnoodles1@reddit
Money can buy you happiness absolutely. It's undeniable. Richer people live longer than poorer people.
I'm happier on holiday than at work. Your landlord could be on holiday whilst you work to pay off one of his many mortgages.
greg225@reddit
Like many other platitudes (what doesn't kill you... etc.) it often gets taken too literally. Material wealth, like luxury objects, may make you feel happy in the moment but it'll fade eventually. But a healthy amount of money can also eliminate a lot of stress, barriers and restrictions that can ultimately lead to you having an overall happier and easier life. So the saying is not going to mean much to someone who is struggling to make ends meet and put a roof over their head. For them, having money would eliminate or at least lessen a lot of the things that are making their life hard. But for a whiny kid who thinks he needs the newest games and gadgets in order to be happy, it's an important lesson.
I saw an interview with one of those big time influencer types who has all the money in the world and can do whatever he wants, but because he has everything, nothing means anything. He can buy a new Ferrari on a whim and at best he gets a day of joy before the novelty fades. He can no longer enjoy every day things because luxury and extravagance has been completely normalised. That's the other extreme of the spectrum of course, but it makes you think.
Occamsfacecloth@reddit
It makes me think he's a gobshite
WesternUnusual2713@reddit
I'm convinced it was coined by someone from generational wealth
GrabbedByTheGhost@reddit
Buying a house as a single person is currently very difficult but it's a lot easier if you get married.
Combining income in this way and the opportunities that affords will likely lead to an increase in people getting married at a younger age.
MR_MaxiMor44@reddit
I (22M) have felt like because of the British mindset of not being too selfish and being ok with the bare minimum or things just being s***, has really done a number on social morale. It's allowed those whom are selfish (big companies and government) to squeeze so much out of people so that they can only have the bare minimum.
In terms of directly impacting the youth, my generation, what we need is a government that prioritises education AND jobs, we need to be less focused on how to become a care home, taking care of 70, 80, 90 somethings, and instead giving people that help to start climbing ladders.
I know that can sound pretty ageist, But I think it's no stretch of thinking that we are in a vicious cycle tending towards a gerontocracy. It's a problem plaguing so many developed countries that are having longer life expectancies, and we are already seeing those effects in Italy, Germany, Greece, Japan and South Korea. Yes we are having people living longer healthier lives, but that doesn't mean the elderly should in any way receive more support for the last few years of their own lives over the starting of adult lives for school leavers.
What we need in a way are reverse state pensions, in that the government helps people starting their adult working lives, as opposed to those ending them.
It was also a big mistake the fall through of the assisted dying bill.
Hungry-Conclusion121@reddit
it's understandable. I'm over 40 and support legacy tech. I'm probably more confused and uncertain than ever.. about the job market, the world we live in and where I should focus next so can't even advise young people other than to stay positive and work to improve yourself
jlt33333@reddit
I'm 32 and practically all my friends had Saturday jobs at school. When I left uni, it was never a concern that I might not get a job or afford a house. Today is a different story and I really feel for school leavers.
Nandor1262@reddit
Really? I’m 33 and me and a lot of my friends didn’t get jobs straight out of uni. I had month on job seekers before finding a job doing basic admin which I had to do for a year before finally moving into the field that interested me.
Saturday jobs were much easier to come by though.
jlt33333@reddit
I don't consider a month to be long term unemployment which is what people are now facing. Obviously finding a job in a specific field can vary, especially dependent on where you're looking in the UK.
Nandor1262@reddit
Months there’s an S it was about 10
jlt33333@reddit
If you read my original comment I was talking about my experience leaving university and not yours or anyone else's.
Nandor1262@reddit
Well you didn’t use the word month or months in your comment and were replying to me… good for you but it was not like that at all for everyone your age. Did you drive already? Did you live in a city? A lot of people didn’t and it was a challenge for them. I’m sure it is harder now but it’s not been easy for ages.
jlt33333@reddit
Again I was talking about my experience in my industry. Have a great day.
Wilfy50@reddit
This is an interesting one. My local town is a shell of its former self. Weekend work would be an easy think to achieve just by working in a local shop. Now there are none left.
Hame_Impala@reddit
Declining town centres is a really noticeable problem as well and contributes to this. It’s something which impacts older people too but it’s hard to have any civic pride in where you’re from if it fundamentally feels like it’s getting worse and there’s little prospect of regeneration on the horizon.
jlt33333@reddit
We all worked in shops and restaurants that no longer exist in our town centre!
spyder52@reddit
Dude that was like 2016, house prices are the same price in London at least.
joshii87@reddit
I’m 38, moved to London at 26 and it was always unattainable for me. I’m finally getting on the property ladder this year (shared ownership), but it won’t be somewhere I’ll ever sell and I’m basically regarding it as a cheaper and more secure rental.
jlt33333@reddit
Yes London has always had a premium and been unattainable for most. Unfortunately in the last decade that premium has now spread to towns which don't offer anything except good links to London.
W51976@reddit
That’s what my negative family said about my generation when I left school in 1992.
There’s always been a slightly unhealthy negative attitude in the UK.
Plus, if you are doing well, don’t tell anyone, many people will be jealous.
Tiny-Economics1963@reddit
this attitude is whats wrong with this country, just keep kicking that can down the road see where it leads you
wholesomechunk@reddit
Superyacht sales are soaring.
jlt33333@reddit
Considering the climb in house prices relative to salaries since 1992, I would say it's definitely warranted now more than ever.
oldt1mer@reddit
how odd what a difference two years makes! i started uni knowing i would almost certainly struggle with both
360Saturn@reddit
Nail on the head here. That's the biggest difference today, anyone can worry about things that it used to be only the people that royally fucked up and screwed themselves over would have to worry about.
Imwaymoreflythanyou@reddit
I mean I’m the same age as you and I’ve accepted a house and family are just unobtainable for me.
jlt33333@reddit
Yes but since 2016 the house prices have risen roughly 30 -40% so it feels even more unattainable now then it did when we were Gen Z's age.
