No McMansions for Millennials.

[Luminous Animal]

Here's what Generation Y doesn't want: formal living rooms, soaker bathtubs, dependence on a car.

In other words, they don't want their parents' homes.

...

A key finding: They want to walk everywhere. Surveys show that 13% carpool to work, while 7% walk, said Melina Duggal, a principal with Orlando-based real estate adviser RCLCO. A whopping 88% want to be in an urban setting, but since cities themselves can be so expensive, places with shopping, dining and transit such as Bethesda and Arlington in the Washington suburbs will do just fine.

"One-third are willing to pay for the ability to walk," Ms. Duggal said. "They don't want to be in a cookie-cutter type of development. ...The suburbs will need to evolve to be attractive to Gen Y."

http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/no-mcmansions-for-millennials.html

[Lance_Boyle]

1. As if 'Gen Y' will ever accumulate enough $ to buy a house... n/t

[hedgehog]

3. The two of my kids who have bought houses have bought older, smaller houses

with plans to renovate and expand as they accumulate the cash.

[hedgehog]

2. Even though three of my children moved to within 10 miles of my parents,

none of them would ever want to live where I grew up. Two opted for recovering city neighborhoods, and dug right in to assist that recovery, getting involved in block associations, planting sunflowers to pull lead from the soil, etc.

The third opted for a rural home on 10 acres. He is looking at the McMansions going up nearby and debating moving to a town that is more likely to remain rural.

[Ruby the Liberal]

6. "sunflowers to pull lead from the soil"?

Can you expand on that? I have never heard of that before.

[hedgehog]

12. It's called phytoremediation - using plants that accumulate certain chemicals

to pull those chemicals from the soil -

http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/whsuckitup.htm

My SIL and his neighbor dug up the entire back yard and then planted sunflowers. At the end of the summer, the sunflowers were pulled and sent out with the city trash to a land fill.

[comtec]

40. why not just pull the lead from the sunflowers then?

as opposed to putting it back into the ground... just a thought ^^
Or make oil from the seeds, and use that in a diesel lawn mower?

that aside, VERY kewl! :)

[hedgehog]

44. The idea is to isolate the lead; in this case by sending it to a municipal

landfill. I don't know if the lead is in the seeds or not, but I would dispose of the entire plant.

[comtec]

48. well if you can extract th lead, you dont hae to worry about the poison spreading

lead has a lot of uses.
i wonder if the extraction process is feasible, and if the pulp can still be used for bio diesel.

[Ruby the Liberal]

41. That is fascinating. Thanks for the link!

[texastoast]

4. Smart investors will be investing in Smart Growth

There's a good deal of it in Houston how close to downtown. It's cool seeing young families playing out in the parks.

[Warren DeMontague]

5. Meh. When I was twentysomething, I didn't want a big bathtub, either.

I needed something big enough to put ice for the bong in, that's about it.

Car? I needed a strong, exposed metal pipe to lock my bike to, that's about it. Sure, it's easy to talk about walking to the grocery store when you don't have 2 kids to bring with, in the rain. And supplies- like diapers- to bring home for them afterwards.

Page me in 10 years, then we can see if there's a genuinely Earth-moving Millennial 'trend' in the works, here.

[KatyMan]

8. Agreed...

I do think it's interesting that the suburbs are referred to as cookie cutter, when most city neighborhoods I've seen have all looked alike.
And who doesn't want a soaker tub?!?! I think it's more a case of the millenials thinking they're 'cooler' than their parents or something, and then kids come along, a larger car is needed, a bigger house...suddenly the suburbs don't look so bad.

[Luminous Animal]

11. I raised a kid in the city for 21 years. I was 32 when she was born.

No problem with walking in the rain with supplies, groceries, and generally getting around. At age 53, I'm healthier for it.

[Warren DeMontague]

15. Good for you. I drive to the grocery store, and am in the best shape of my life.

Sorry, I don't smell a trend, here.

Plus, no offense- but managing certain things with one kid is not the same as managing them with two. Or more.

