In our generation today, the norm is that the cost of living is simply too high for us to live on our own after college.  The previous generation before millennials (generation Y), generation X, lived their twenties much different than millennials do.  In fact, millennials aren’t just living much differently than our parents, but they aren’t having kids anymore.

”The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released new data showing that the birth rate has dropped to an all-time-low in the United States. It seems that the Millennials just aren’t having kids, or at least they’re not having them yet.”  

There are many reasons why millennials aren’t having kids anymore, and the main one seems to be financial stability.  After college, most millennials are now paying off their student debt, making it impossible to move out of their parents’ home.  It can take years to find a stable career, and even longer to pay off student debt. For previous generations, by age 29 most people were married, owned a home, had stable careers, and were already parents of two kids.  It’s no secret that the norm is moving back in with your parents, simply because of the high cost of living. “Although the recession has been over for nearly a decade, there may be a lasting economic insecurity that is causing young would-be parents to think twice before procreating,” states a Forbes article.  

Some other reasons for millennials not wanting children are staying single longer and getting married later in life, overpopulation, travel, work, or simply just not wanting kids.  But the real reoccurring issue seems to be financial and economic stability. In the Bay Area, the average monthly rent for one bedroom apartments ranges from $1,900 to $4,000. Besides rent, there’s utility bills, car payments, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone bills, student debt payments, and etc.  Understandably, it is just too expensive to procreate. Whatever the reason may be, millennials delaying procreation might have an effect on Baby Boomers and generation X.

“The majority of Baby Boomers’ wealth is not in the bank, in a pension plan or in an investment portfolio, but in their homes.  Despite the popular urban mythology of Boomer life in the big city, more than 70% of Baby Boomers are still living in suburban and rural areas.”  Because of the Baby Boomers and generation X, the demand for suburban areas was at an all-time-high, but it is actually the opposite for millennials.  Most millennials are looking for a one bedroom apartment, just for them and their pet, while baby boomers are looking to sell their homes and cash out on decades of equity so that they can survive the rest of their lives financially; but no one wants to buy their homes, or can buy their homes rather.  

Although millennials aren’t having kids or are delaying having kids, many dream of buying a home, getting married, and having children.  But because of the competition in the job market, student debt, and extreme high costs of living, many aren’t able to live out that dream until later in life.  This may be the new normal, especially with predictions that the next economic recession is coming in the year 2020, greatly affecting those of generation Z.