Sad-Peace@reddit
I’m 33 and the anxiety was definitely growing when I left uni, it was quite difficult to get a job at that time. But it’s got much much worse for those younger than us, I feel bad for them.
ChrisRR@reddit
The internet in general has popularised moaning and ragebait
MarshalOverflow@reddit
Justifiably so. They've been utterly betrayed and cast to the wolves.
Active_Hawk_9897@reddit
Betrayed by whom and cast to what?
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
By Brexitors and boomers, snapping up all the cheap property at the time, and renting for gazillions.
Geryrude@reddit
Haven't gone far enough with that I feel.
The last few generations have literally raped and poisoned our planet to extinction levels.
They have become financially secure through nothing more than being able to buy a house at a reasonable cost relative to their salary(they will quickly point out the interest rate they had to borrow that £100 at though) and now believe the following generations are just lazy, workshy, emotionally unstable wasters.
Never mind the fact our air is unclean, our water is poisoned, our food is dripping with forever chemicals.
The average UK house price is £300k whilst the average salary is £39k.
In 1960 the average house price was £2300 and the average salary around £960.
In 1980 the average house price was £23000 compared to an average salary around £6000.
We obviously just need to work harder in this incredibly buoyant employment climate.
Then to really stick the boot in they looked back in to the past with their rheumy eyes and decided we should absolutely tell our closest neighbours and ally's, not to mention the providers of most of our food and trade.... To unequivocally go fuck themselves.
Active_Hawk_9897@reddit
Zoom out. A poor British person with access to the NHS, clean water, state benefits, free schooling, and legal protections, lives a life of material security that billions of people on Earth cannot access.
But yes, blame the elderly.
Geryrude@reddit
I'd call the NHS false hope nowadays. Someone who gets concerning symptoms in Somalia recognises they are going to die. We get put on a waiting list or told we are being melodramatic and sent away to die of those same symptoms. The NHS is an amazing institution, but it's underfunded, over managed, understaffed and at breaking point. Oh, and it's also solely propped up by demographics that a vocal minority of our population now seems to hate.
Our education system is one of the worst performing provisions in Europe, something else I wouldn't cite as a positive.
Legal protections - that successive governments have tried to erode.
Material security - yeah I'll give you that for that, compared to third world countries but non of our contemporaries.
So sure, you cheerlead for the UK being better than developing countries and we will all think ourselves lucky.
Best_Judgment_1147@reddit
False Hope is a good way of describing it.
In my late 20s I had some pretty severe stomach pain, think sweating, pale etc. It took me three tries 8am ringing my GP to be told they had no appointments, then ringing the non-emergency line two different days in a row to finally be seen. Five days I lived with the feeling I was being punctured front to back with an apple corer that no painkillers touched. The non-em got me into the GP and I had a severe kidney infection that if it got worse, I was told to call the ambulance. Let's sit with that one, five days because no one took it seriously until one 112 operator took a bit of sympathy.
I then had to hobble a good mile and a half to our local Boots because the actual Boots at the doctors had none of the antibiotics they gave me and when I got there, the other Boots only had half the amount I needed and told me to come back tomorrow. I did not own a car. I was shuffling miles hunched out her like I came from Notre Dame because I also had a 2 mile walk back to my parents place.
My stepfather got similar symptoms and was immediately rushed in the same day. No severe kidney infection, but kidney stones. Same day due to his age.
Geryrude@reddit
Sadly hear more and more stories like this now. Sorry you had to go through it.
Wife was on anti anxiety / anti depressants for about 10 months as she kept going back to doctors with excruciating pain in her stomach. They told her it was all in her head and prescribed the above. Pain didn't go away, got consistently worse and the doctors kept upping her prescription. Turned out to be gallstones, they were removed, pain stopped and she had to withdraw from sertraline and mirtazapine which was a shite experience in itself.
I do think the care we are given is very prejudiced gender wise.
Active_Hawk_9897@reddit
I'm more about expressing gratitude and actively seeking to make things better, rather than circle jerking over how hard life is and spaffing over how terrible the elderly are.
James730730@reddit
"PeOpLe hAvE It wOrSe"
People have it better than you, stop being happy.
Active_Hawk_9897@reddit
Bitterness and cynicism will take you far in life hun x
ExoticMangoz@reddit
Blind head-in-the-sand subservience won’t take you anywhere
BandMBargains@reddit
except education is not free, water is overpriced and supposedly full of sewage and most of peoples benefits goes straight to landlords.
Active_Hawk_9897@reddit
🤗
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
Absolutely, I was just being tame, and I've repeated myself so many times over many posts it gets tiring.
Educational_Cow111@reddit
“Brexitors and boomers” I’m stealing this 😭
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
:)
SpareSurprise1308@reddit
Boomers and pensioners on their cushy triple lock pensions sucking the wealth from the young workers to fund a state pension they’ll never see.
Active_Hawk_9897@reddit
Yeah, those elderly people eh. Ruining it for everyone.
Opening-Context-2328@reddit
Yes.
Tinseltopia@reddit
Betrayed by the policy makers in government. Not stepping in and putting the brakes on the economic system, which is doing exactly as intended and funelling money to the top at increasing speeds.
If you let capitalism play out unheeded, you get monopolies.
Alongside that, instead of taxing it fairly and redirecting that money to alleviate the cost of living and lower corporate taxes, to keep society running, they allow the rich to get richer and the middle class to foot the bill
Society is doing what society does when all liquidity is hollowed out and placed in the stock trading accounts of the rich. The youth are being hit now and we're all next in line
Geryrude@reddit
We are all next in line and that's the scariest thing.
Next stop massive house price corrections, negative equity, and whole post codes of repossessed houses. Living the capitalist dream.
GooseyDuckDuck@reddit
No, every generation thought they were hard done by - no different now.
moreidlethanwild@reddit
We have two adult kids. One went to university, the other didn’t. I can’t see either being able to buy their own home. Cost of living is insane.
I remember sky high mortgages in the 80s, but the affordability was different. In my head it’s still x3 your salary. Our niece bought a flat recently and it was x5 their combined salaries. Previously they did a partial share of a flat (can’t recall the term) where they paid half the mortgage and half the rent and it cost way more than renting but they were building equity. This didn’t exist for my generation. You could afford a home.
I will say that the young are seemingly way more focused on appearances. I have a 20 something niece who’s flat looks like it’s out of a magazine, it’s spotless, it’s beautiful, but I don’t know anyone with a place like that at her age. We all had hand me downs and mismatched sofas and stuff. It’s the Instagram pull in my eyes, or maybe trying to make what you have feel or look good? I find it baffling. They all have time and money to have balloon arches at every single gathering - photo booths and gender reveals and hen weekends abroad that just were not a thing when I was young. It’s easy to scorn and say that they should save that money but it’s not going to buy a house deposit.
Our eldest lives with her boyfriend, both graduates in reasonable paying jobs but their rent and bills and student loan deductions take away most of that. They likely couldn’t even get second jobs because the “supermarket cashier” type jobs are in high demand - graduates, students, working parents, retirees, etc. So the reality for them is scraping by every single day.
I don’t blame them for feeling like “what’s the point” because they’ll never have the quality of life that we have of their grandparents had, and it’s not their fault.
I do put a lot of blame on the focus of university for the young, but our youngest doesn’t have a degree, we had to help pay for her training scheme and qualifications in her field, no way she could have afforded it. Many kids can’t easily get a part time job at 16. I had a paper round at 11. At 13 I did two rounds and worked the milk float Saturday mornings. Different times but I learnt to save and budget - mainly to buy cigarettes and vinyl. Our kids worked from 16 but at that point they’re already doing UCAS applications and it’s like their path is all laid out for them.
I want our kids to travel, go backpacking, but I doubt they will. I’ve offered to pay for it but then they need to figure out covering rent it or losing their flats and it’s just not the priority. I feel they’re missing out on great life experiences but they feel they can’t afford to because they need to be earning to pay rent and to live.
Plane_Engineering_73@reddit
You see here. You have expectations of your children and their life. You feel they're missing out on great life experiences. We aren't totally different. I have expectations as well. As parents we both want the same thing for our kids. As a provider, I still provide those opportunities for my children even as adults. As the man of the family, that's expected of me and I have the financial means to do so.
You can't afford to pay your childrens rent so they can travel. I can. I expect myself to. That's my legacy. That's how I protect my family.
You've gone off, made comments about my abilities as a parent. What about your kids abilities to take care of themselves? You said one won't be able to buy their own home... Does it sound like your child is taking care of themselves. The one who chose not to go to school. Does that sound like you did your best?
What's that about glass houses?
Take care.
moreidlethanwild@reddit
Ok so you’ve followed me to a different thread to continue our discussion? But you’re not from the U.K. are you? So your comments don’t have a place here.
You say my youngest “didn’t go to school”. She did, she chose not to go to university, that’s not school. That decision saved her £60k of debt, and it was her choice. That’s not a failing, if anything it’s smart. She chose a different path into employment.
I’m not going to pay my adult kids rent, whether I can afford to or not. That doesn’t teach them anything. You are obsessed with your self given “provider” role. An outdated concept in the U.K. for men.
Our kids are adults and need to take care of themselves. They’ve been given the tools to do that, but the purpose of this thread was about how hard it is to do that in the U.K. The majority of GenZ cannot afford to buy a house today. You are not from here are you? So with regards to your glass houses, you’re the one throwing stones. You have no understanding of life here to make a straw man. Why are you even here?
Yes we did our best. Our kids are independent and working and living independently with their partners, ultimately that’s the goal. If anything happened to us the kids would be ok, they can support themselves and survive.
Plane_Engineering_73@reddit
Geez that's a really drawn out explanation of how poorly you did as a parent. Good luck in the next life.
Zealousidea_@reddit
Man, are you now breathing slower? And can now talk lower? Do feel relieved now after taking your pound of flesh? I hope you’re proud of what you wrote. You’ve typed out very distasteful comments and showed the world the absolute garbage of a human that you are.
moreidlethanwild@reddit
Well you’ve shown your colours by turning your argument into an ad homenim. We don’t tolerate such here, please see the rules of the sub.
dbxp@reddit
Furnishings have undergone the same process of fast fashion in the last few years. Ikea has always been cheap but their old stuff used to be chipboard, now it's the hollow cardboard stuff. The likes of B&M are selling furnishings which just about look right from a distance but use paper thin wood.
inevitablelizard@reddit
Not just furnishings, I think the issue is things that were once "luxuries" have become more and more affordable over time, while the essentials of secure independent life like housing have become more and more extortionate. So now you have people seemingly having lots of so called "luxuries" but who can't afford their own house.
I'm convinced this is where the stereotypical "avocado toast" meme type talk comes from - older people for whom giving up luxuries for a bit did help because those luxuries were more expensive than today and housing more affordable than today. But they've never updated it for those things collapsing in price while house prices rise faster than earnings for several decades.
Fit-Mistake-4390@reddit
It’s dire.
What’s frustrating is repeatedly being told “if you don’t like it then leave”. As if this is how things have to stay.
I love this nation but it’s deeply flawed and any attempt at fixing them is always batted off as contempt for the UK when in reality I would just be really happy to see the systems in place benefit everybody instead of just boomers who are already well off.
BrightonBaby@reddit
People struggle to pay rent each month and people really suggest they have enough money to leave like it's super cheap to relocate country or something
PutAutomatic2581@reddit
I wish I could leave, but our wonderful nation invented the concept of immigration control and now you can't go anywhere without a decade of indentured servitude - unless you're rich.
inevitablelizard@reddit
The other thing is the ones struggling the most can't leave, because they haven't got the career leverage to be able to move to another country and be accepted. Managed decline basically traps these people in misery. The ones who are able to live are usually the ones who could weather it out just fine over here and be somewhat insulated from the shittiness.