[xchrom]

18. however do all those people with children who live in big cities do it?

:eyes:

[Warren DeMontague]

21. It's because they're more holy than those of us who drive to the store.

They have magical eco-angels to help them carry their shit.

[Kalyke]

22. I've always wondered if the offices in big cities around the

world have showers.

If I tried to bicycle to work around here (to far to walk), I'd come in looking like something the cat dragged in. I can bring a change of clothes, but I'd be hot, sweaty and with hair stringing in my face.

[Warren DeMontague]

23. It's a real concern. Both I and my wife have biked to work at various times

Sometimes it's helpful if you try to get a nearby gym into the schedule, too. But that involves leaving really early.

[jbnow]

59. Or a cart. Walking to grocery store if you want to and can is

nothing to mock. Every little bit helps and that is a good thing.

Those little carts are handy. Just fold them and put them on bottom of grocery cart and then load them up at check out and walk home.

It doesn't make them better and they are not who wrote the article. I am not one of them (though I do walk to grocery store or other places when I have the time and inclination) but what these kids want are pretty good things to want.
Though frankly it isn't restricted to their age group.

[Warren DeMontague]

67. I'm not mocking it, not at all. But I think I think it's more realistic if you're

a 2 bags-of-groceries single 20something than if you're a primary caregiver trying to manage, say, an infant and a 3 year old, and you're doing the weekly shopping for an entire family, including diapers.

I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm certainly not mocking anyone who can pull it off-- but I do suspect that these kids may be thinking in terms of how their lives are now, not how they might be in 10 years. If someone had asked me at 23 to design my ideal living arrangement for the rest of my life, I'd be living in a one bedroom apartment full of black light posters, on top of a bar.

[JI7]

26. the Article says they prefer to live in a area with these places nearby

so they don't need a car . the rain ? use an umbrella. if places are close by they don't need to buy too much at one time either since they can easily walk there everyday or throughout the day to get things they need.

[Warren DeMontague]

50. How many kids do you normally take with you to the grocery store?

Just out of curiosity.

[Luminous Animal]

53. My neighbors had 3. No car. No problem.

[Warren DeMontague]

60. It looks much easier when someone else does it, certainly.

But, I'm asking you (or the person I responded to).

[Luminous Animal]

65. None now. They are all in their early 20s

but I used to watch two kids every day for several years. Along with my daughter, that made 3 kids. Since they were all home schooled, that meant that any errand I had to do involved taking along 3 kids.

[Warren DeMontague]

66. Then my hat is off to you, if you could walk 3 kids to the grocery store and get all your groceries

and bring them all home, all by yourself.

Impressive, especially if any of them were babies or toddlers. Did you have a wheelbarrow?

[Luminous Animal]

69. Radio Flyer wagon.

Loved it. You should understand, though, that the grocery store is only 3 blocks away. I didn't have to bring back a ton of stuff. Only enough food for a few days.

[Hippo_Tron]

51. That's a very good point

On the other hand, according to a recent New York Times article, our generation is "settling down" at a much later age than people used to so maybe it will take more than 10 years.

[Warren DeMontague]

61. And I think that's probably a wise move.

Things like marriage and kids should not be jumped into without a good deal of forethought, IMHO.

[liberal N proud]

7. Our first house was just a 3 bedroom house with 1 bath

had one car garage, no dishwasher and only a small corner of the basement to put a washer.

You grow into the bigger home when you have had 3 kids and worked your ass off to make a few bucks.

[marybourg]

9. Ha! I remember the baby boomers said the same thing!

They made fun of "little houses made of ticky tack", but by the time they were starting to raise families they had bid the prices of same up to astronomic heights. La plus ca change . . .

[texastoast]

31. That worked out so well for us, didn't it? n/t

[SoCalDem]

36. Not all of us did that:)

We are still in the 1,564 sq ft house we moved into in 1982.. We raised 3 sons here, and never bought the "big house".

