>be me
>mid 20s zoomer
>finally escape neet cave after 4 years of doordash and regret
>land "good" job in the city doing spreadsheets for 52k
>boomer dad: "see? bootstraps work if you just stop being lazy"
>"back in my day i worked at the factory and bought a 3 bedroom for 28k"

>move to where the employment is like every boomer on facebook tells you to
>everything within commuting distance is either luxury pods or section 8 warzones
>find a "reasonable" 400 sq ft studio in the "up and coming" part of town
>translation: still gets burgled but now they have oat milk at the corner store
>rent: $1750
>utilities another $280 because the building is from 1972 and held together with hope

>take home after taxes and "benefits": ~$3100
>rent + utilities + car insurance + gas = $2400
>left with $700 for food, phone, and existing as a human
>tfw your entire existence is one unexpected car repair from eating beans in the dark

>come home from 10 hour wagecage shift
>door frame splintered again
>tv gone, laptop gone, even the shitty microwave
>police report filed for the third time this year
>"sorry sir, resource constraints, try not leaving valuables visible"
>my only valuables were the ramen and the will to live

>boomer aunt at christmas: "why don't you just save for a down payment like we did?"
>"i bought my house at 23 with no college degree!"
>mfw her house is now worth 650k and she refinanced twice to buy a boat
>"you kids spend all your money on starbucks and funko pops"
>my last starbucks was in 2023 and it was a small black coffee i split with myself

>"just get a roommate!"
>last roommate stole my security deposit and left a note saying "inflation tax"
>before that one sold my ps5 for fent
>current one pays in "exposure" and used vapes

>"move further out then, where it's cheaper!"
>cheaper town = no jobs unless you want to manage a dollar general for 14.50/hr
>or 90 minute commute each way through traffic that makes you want to drive into a tree
>remote work? "that's not a real job, anon. back in my day we had to show up"
>meanwhile boomer is semi-retired posting minion memes from his paid-off house

>even the actual shitholes near employment activity are unaffordable now
>used to be you could live in the bad part of town and still stack a little
>now the bad part of town has $1600 studios and regular home invasions
>at least the crackheads are consistent, unlike my paychecks

>boomers: "just work harder and stop making excuses"
>meanwhile the only people who can afford to live near the jobs are other boomers' kids on the family payroll or dual income tech couples
>mfw the biggest economic problem of our time is that shelter costs have completely detached from wages in every single place that isn't a dying rust belt town with no future

>come home to the fourth break-in this year
>burglar even took the empty pizza box like he was doing me a favor
>at least someone in this economy is getting ahead

>tfw the bootstraps boomers keep telling you to pull on are currently being used as a belt because some guy kicked your door in for the 32 inch tv you bought on credit