T4rch@reddit
The people that usually echo that sentiment are the ones that don't have it in the first place, always seemed like cope to me
Puzzleheaded-Key2212@reddit
Having money does definitely help. I am not uber wealthy by any means but make a decent living in the oil and gas industry.
It’s nice not having to worry about if I can afford the mortgage this month though or if I want to go on that mini break for a weekend to Europe etc.
I suppose it would suck more if you had no money
pompombum@reddit
Yeah I think there’s a distinct lack of optimism and hope for the future..
Most young people can’t see themselves ever being able to afford their own homes or having children in the future.
Can’t say I blame them to be honest.
W51976@reddit
Not everyone needs to have children, and not everyone needs to own a property either. This is another lie sold to us as a society.
smackdealer1@reddit
You aren't saying that while owning a home and having children are you?
Juucce1@reddit
They always do this. Spoke to a boomer not long ago like this, he owns two homes with one rented out and has a family, but told me houses aren't needed to be happy. I literally just had to insult him, they're disgusting and can't see it
mishlufc@reddit
It's actually incredibly beneficial for a human to have their own place on a very fundamental level. Sure, you can have your own place while renting, but you are subject to another person's (or faceless company's) decisions of what you can & can't do in that home. The psychological benefit of true home ownership is monumental.
ScotlandisThrowAway@reddit
Owning a house is the backbone of the developed world.
Despite their differences, and belief of ‘ownership’ every single major economic theory agrees that housing security is the single most beneficial thing a society can have.
inevitablelizard@reddit
How do you have any housing security at all without owning it? You can't truly settle and put down roots without it.
W51976@reddit
I don’t worry about it, as it’s something that was unattainable for me personally; even 20 plus years ago. I just find other ways around it, like investment plans and whatnot. Not everyone can or will own a home. Plus, I’ve never intended to settle in the uk for the rest of my life. I was born and bred in London, but, have no intention in living out the rest of my days here.
pompombum@reddit
Maybe they don’t.. But it would be nice to be working for something other than just to scrape by!
Personally I don’t want children but I am the guardian of my teenage brother and we have zero left over at the end of the month.
The cost of living crisis isn’t just a myth! The price of just basic grocery items is insane.
And that’s not getting better anytime soon.
W51976@reddit
This is not a new problem. I also see people living beyond their means.
While I sympathise with your individual situation, there’s others who moan about not having enough money, while flying off on holiday 2-3 times a year.
pompombum@reddit
Indefinitely don’t know anyone my age jetting off 3 times a year..
The only people I see doing that are idiot influencers on TikTok.. real people aren’t living like that.
W51976@reddit
There’s a few in my office who do that, all while moaning about not having enough money.
I’m only basing this off people I’ve come into contact with. It will be different for everyone.
pompombum@reddit
Maybe parents helping them or still living at home?
The only way anyone my age is getting anywhere financially now still lives at home rent free! Or making money online. But thousands don’t have that luxury..
CriticalCentimeter@reddit
Im 52 and when I was 21 id have been thinking the same as you.
Chin up. A lot will change for you over the coming years. Hopefully it will be positive
jiggjuggj0gg@reddit
I know you’re trying to be nice but everything has got so much shitter in the past 30 years that comments like this are just patronising and unhelpful. It’s not a situation you can understand.
Itz_jammer@reddit
Yeah I think we’re all on relatively the same page, it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better any time soon and it’s hard to have any hope for change. I don’t think I’ve thought about further than the foreseeable future in a long time.
razordonger@reddit
I am lucky with my job and income, but the idea that I need to keep this up for the rest of my life for no greater purpose is unacceptable.
One thing that has given me optimism has been learning about socialism and getting organised.
It's the only way we're going to be able to build a better society as our current one has given up on us.
i_own_5_cats@reddit
people grew up watching it all get worse while boomers say work harder. stuff costs more, wages crap, nothing feels secure, jobs are tiny scraps now
Bossman_Mike@reddit
My grandparents never had a mortgage.
Born_Lawfulness9494@reddit
If people under 50 woke up and recognised the damage Boomers have done and continue to do to their standard of living & life chances then we'd have a fighting chance.
Paull7@reddit
Definitely
thecxsmonaut@reddit
I'm in my early twenties and have simply always accepted thst I was fucked and would never own anything. Given that we're on the brink of climate collapse and backsliding into authoritarianism and world war. It seems the bad times have only just started and things will only get a lot worse. I don't think I know a single person my age who doesn't feel the exact same way — the emotional attitudes vary significantly (personally I feel quite at peace with it) but I don't know anyone that doesn't believe they are completely and totally fucked. There is zero faith in the system.
CherryadeLimon@reddit
I think we need to be honest that in the UK we’ve always had this stiff upper lip attitude to everything. That whole “you’ve had it hard, but I did too” mindset.
But what’s changed is that it’s now so obvious even older people can see how unfair life has become for younger generations.
I’m in my 30s and some of the salaries being advertised for grads are barely any higher than what I was on years ago. It genuinely makes me feel sick.
You’ve got student loans hanging over people, AI now threatening jobs and career paths, interest rates still far too high, and rent, travel and food costs through the roof.
Inflation has made normal life feel borderline unaffordable in a way I’ve never seen before.
And unlike America, where there’s still at least this idea of the American Dream, massive salaries in some industries, a culture of entrepreneurship, and a more openly positive mindset around success, we just don’t seem to have that here.
In the UK it feels like ambition gets squeezed out of you. Work hard, take the safe path, pay huge tax, and still feel like you’re standing still. There’s no real sense of upside anymore, just constant pressure and managed decline.
At some point we need to stop pretending this is normal, because for a lot of younger people now it is really hard and I have so much sympathy for Gen Z as a millennial. We've had it hard too but now it feels impossible.
simon_grainger@reddit
Fantastic summary of the state of it all.
AlucardVTep3s@reddit
25M - I am absolutely outraged and have been pushed to the point where I want the boomers gone no matter what, by any means necessary. I love this country and hate to see how depressingly difficult officials have made it to live and progress.