It always cracks me up when people look at houses on HGTV & complain about how "cramped" a 2800 sq ft. house feels:)

[texastoast]

62. Same here

We bought an older home and have lived there almost 20 years. We just finished patching it up so it will be ready for the next family who moves in. I will say I miss my old bathtub from my drafty 1926 home we had before this one. It was much longer, apparently designed to bathe four children at once. :)

[Arugula Latte]

64. Oh, man, I want to smack those people.

They look at the 900-sf master b.r. and say, "Hmmm, I don't know if our furniture will fit in here." ... Assholes.

[antigone382]

10. It is very nice to see the positive aspects of the younger generation acknowledged.

Sometimes the contempt expressed towards young people gets extremely discouraging. Just recently arguments were made that Jared Loughner was just a typical, jaded little snot...likening an entire generation to one *obviously* mentally disturbed mass murderer.

Most of the young people I know are very concerned with social and environmental justice, and far more concerned with ethics than they are with material things. We may not always make it to the polls (though I'd say we're no worse than any of our predecessors in that regard), and we may not be as vocal as they were in the sixties, but many of us are quietly and individually trying to behave in a way that will create a better world.

I don't think my generation is better or worse than any other preceding generation; I don't even think we're really all that different. We're just doing the best we can with what we have, trying to navigate a complex and risky world, like everyone else does.

[leftstreet]

13. Nicely said

:thumbsup:

The older I get the more I prefer the company of young people!

Nice stat in the article, also: 80% want to live in urban areas. Excellent!

[Renew Deal]

14. People want to live in cities which means more walking.

It's the NY lifestyle for all.

[Dappleganger]

16. Young people want to be different from their parents...

who'd have guessed??

[Warren DeMontague]

25. And their parents wanted to be different than THEIR parents.

If the kids really want to be different, they should want to be the same.

...

...


...


STRANGE LOOP! HELP!

[Dappleganger]

28. Yeah, scary indeed!

[DCKit]

17. Bethesda and Arlington are far more expensive than my DC neighborhood.

Higher taxes, too.

[vi5]

19. 20-30 year olds don't want houses?!?!? Gasp

20-30 year olds don't want to live in suburban neighborhoods and would prefer to live in cities? Holy crap this is a seismic generational shift.

I mean when I was in my 20's there was just nothing me and my friends wanted more than to settle down, have to maintain big houses, and to drive everywhere.

Really? They're reporting this as some sort of major revelation?

[NutmegYankee]

30. LOL!

This is very true. I wonder how this poll will change in ten years.

[pstokely]

46. But what about then their kids reach school age

They'll use the schools excuse and move a suburban McMansion

[Luminous Animal]

55. Most people in the U.S. start a family before age 30. If that is not settling down...

I don't know what is.

Most people in the U.S., no matter what the age, drive everywhere.

[callous taoboy]

20. Hopefully they also want to bulldoze the billions of acres of existing McMansions

so we'll have a place to grow our food again.

[gejohnston]

24. Cool

I think this is one generation we old geezers have little right to bash. :hippie:

[Hosnon]

27. I'm fairly certain I'm in this age group at 28. And I identify with these findings.

House: I'll take very nice + small over cookie-cutter + large any day of the week (e.g., downtown apartment, cottage).
Car: Best case scenario I don't have to use one on a regular basis; worst case scenario I'm in a hybrid or electric car.
Everything else: Similar to the house; I don't want a lot of crap but the things I do want, I want them to be nice.

My eye is on downtown living, within walking or biking distance from my work, entertainment/nightlife, and the basic necessities (e.g., grocery store).

