September 28, 2018

Battery Park City and Upper West Side communities transition from middle-aged to millennial

Despite recently ranking as the most expensive zip code for renters in the United States, Battery Park City experienced the greatest influx of millennial residents in New York City over a period of five years. The Lower Manhattan neighborhood, with the zip code 10282, saw a population increase of over 54 percent, according to report released this month by RentCafe. Out of the top 20 zip codes with the highest increase in millennials, Battery Park City, with 2,300 Generation Y residents, ranks third in the country, falling slightly behind two downtown Los Angeles neighborhoods (h/t amNY).
Where are millennials moving?
March 1, 2017

Report says having a roommate can save a New York millennial $728/month

We tend to think of New York as a hub for millennials living paycheck to paycheck, hindered by a higher-than-average cost of living coupled with their average yearly salary of $64,000. But young professionals are struggling throughout the nation. A new report detailed in the Washington Post looked at 25 major cities across the U.S. and found that in nearly half of these locales, "a millennial living alone in a one-bedroom apartment would need to spend more than 30 percent of his or her income on rent — surpassing the threshold for what financial experts say is affordable." The solution, though, could be to get a roommate. Take New York, where millennials spend about 34 percent of their income on rent. By shacking up with a buddy, they can save $728 a month, or 14 percent of their income.
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February 21, 2017

Astoria is NYC’s top ‘hood for millennials seeking roommates

Roommate app Roomi recently compiled data based on the 20 to 36-year-olds searching for someone with whom to split the rent, and the top neighborhood for this trend is Astoria. DNAinfo shared the analysis, which found that nearly 38 percent of Roomi's users looked for housing in the up-and-coming Queens 'hood, and each applicant in this area gets about 20 applicants, almost double all other neighborhoods.
What other 'hoods top the list?
September 19, 2016

MAP: More millennials live with their parents in the New York region than anywhere in the U.S.

It's no one's dream to live in their parents' basement, but since the recession this has been a growing norm for young adults across the country. As Digg points out, a recent study from the Pew Research Center reports that in 2014, for the first time in 130 years, adults ages 18 to 34 were more likely to live with their parents than with a spouse or partner. They attribute it mainly to the postponement of marriage, fueled by social shifts as well as career and salary concerns. But this trend is not blanketed evenly across the country, and a new map from Metric Maps breaks down the trend by both state and county, which shows us that the Tri-State region has more millennials living at home than anywhere in the U.S.
More this way
May 18, 2016

Study: Is NYC ‘Youthful’ Enough to Keep Millennials From Leaving?

Yet another survey on the fascinating habits of millennials comes to us via Gothamist, this time taking a closer look at where that generation’s critical masses are migrating en masse, and why. The Youthful Cities Global Millenial Survey by the data jocks at Decode interviewed 15,000 millennials in 34 cities throughout the world, then divided the results by continent. The study focused on the idea that millennials were more likely to be satisfied enough to remain in their current city if it's perceived as a "youthful city." Some criteria for this magical metric include a government that listens to the concerns of young people, access to fulfilling jobs, safety, healthy residents and access to health services, good post-secondary education programs and clean green space. North American respondents saw affordability as the top concern, followed by employment, safety, and decent public transportation. The survey shows that millennials see "a direct link between having a youthful city–a dynamic, curious, open, inventive, connected and playful city–and economic and financial benefits, including higher employment rates, more jobs, a stronger economy and a thriving environment for small business and entrepreneurship."
We're happier, but less employed
December 8, 2015

Mapping the Depressing Annual Salaries of Millennials Across the U.S.

This year, snake people became the largest share of the U.S.'s voting-age population, surpassing 76.4 million baby boomers for the title. But while this younger generation (generally defined as those born between 1981 and 1997) may be dominating in numbers, they're trailing when it comes to their median annual salaries. This map created by Business Insider using data from the from the Minnesota Population Center's 2014 "American Community Survey" in the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series reveals just what working snake people are earning annually—and the results are somewhat depressing. While Midwest states showing medians in the low 20s aren't all that shocking given a lower cost of living, it is surprising to see that economic power players like California and New York ring in at just $21,900 and $25,000, respectively.
See the map in detail here
April 21, 2015

The Rise of Single People Hurts Affordable Housing

NYC's affordable housing crisis makes headlines daily, but while most are quick to point to the exploitation and mismanagement of existing apartments as the root of the cause (which to a great degree it most certainly is), the Washington Posts asks us to consider the effect single folks have on a city's housing inventory. Today, more and more folks are living longer and marrying later (if at all), and living alone at any given age no longer carries the stigma it once did decades ago. 26 percent of modern American households consist of just one person now, compared to the 1940s when this number topped out at just seven percent. While this dynamic shift seems more like a cause for celebration (yay, we're evolving and defying convention) it does have some serious implications when it comes to available housing. "Our housing stock wasn't built for a society full of singles," says reporter Emily Badger.
more on the issue here
April 3, 2015

Manhattan Millennials Who Can Afford to Buy Are Still Choosing to Rent

Young professionals living in Manhattan who have the means to make a down payment on a seven-figure property are still opting to rent. Why make payments towards someone else's mortgage when you can be paying your own? It's a lifestyle choice, the Observer notes in a new article exploring the trend. "With their increasingly mobile jobs and lifestyles, successful New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s are shying away from making a commitment to one city, let alone one apartment. And despite Manhattan’s astronomical rents, it’s costlier still to buy here, with the average Manhattan apartment now going for $1.73 million."
More on the trend ahead
February 9, 2015

Mapping Where in NYC Millennials Live

The initial results may not surprise you–young adults living in New York City tend to set up shop in North Brooklyn, the Far West Side, the Upper East Side, the East Village and western Queens. This data is courtesy of a new mapping project from the University of Waterloo School of Planning in Ontario called Generationed City. Using census and crowd-sourced data, the project compares demographic patterns of millennials (typically defined as those born between 1980 and 2000) to that of older generations like baby boomers. It looks at North American cities with populations over 1 million where it's commonly accepted that millennials live in central parts of cities. While the largest chunk of NYC-based data is pretty on par with what we already knew, there are some other trends, both within the city and compared with other cities, that are a bit more curious.
More findings ahead
January 22, 2015

Most Millennials Would Rather Live in the Suburbs Than in a City Condo

Has the pendulum swung back to favoring life in the 'burbs? A new poll conducted by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reveals that millennials would rather buy a home in the suburbs than squeeze into a cramped condo in the city. The survey showed that 66 percent would prefer to live in the suburbs, 24 percent want to live in rural areas, and just 10 percent want to live in a city center. The NAHB used a sample of 1,506 people born since 1977 to come to their conclusions.
More from the study here

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