We could be innovators and leaders in so many fields but they’re too busy lining their own pockets. We need a political revolution where lobbying and money incentives should be banned in politics.
Their incentive should be how well they can serve their people, not their bank accounts.
Fractalien@reddit
I don't know where your cutoff for modern times is, but growing up in the 70s was pretty grim. Apart from housing being more attainable because of the amount of council houses (almost no chance of owning though), the UK in the 70s was not great.
It was probably better than most of the decades leading up to it though.
notspringsomnia@reddit
As a young person I’d say it can be a mixed bag but generally yes, life is harder for us than people assume so a lot of us are generally more negative about the world. Some young people have developed a “hustle and grind” culture which can lead to (often toxic imo) a more positive attitude, but it is largely negative.
Plenty-Spell9353@reddit
I've had a good run personally.
I'm 27. Started working at 14. Travelled all over Asia 18-19. Went to uni. Got a grant and scholarship because my parents were low earners and we were from a low earning area. After the first year, it was covid, moved back home with my boyfriend at the time, didn't pay rent anymore and graduated. Got a boob job and nose job (cost £6k total) were some serious insecurities of mine. Massively helped with confidence and mental health, I also see how pretty privilege works in my favour now.
Once graduating, worked as a manager in a restaurant, clothing store and then did support work in mental health (did a psychology degree). Now I'm working in a call centre in a weird business but it's the best pay I've had due to bonuses. Recently handed in my notice and got a promotion and pay rise so stayed.
Bought a house in September in Wales for £90k, since then I've bought all the furniture ready while waiting for paperwork to finalize. Paid all my solicitors the deposit and still have £7k left in savings. Exchange happened this week, completion is next week. My mortgage is £451. My income before the promotion was 4.5 times that, after it will be a bit more, still negotiating pay, and that's with worst possible bonus I've had. Now my boyfriend's income is around £1800 too, so together our income is like 8 times the mortgage. It's a 2 bedroom house in a peaceful farming area with a big garden and a shed. I love it. Doesn't need major work and it's ready to move into. Took me ages to find. It's out in the sticks in Wales hence the cheap price. It's not massive either but I want a smaller house anyway cause it's cozier and easier to keep up with.
I own my car, it's a good running diesel. I've got a wonderful big rescue dog who is the sweetest boy ever. Apart from student loan, I have no debt and a good credit score. I pay back my student loan at £20 a month. I just went to Spain on holiday with my family.
My parents were hairdressers growing up and now are care workers. We had a nice house but they were in loads of debt and couldn't afford it. They sold it and downsized but they're old and still working their arses off for their retirement. My uncle recently died before he even got to retire. My grandad was in the army and was a traumatised alcoholic. My grandma had 5 kids, got pregnant at 16 initially and suffered with her mental health. They had a council house and my dad had a rough upbringing without enough food. I find it weird when people sit around and get angry at 'boomers' for how much of an easy life they had. I don't think that's true for most and I also don't think my grandparents or parents had a personal hand in how the world has turned out. They just got on with it and tried to survive like most people.
If I lived somewhere like London my life would be very different and I'd be struggling for sure. I also think I'm pretty privileged in the fact I'm able bodied and able to provide for myself. However, I work kind of in finance and listen to people every day that are paying £200-300 for car finance, massive credit card payments, £120 for sky TV, £100-200 a month phone contracts, stupid money on vapes, cigarettes etc. I think a lot depends on the decisions you make and yes, how hard you're willing to work. Even doing a-levels and uni I worked full-time hours to save up. My brother is a completely different story when it comes to work and he's shit with money so I don't see him ever buying a property despite the fact he lives off my parents.
Born_Lawfulness9494@reddit
Britain is a care home for the Baby Boomers. Everyone else is just there to subsidise their continued luxuries and privileges. A Trust me when I say this: they'll offer to euthanize Millenials when they reach retirement age.
pastafreakingmania@reddit
I imagine an 18 year old in 1917 was probably a tad less optimistic.
We are going to have to do something about the state of the job market though, taking away all the entry level jobs is going to end so hilariously poorly when you have the one-two punch of an aging population needing care meeting a population who never had an opportunity to learn even being self sufficient.
noctenaut@reddit
I’m 32, British and I live between Mexico and Colombia (I left in 2021) - I cannot tell you enough just how much the numbers of young Brits in seeing in both countries has exploded.
I know the UK is in no way a ravaged, war torn country, but it almost feels like I’m meeting fellow escapees constantly. You wouldn’t believe how many times I ask fellow Brits I’ve met, without any other context, ‘so, how bad is it?’ and they know exactly what I’m talking about.
It’s a shame, an ancestry of thousands of years, culture and history - dies off with me.
SparkyWarbler@reddit
Young person here. I see no hope at owning my own house or finding a better job. I feel betrayed by my older relatives, and slowly losing an interest in life in general. There’s no reason to really try either, I won’t be retiring.
You_moron04@reddit
“Study Hard, get A*s, go to uni and you’ll be set for life” is tied for the worst lie I’ve ever been told, alongside “cheaters never prosper.”
You_moron04@reddit
21 y/o here.
Fully accepted that I won’t own my own home (unless through inheriting the one of my folks) and won’t have a family/kids.
Also fully accepted that we’ve failed on climate change and by the time I’m 50, we’ll be facing the worst ecological disasters in history, and Europe’s (my HOME) habitability will be severely hurt.
I was born too young to really see the world before the Great Recession, and have grown in a time of nothing but austerity, poverty, War on Terror, and now international wars involving superpowers.