[undergroundpanther]

35. I'm 45

and I want to live EXACTLY the way the Y generation are seeking according to the article .I hate maintaining a house, allergic to grass,carpal tunnel in both arms..I hate lawn maintenance,lawns are the stupidest thing ever..My yard has weeds overgrown wild spots and the only thing I like about it is the critters have a place to live because still they bulldoze woods down for offices or a mini strip mall as stores close,WTF..I hate this suburb,it's alien intolerable.I have no car,can't afford it,and the 'public transportation' out here runs every two hours and stops at 5 pm,can't have poor folks having a life out here,might upset the homeowner family twits to see a strange looking punk as old as themselves darting the streets on edges of the Cull de sacks in the DARK on my way home carrying a backpack with groceries in it..eek!... I wish I was in the city,it is so very,very boring here,everything is kid centered family type crap or churchy stuff I cannot stand...I live in the house my mom wanted,and it is killing me from the inside out living in this empty bereft of anything interesting,homogenized hellhole.

[xor]

70. Same age here, and I feel the same way.

I've always felt that way too... Not to mention it really sucks if you live 30 miles from everything, and then have your transportation break down. Then what?

[Odin2005]

29. This Millennial likes smaller places, easier to keep clean.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

32. Yay for lowered expectations,

I'm sure they want all of those things, but recognizing their probably already in their peak earning years is just a little too depressing.

[Johonny]

34. I agree

[Hosnon]

58. I don't think it's lowered expectations; for me, it's different expectations.

I have very little desire to live the way my parents and my friends' parents lived growing up.

[Codeine]

33. they're kids. They have no fucking idea what they want. nt

[undergroundpanther]

37. When I was younger than 16

I knew I wanted out of the suburbs,and I saw the burdens of lawn upkeep, all the cleaning,the kids, the car, nowhere to go,nothing to do, ugh,and I wanted none of it.I lived in the city for awhile, and I LOVED it.So easy to find things to do,so much going on.Everything was so near..I miss it ,but circumstances brought me back(a divorce) and here I sit in the same hellish place I was trying to escape years ago and still I am desperate to escape from it now.

[Odin2005]

45. Excuse me? I'm 24, AN ADULT, and I have no problem knowing what I want.

[Hosnon]

57. I'm 28, own a business, and have a graduate degree. I'm fairly certain I know what I want. nt.

[Hippo_Tron]

38. As a millenial I agree with these findings, one thing about the car though...

Is that it's nice to have the freedom to have one to get you places that public transportation cannot, even if you don't use it on a regular basis. But you do have to question whether or not the insurance is worth the expense. This Zipcar thing that they have in some cities is a really good alternative.

[Luminous Animal]

39. I'm a member of City Car Share in San Francisco. There are 5-6 lots with their

cars within 3 blocks of my house. For longer trips, we rent a car. I love not having a car.

[Name removed]

42. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kievan Rus]

43. I'm 25, live in a walkable neighborhood and don't even have a driver's license

The transit options in my area are very good, so I don't really need one.

I agree with these findings...I have absolutely no desire to live in an ugly, cookie-cutter McMansion.

[Luminous Animal]

54. My daughter and her friends are turning 21 this year, of the 16 that I know well,

only one has a drivers license.

[Brilliantrocket]

47. I'd rather be dead than live in a city.

Living in a city had to be the worst experience of my life. I'd pay more to live as far away from a city as possible.

[AnnieBW]

49. Heck, I'm technically a Boomer

and I don't want all of that crap.

Of course, after a hard workout, a soaker tub would be nice. :D

[howard112211]

52. I'm 29 and living for rent. No plans to buy a house.

I can't help to have a gut feeling that tells me the "I need a house, no matter what the circumstances" ideology is partially what brought us the foreclosure crisis.

[Evoman]

56. Hell, I'm 31 and I still don't "get" the big house and suburb thing.

If it wasn't for my girlfriend, I'd probably be renting a much smaller place then my small 2 room apartment. I wouldn't even know what to do with so much space, singe I hate buying furniture and crap.

I live in an apartment right behind a huge grocery store, and two blocks away from a mall. I love it. I walk to get my groceries and, since I don't have a job right now, I barely drive unless it gets really cold. Yeah, I don't have kids but I don't fucking want kids anyways. I don't see the point in having kids...doesn't appeal to me in the least.

[Spike89]

63. No support hose, sensible shoes, and prune juice either! n/t

[JVS]

68. Good. Drive those housing prices down!