Expectation vs. Reality: The Hard Hand Dealt Young People in 2023
I&#x27;m a new immigrant millennial to the US (from the UK of all places) and for me the American dream is dead.<p>I know I&#x27;m playing the world&#x27;s smallest violin and I will gather little sympathy since I am one of those tech workers with a big fat paycheck, but the fact that someone like me isn&#x27;t thriving might be another symptom of how fucked up things are.<p>It seems that my timing has played a big role. We moved here last year when the tech market was on fire and people were jumping companies getting obscene amounts of money. Things turned south very quickly. Companies stopped hiring and started laying off people instead. My company virtually froze my salary at the same time that inflation was soaring. Combined with a tumbling stock price, I’ll be taking home less money this year than last. Also my wife has been unable to find a stable job, which has further affected our household income.<p>Buying a home? Give me a break. I love to share the Zillow home price index graph to visually show people how Covid has screwed the housing market [1]. And at least before we had the option to move far from the city to a cheaper location and work remotely, but now employers are forcing us to go back to the office, so the choice is between unaffordable rent or multi-hour daily commutes (I’m in the second camp).<p>I know this comment sounds whiny but I can’t help to feel that we are just getting dealt a shit sandwich after another. We might be in a world of extravagant productivity but I’m sure as hell not reaping the benefits. I’m supposed to be a top 5% earner and yet I don’t feel my standard of living is much better than my working class upbringing - at least back then we owned our apartment and weren’t told how privileged we were.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.zillow.com&#x2F;home-values&#x2F;102001&#x2F;united-states&#x2F;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.zillow.com&#x2F;home-values&#x2F;102001&#x2F;united-states&#x2F;</a>