Millennial Mobility: Rethinking What it Means to Move Today
Millennials are a diverse generation, from college students to experienced professionals with families. Whether renting apartments in the city or heading back to rediscover rural hometowns, millennials are turning mobility and movement trends on their head. As we move, we continue to live, work, build, plant and exercise in new ways.
How we move defines how we live. As adults under 40 outnumber all other age groups in the United States, totaling over 83 million people, millennials continue looking for their own place to call home. But for many, home is a moving target. As the American suburban ideal has evolved, so too has emerging trends on mobility and urban life.
Cities & the ‘Burbs: Measuring millennial movement shows a preference for city life, but the urban-suburban divide is closely tied to changing life cycles. In the “Peak Millennial” scenario, young adults move between urban centers and the suburbs. While we’re not there yet, there’s a growing trend around mobility to reconsider roots with an emphasis on neighborhoods, walkability and community.
Job-Hopping: Millennials are the most likely generation to switch jobs, where 6 in 10 millennials are open to new job opportunities. Moving freely from company to company more than any other generation, this is closely tied to the idea that they are consumers of the workplace. Millennials are willing to relocate for secure jobs, better neighborhoods, and quality of life. As we change and move, so too does the spaces we live and work in.
Design Styles: The neutral ground is out in home buying. For millennials, houses built from 1970 to 1999 are often passed over for older or newer homes. Top-of-the-line, modern residences share the same appeal as the charm and character of older, more historic homes. Right now, we’re a generation looking for mid-century modern, pre-war detailing, and Mediterranean styles.
Plant Parenthood: Yes, mobility extends to house plants! Plants are increasingly part of millennials homes, even as we move. They are chosen for improving air quality, moods, disconnecting from technology and encouraging creativity. With companies like The Sill offering easy-care plants delivered to your door, locally-made pots and “parenting tips”, the trend to a green home is on the rise.
Fitness: Millennials themselves are working out more, but they’re also a generation drawn to fitness tracking, meditation and veganism. Tracking has become so popular that developers are creating apps that function like wearable trackers. The move is making it more affordable for millennials to keep pace, and in turn, that data reflects how people are moving around a city. At the same time, millennials a
