Climate disaster turned these millennials into ‘forever renters’: ‘Being flexible is the new American dream’

Samuel Naujokas said wildfires made him rethink his idea of success. “Maybe there’s something wrong with” the value we give homeownership, he said.

Our climate isn’t the only thing that’s changing. Some people’s ideas of homeownership are, too. Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

By Sasha Weilbaker

Whether you’re a renter, homeowner, or landlord, it’s common knowledge that the pandemic has shifted the housing market: Rent has gone down in cities, many former city commuters have left for small towns, and crowded hardware stores indicate that people are looking to invest in the homes they’re already in.

For some young people thinking about the future, the thought of buying a home is viewed more as a risk than an indicator of economic success. This is especially true in the Bay Area, where the sky-high housing prices and climate change-induced increase in wildfires are making many young people question the importance of buying a home in Northern California or beyond in the first place.

A firefighter walks through a burned property after the Kincade fire tore through Healdsburg, California on October 27, 2019. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images.

One such young person is Samuel Naujokas, a 23-year-old born in Healdsburg, California, and current graduate student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies…