3 Ways Millennials Can Rethink Moving

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Social impact is cool. Composting is cool. Giving back is what millennials care about because they are finding new meaning in making a difference. But when the drudgery of adulthood hits, rent, bills, taxes, your classic 9–5, how can millennials, how can you, still make an impact? Make where you live matter.

Become Informed

With constant and easy access to information, it’s astounding that we don’t think about moving differently. The spaces we occupy affect us and our quality of life, almost more than anything else. Our generation lives in such a time of choice. No longer is there just peanut butter, but there’s almond butter, and hazelnut butter, and different kinds of peanut butter, organic, and natural, and anything else you could imagine. And it’s not just peanut butter. We are constantly surrounded by thousands of options. So why is it that when it comes to housing, when it comes to where we will live, we don’t take our quality of life more into account?

The main four reasons people move are as follows.

1. A new or better home/ apartment (15%)
2. A family reason (other than getting married or starting a household (15%)
3. A housing reason (other than wanting a new or cheaper house, a better neighborhood, etc.) (14%)
4. To establish their own household (10%)
5. New job or job transfer (9%)

A large portion of why we move is determined by other factors. What happens, when we start to think about the change and impact our moving can have on the communities around us?

If millennials are really going to create a brighter future, then it starts with the cities and everyday spaces we inhabit. In a time of choices, there is no need for a one-size-fits all solution to your life. Instead, I ask that you do your research and find the city that could best fulfill your needs. Don’t just move to a place because you found a job there, think critically about where it is you could be happy and what markets are best suited for your lifestyle. Where can you move that you could create real and tangible change, and even more importantly, the life you’ve always wanted?

Become Involved Where You Live

More than any other generation we care, and for us becoming involved doesn’t always mean simply donating our funds. Instead, millennials are looking for meaningful ways to create an impact and the best way to do so is to start within the very places that they live.

Jess Judson, served on the board of the YWCA of Flint, MI. Serving in this capacity not only let her live out her personal beliefs of giving back, but also allowed her to see what impact she could make. Sitting on a board is not always easy as a fresh millennial, but these seats can become options in smaller cities in need of more people to become involved.

The Case Foundation has spent years researching people like Jess, and all of this research led them to create the “Millennial Takeover.” What is the “Millennial Takeover?” This was a time when ten influential millennials making a real change, were invited to takeover the Instagram account of the Case Foundation to tell their stories. These stories and voices were published with ten key findings about millennials and the ways that they give back.

As one survey respondent puts it, “Millennials will be remembered for integrating cause engagement into their daily lives. It’s not something they do sometimes or think about sometimes; It’s a part of who they are and what they expect of one another.” This thought that everything can be made to create a better future, means that millennials are able to take advantage of all of their assets, from their wallets to their networks to their social media skills, millennials are more creative in the ways they give back. More than just giving back, they see new ways of creating change. Yes they still vote and sign petitions, but others are posting on social media and others are changing their purchasing habits. In a survey of top actions taken for a cause changing purchasing habits was fourth with 1,339 actions taken in this way.

Think Beyond What Was Possible

Our world has changed. It’s not an opinion anymore but an undeniable fact, and with that change has come new possibilities.

My mom, has always been a nurse. This has meant long shifts, sometimes at nights, on-call hours, and an inability to ever do work at home. In order to take care of the sick, you have to be where the sick are. As a nurse, my mother has never thought of work as a thing you can do at home.

My father, is a postman. Delivering mail is an arduous and very much in-person activity. You show up to the office, get the mail for your route, and deliver the mail door to door. Once you’re done delivering the mail, you go home, eat dinner, go to sleep and get up to do it all over the next day.

I, am neither a nurse nor a postman. Instead, I have a job that allows me to occasionally work from home. All I really need to do my job, is a stable internet connection, my work laptop, and a cell-phone. This ability to do my job from anywhere meant that one week I could decide to “work from home” on Friday and actually do it in New Jersey. The idea that I was not at work, but still working was novel and new for my parents. How could I be an effective employee in my pajamas?

The answer is the internet. The face of work and how we work has changed. Remote work is not just a possibility but a reality. Being able to work from anywhere means that there is more flexibility around where you can live.

AirBnB and other websites where you can rent your apartment for others to stay in, also means that there are more avenues for passive streams of income. How we make money has changed, and this inevitably changes how and where we live.

With more avenues to make an income, millennials can be more flexible about what they want. They can chase passion projects, chase environmental sustainability, demand that they bring their dogs to work. Life no longer looks like it did when my grandmother was a child, which means where we live shouldn’t either.

Think beyond what was once possible, and challenge yourself to see new options. With so much change affecting our daily lives, why hasn’t that revolutionized the way we think about our environment and the cities around us?

I hope you enjoyed this post! In this blog series, I share some stories and excerpts from my book, Millenials and the Resurgence of the American City. If you want to connect, you can reach me here via email gkim9779@gmail.com or connect with me on social: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Also, you can find my book on Amazon — here is the link to buy it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KPCBJDR