No wonder everyone under the age of 30 feels this way. We’ve been completely let down by pretty much everyone born pre-1990
Historical_Theme_989@reddit
Shit hole country with shit hole pompous wankers running a shit show lack of jobs , nhs gone to shit , crime and crazy cost of living and housing. It’s all a recipe for misery I think young just realised how fucked they are now
Byeah207@reddit
Ever before? Probably not, but it's certainly very high. Something you didn't touch on that I think also has an effect is the looming fallout from climate change, which younger generations will bear the brunt of. Living in a cheaper northern city I think myself and most of my friends who have partners will eventually buy houses, have kids etc., but not in the same way as our parents. If we do buy it'll be later in life, and it'll be smaller. Kids later in life, so probably fewer of them. In general our quality of life will probably still be fine, but worse than our parents and grandparents had. I pay into a pension but I can't imagine I'll ever actually get to retire, for instance. My father in law basically spent his 20s farting around on the dole and then retired at 65 in a four bedroom house having worked for the same employer for 35 years. That just definitely isn't available to my generation.
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
Whether young people have good reason to be pessimistic or not, that's not going to have nearly as big an impact on them as being told every five minutes that they're some kind of doomed generation. They deserve better than that - they deserve positivity and encouragement from their elders. Sometimes it feels like we go out of our way to depress them - it's borderline abusive.
EdgeOk2154@reddit
In my country of the uk now if you’re a Muslim or an illegal immigrant you will go far and the Red Sea will be parted for you . If your actually British you will get nothing and if dare have an opinion on it then you are deemed as racist and far right
VerbingNoun413@reddit
!dick
deleted_by_reddit@reddit
[removed]
AskUK-ModTeam@reddit
Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people.
Don't be a dick to each other, or other subreddits, places, or people. AskUK contains a variety of ages, experiences, and backgrounds - consider not everyone is operating on the same level or background as you. Listen to others before you respond, and be courteous when doing so.
Internal_Lion_1836@reddit
have a day off mate
Frosty_Leg4438@reddit
I mean that’s just bollocks though isn’t it.
Life is just as rubbish for my Muslim friends as it is for me.
It’s not particularly rubbish for the ultra-rich, who are the ones that promote your storyline (see Nigel F etc)
EdgeOk2154@reddit
I have no issue with Muslims or any person of colour . Some of my best friends are Muslims. It’s the government I speak of not the people
DaveN202@reddit
It’s always been pessimistic, has been for a LONG TIME it’s the culture to be a moaning, self-deprecating pessimist that can’t see the wonders of the country because other countries have more sun or higher wages. Objectivity is a foreign concept to them. This comment will not be popular.
Glittering_Vast938@reddit
Being fed by the same algorithms as older people see…
bbysamurai@reddit
I mean entry level jobs in the mid to late 00s were paying 23k. Entry level jobs now are at 26k at best. Meanwhile the cost of literally everything has risen exponentially.
Strict-Candidate-144@reddit
2015 grad and my starting salary was 14K..
bbysamurai@reddit
Oh damn. I may have been misinformed then.
moreidlethanwild@reddit
My youngest sister started work in 1999 on £8k a year. By 2007 she was on £20k and by 2010 I think £27k. But she was able to get a mortgage then on her salary.
dbxp@reddit
I'm just going through some old paperwork and saw I was on 14k as a student placement software dev
thelaughingman_1991@reddit
Isn't full-time minimum wage £26.4k or something now?
kunstlich@reddit
£24,784.50 a year for a standard 37.5 hour week, or £12.71/hr
Asleep-Software-4160@reddit
My entry level job in 2005 was paying 10k, working at a bank.
rkEi4@reddit
as a young person rightfully so, but also it does feel like a lot of people don’t even try anymore and with a bit of effort and support from each other it could be better
W51976@reddit
I think it’s always existed.
tylerthe-theatre@reddit (OP)
To a degree but I think there was a distinct feeling of optimism and better vibes in the late 90s and 2000s. As a millennial teen there wasn't really a sense of doom and gloom the way there is now, the Uni - grad - get a house in with a great job pipeline didn't sound as ludicrous.
Whereas now it sounds like a fantasy, you can't even get a grad job because entey level jobs are being eliminated
W51976@reddit
There was less social media back then, to the point it was virtually nonexistent. Since the late 2010s, and post covid, it feels like every other TikToker, YouTuber and so on is moaning from their front porch, or sitting in their car, from all corners of the global I might add, and that adds a level of anxiety.
I didn’t know anyone beyond my local area back in the pre 2010 era, but, now I know that Roger in Toronto has been laid off from his job of 10 years, Jessica can’t find a job in Florida, Matt is homeless in New York, John wants to leave the UK, because he hates his country, and this is magnified all around the world.
What I’m saying is, we know there’s serious issues, but, everything feels and seems much worse now because of the noise.
PatchcordAdams@reddit
I swear people just did not give a shit about bad stuff in the late 90’s / early 00’s - on one night out in Brum my mate was robbed at knifepoint, we were almost blown up by the Real IRA, and at the end of the night another mate was headbutted by a bouncer.
Next morning we were like - great night! Didn’t even really register the terrorist attack lol.
Not to discount the current situation - it’s just more boring and shit now.
W51976@reddit
I think there’s always been terrible stuff going on, even in the ‘good old days’. It depends on individual circumstances.
LowarnFox@reddit
I'd disagree by the end of the 00s, I agree about the beginning/middle - I feel like the 2008 crash was where a lot of it changed and people started to realise they might end up being worse off than their parents
W51976@reddit
The 90s and 2000s wasn’t some glorious paradise either. I knew people who were depressed back then, because they couldn’t find work, or afford to keep a roof over their head.
The 80s were even worse if you were from a low income family.
tiankai@reddit
As foreigner, you guys have always been pessimistic, and I don’t mean that in a bad way, it’s just what it is
krone_rd@reddit
Tbh my pessimism pretty much turned around last election cycle.
Sure things could be better. But it doesn't feel quite as hopeless.
baddymcbadface@reddit
Without a doubt yes. I turned 18 in the year 2000 and we had none of this.
By 2005 People were a bit miffed. We still had student debt and it was clear by then buying houses would be harder for us than those that came just a few years earlier. But there was still a general confidence, things would get better because that's the natural order of the world.
Educational_Cow111@reddit
I’m quite young and I love living here, but I’m also financially stable so maybe that’s part of why
AwkwardTie9427@reddit
I think Milennials are beginning to be more pessimistic. You wait, Gen Z will be the same in the next year or so. The cycle will carry on.
Asleep-Software-4160@reddit
The few I speak to in the real world seem to be having a pretty good time, but the online chatter is much more dismal.
BalefulMongoose@reddit
I think if you have support, yeah it can mitigate a lot of the current issues. My sister is 8 years younger than me in her mid 20's, her fiancé's parents bought them a house a couple years back. She can afford to work part time and lifes great.
Our parents can't provide that support and I only just saved up enough to buy a house on my own around the same time. And this is the North-East, it would've been impossible for me achieve down south. The gap is just getting bigger and bigger.
Asleep-Software-4160@reddit
Yes, my younger sister (even bigger age gap) doesn't stand a chance of getting a house, which I did. OTOH she's seen so much more of the world than I ever had the chance to because I spent a lot of my 20s and 30s working two jobs to pay for a house!
inevitablelizard@reddit
Late 20s and it just feels like I have no viable route to any life actually worth living, just a bare minimum existence at best unless I live with parents indefinitely as I am doing.
The doomerism is entirely justified and I get pissed off at the older people who are in denial about it, instead choosing to victim blame young people for it.
Intelligent-Hat-6071@reddit
I’m not even ‘young’ anymore and I’ve carried the pessimism for years.
Even back in the day my student loans didn’t even cover my room rent, so I worked 20 hours a week on top of university.
I worked to get the 10% deposit sorted for a cheap flat, only to be gazumped at the death, and the estate agents eat up their bullshit fees, solicitors being a nightmare etc.
I got ‘lucky’ in the sense I now earn a decent amount, after more education, more work. What I can’t stand is, despite earning a good wage (along with my wife), how quickly the money just vanishes on the 1st of the month. Student loan interest rates a piss take, water bill up 400% in five years, council tax forever on the up.
…..and I’m one of the ‘lucky’ ones. I wouldn’t even know what to say to the youth of today who want to make sometime of life. Don’t do it here I guess.
AdSpecialist5007@reddit
Inherited a country that's been ruined by boomers who've ensured they are the richest generation in history at the cost of everyone that came after.
dbxp@reddit
There has always been angst among the youth so I think it's important to separate that. Amongst people in their early 20s though I would say there's more negative predictions of the future, that doesn't always result in a negative attitude though as some have more of a yolo approach 'we're all fucked anyway' type of thing. There's definitely less faith in the idea of being able to build yourself up.
FilmFanatic1066@reddit
Can you blame us? I’ve only just been able to get on the property ladder at 34
escapingfromelba@reddit
I suspect ww1 might beat this notion of "than ever before" or unemployment hitting 12% in the early 80s, then over 10% after the '92 disaster.
Time-Mode-9@reddit
I would expect so.
Look at what's going on in the world right now.
Lopsided_Snower@reddit
all due to men with small dicks and mental health issues wanting more money and power for no reason other than personal greed, not sure how we got here but I for one cannot believe this is actually real and happening
garlicmayosquad@reddit
If I was 18-21 now, I'm not sure I would even muster up the effort to try. In 2010-2015, when I was around that age, people were pretty positive about the direction things were going. Now, it just seems there isn't many ways to win.
RipCurl69Reddit@reddit
20yo here, YES. I'm incredibly lucky to have gone straight from college into an apprenticeship that's basically set me up for a lifelong career, but literally everyone else my age is either straight up not working, or paying insane uni fees in overcrowded sectors and they're terrified about the oncoming prospect of applying for hundreds of positions, only to end up with nothing to show for it.
Everything outside of that is still a complete toss up. Driving lessons, booking tests; wild prices and insane backlogs that have been a run on since the pandemic. I put it off from when I turned 18 due to a lack of confidence, and in the two years since the wider situation just has not improved.
Trying to get on the property ladder? I've saved up like 10k in the last 2.5 years since starting work and, pooled with my partners savings that are about the same, we're genuinely still so far out from being able to put a deposit down on anything that would allow us to start a family, they want so much.
And you've got the entire discussion around culture and politics that I'm just...fucking sick of at this point. Everyone is so burnt out and just trying to get by
At the crux of it, there's a mote of truth to people saying that the older generations have pulled the ladder up behind them and left us to fend for ourselves...so thanks for that guys, really appreciate it.
greywingspan@reddit
I'm 19 and recently bought my own flat (down-payment of 10%) and it's a bit worrying however it'll be all good. I have good amounts in savings still incase anything happens which is set aside. None of it was given to me by my parents. I bought my own car, paid for lessons and got the insurance myself too. So it is possible. However I've been working since 15, after school went straight into an apprenticeship which I ended up on pretty good money and now I'm on a decent rate, especially for the age I am.
A lot of people my age end up either getting a nicer car, going out most/every weekend or traveling and that's what all of their money goes to. I think a big part of it is because is because of the cost of property etc seeming so unreachable people just don't feel that bothered about it. But also, I think people my age just want to look good so by getting a nice car they can show off to others, same as travelling and going out, so they can post it all on their social medias.
I'm pretty optimistic as I'm set up and will be for the rest of my life where I work if I'd like that, however, I don't think it is so easy for others necessarily
Capt_Capital@reddit
the pessimism is definitely real. I think average house prices in & around major cities continue to rise while the average graduate salary is lagging behind making it near impossible to get a mortgage on an average salary without a partner. plan 2 student loans also have graduates drowning in debt that keeps rising despite paying thousands each year.
the whole idea we were told in secondary school of go to uni and get a job isn't working out as well as it did for previous generations. especially with AI things are going to get even harder, office jobs are probably going to be hit the hardest. currently you're better off doing an apprenticeship and learning a trade than going to uni unless you're doing STEM at a top uni, and even then it isn't completely risk free.
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
Yes, speaking as a relatively young adult.
OldEcho@reddit
I just wish people would be less pessimistic and more furious and connected to each other. We can change, it doesn't have to suck this bad just to survive.
W51976@reddit
A lot of people have become too self absorbed to even consider just how bad things are for others around them.
spoo4brains@reddit
Speaking as an old fart, I don't blame you!
Own-Jeweler3169@reddit
Understanding how it is for the younger generation by default makes you not an old fart!
AnonymousTimewaster@reddit
Almost 30 here and you could see the signs of where we're at now when I left uni. My year group haven't had an easy ride of it, but I just know it gets harder and harder the younger you are. I feel really sorry for my nieces. There's no light at the end of the tunnel.
xxxxxxxxxooxxxxxxxxx@reddit
I am thankful that I’m in my 30s.
I sometimes miss my youth but I wouldn’t want to be starting out in the UK as a teenager / in early 20s today.
Cost of housing is fucked. You’ll see huge numbers of people living with their parents into their 20s and 30s in the coming decades.
Saibot-roylat@reddit
I just turned 27. Tried to do everything as best as I could, went to uni studied engineering (graduated during covid). Didn't get an engineering job for ≈2 years. Then when I did I was massively overworked and underpaid, 4 years later I have quit my job after a mental health breakdown and now living off savings till I work out what to do. However it is very safe to say I will not be returning to the engineering industry in the UK as an employee.
Now granted my perspective is only from a small experience but it feels like a race to the bottom from what I've seen. Too many applicants for too few positions means people are desperate and are taking salaries way beneath their worth, myself included. I have no idea how to fix it, i just know i dont want to play that game anymore.
No_Candle2537@reddit
Early 20s with an education in sociology and law.
I know how disadvantaged I am, I know how unfair the system is. I know that in spite of those I am incredibly lucky, and yet all the odds are still stacked against me.
I know the children of the wealthy don't share my struggles - often they don't even see it. The gap between the circumstances in which we are born is only growing wider and harder to bridge.
While those who were born into wealthy families have no concerns about funding higher education, the wealth gap grows leaving more and more of us to struggle to keep a roof over our heads while we work to attain ours. All while the media is filled with scare after scare about the job market, the economy, housing prices.
It's hard for the struggle to feel worthwhile in the depths of things. And even when you know deep down it's worth trying, it's emotionally exhausting to try stay afloat when it seems your aspirations are only slipping further away.
Final-Accident-3@reddit
because the uk offers basically nothing now lol. the value of an average wage is massively reduced compared to 20 years ago, the job sectors been nuked, public services are abysmal and taxes and costs are only going up. and all of this is out of our control
all i feel towards this country is pessimism at the moment lmao
Tigertotz_411@reddit
People who have nothing to complain about won't be vocalising it online. You have to beware of bias.
There's struggles, but there have always been struggles. People used to die younger, for example. Jobs and workplaces were often less safe (remember Hillsborough?). Yeah, a house might be more affordable (in some areas) but these areas were often not desirable, also you still had international political issues and a looming risk of wars (just with different people fighting them) to contend with.
_Rookwood_@reddit
Twenty years ago we were suffering from a spiritual malaise as we felt our rising prosperity was meaningless. Now we have both spiritual malaise and economic stagnation as the lives for most people haven't improved as they have done in the past. So I think the despondency is justified and it's sad that young adults are picking up on that so early.
SermoLupiAdAnglos@reddit
I just turned 30, so just a small ways out of your age bracket...
But yeah... for good reason. You can't get ahead and the country is basically totally fucked yet nobody in power will dare to admit it.
Things won't be getting better at all in our lifetimes.
I took my education seriously, work hard, I earn essentially £50k per annum, and am looking at mortgages right now. Even with a 10 or 20% deposit on a house, you're looking at £1100 a month for a small semi in one of the lowest property value areas of the country.
That's doable, but it leaves you in a very vulnerable position financially with really very little left over for even mild luxuries, god forbid a major unexpected cost like a car repair.
And i'm one of the lucky ones with a half-decent income.
Really to get ahead in this country, you need to be in a couple, with both earning decent salaries and living as modestly as you can.
Public services suck shit. You're invariably worse off than your parents. Social cohesion falling apart before our eyes. Climate change. Overcrowding. You likely won't ever get to retire.
What is there to be optimistic about? I'd really love to know. I'd love to be told things aren't as bad as they sure as hell seem.
ben_-_riley@reddit
We are a pessimistic bunch in general, especially on Reddit. It’s a coping mechanism really. I have hope for the future regardless, if I didn’t, why live?
Pink_Flash@reddit
If you think in terms of the majoirty/average and remove reddits trend towards (claiming to be at least) high earners, yes there is justified pessimism.
What is there to look forward to when working full time doesnt reward you? The social contract is broken, 3rd spaces continue to dwindle, everywhere nickle and dimes you, enshittification of products and services continues every year, they'll never own a home etc. All for the sake of "line go up" from the previous year, which is anything from profits for the select few or just making someone look good at their job by statistics regardless of well-being.
TheKnightsRider@reddit
Whats there to be positive about? They cant find a job or house. The people with the money and houses helped ruin the planet they have to live on. Everything is getting worse, smaller or unaffordable.
Boomers aren't necessarily to blame, they were a product of the time.
Corporate greed is the real evil and you cant put it back in the box.
richmeister6666@reddit
Post 2008 it’s been utter shit being young. I think being a graduate now is probably the worst it’s ever been, no one’s hiring grads because we’re using ai to do all the basic stuff grads used to do.
Master-Trick2850@reddit
I mean in the past 16 years we've had several financial crisis, several recession, 3+ wars, a pandemic
the world went to shit during the pandemic and since then its been back to back shit
W51976@reddit
I’m Gen X, and I’m still renting. Affordable housing has been unattainable for decades, if you are on a lower income.
InternationalGas4600@reddit
Probably.
Internal_Lion_1836@reddit
yes i’m younger than 27 and i don’t have much to add but i totally agree with all of this.
god knows what the future holds for the youth. it’s looking bleak
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