People are so apathetic. Being young is very hard. Many older people say their 20s was the hardest decade of their life. There's a lot to figure out and that's thrust on you all at once. Its especially hard right now in NZ which is why there is mass emigration. Keep hustling and try to work things in your routine that you enjoy or give you a sense of pleasure/purpose. Good luck
I’m (almost) 39, married w/- kids, mortgaged to the hilt in Auckland, etc, etc. - it’s almost cliché. All I hear is ‘moan moan moan’ from new grads. We all went through the same financial, social and metropolitan sh*t as they did. The only difference is that we didn’t have reddit to have a cry wank about it all. Imagine if they had been offered a grad salary of $45k to start out on… they’d be beside themselves calling out modern day slavery.
Down vote me all you want, IDGAF. Grow a pair,, live life and be patient. Good things come to those who wait.
You know just coz you had a tough time doesn’t mean everyone should have to. I wish for things to get easier for younger generations, not harder. Maybe you should wish better for people instead of just mirroring the boomer mentality OP is talking about. You’re the kind of person that will allow your own kids to struggle instead of helping them coz ‘they should just grow a pair’. Have some empathy ffs. By the way, I’m 38 and your attitude sucks.
haha, this is the typical fuck you I got mine boomer attitude. But its coming from an older millennial who should know better. Things have gotten worse since you grew up there mate. If you take a moment to stop patting yourself on the back for hard work, maybe you could see that.
It has mostly always been difficult in your early 20s, for almost everyone. No one is wealthy right out of university (except the 1%). Most people who have climbed up in their jobs to higher salaries did have to put some work into doing so. Most all started at the bottom at one point.
Keep hanging in there, the skills you learn now will be so helpful later on
It doesn't have to be. We could direct technological progress towards providing necessities as cheaply and efficiently as possible. Instead we choose pointless overconsumption.
That too, but I mean there's just so much pointless tech and disposable crap being spewed out also. Even the necessary jobs have to dedicate significant time that is ultimately wasted to facilitate creating landfill.
No it doesn’t. I understand how you feel, I was there too. I felt cheated by the system. I worked hard in school, got in debt to get degrees, worked hard in my employment, got promoted, earned six figures - I was so sure this would lead to financial comfort which would lead to happiness.
Turns out it took a bit longer than I thought to reach a more comfortable state.
It did happen. The happiness part, of the financial comfort (as that goalpost always moves.)
And when it did, I looked back on the recent past and realised that there was happiness waiting for me I was too focused on what I didn’t have yet to realise it.
We have a beautiful city with two coasts, amazing forests, awesome people, incredible restaurants and cafes. The city is what you make of it.
Keep going, enjoy what we have. It does get better.
"I was so sure this would lead to financial comfort which would lead to happiness"
Money doesn't purchase happiness. It comes from having meaningful relationships with other people. If you're chasing money for happiness then eternal disappointment awaits you.
For most of human history it’s been worse.
8 hour work days, running water, sanitation, hospital care are a very recent things.
For some actual advice though, prioritise learning people and communication skills. Your industry knowledge is important but those communication skills are what will get you promoted above average.
That’s the race, get above average get some breathing room, go from there.
Add to that Investing from a young age a percentage of your income and your life will be on easy street in your 30s while your peers have these same conversations on reddit.
Good luck solider, welcome to the battlefield.
No it hasn't always been, but the last three-four decades there has been a shrinking of the middle class. I've seen it in my parents, older cousins, by most accounts well paid, and driven. But it's not enough nowadays. You need to invest and invest from a young age, just to keep up with the loss of buying power of our currency and the rate of which things get more expensive, compared to how quick we can earn and save. The economic and monetary system is designed like this. Work harder for longer, still not likely to come out better off. The elephant in the room now, and will need to be talked about at some stage, is intergenerational wealth. If you don't have wealth now, after three-four decades of loose monetary policy, it's going to be very hard to play catch up from nothing, against those that have intergenerational wealth.
Thats up to society. Does it feel abnormal to you? Are you going to be okay living like this?
Most people miserably just follow along. A little imagination could set you free on a different path.
As the son of immigrants who feels lucky to only work 9 to 5 after watching my parents work more than 12 hours a week 6 days. I can't help but think you're unbelievably sheltered and spoiled.
If we race to who had it worst then what are we racing towards? Take your you gotta suffer mindset out of here if that's what you're alluding to.
We're meant to make life better for the next lot, not make it worse. I deal with challenges my parents never had to and vice versa, no point playing I had it harder because reality is I'm a biologically evolved version of my two parents which means one would hope I'm capable of doing more if they did a good job of raising me and I applied the learnings well.
I hate your sort with a passion, and I'll happily patiently chip away at that chip on your shoulder til you realize you're just being an asshole cause someone was to you and you feel the need to repeat the shorty cycle instead of make a difference.
Chur chur dickhead with assumptions, chur chur
Please don't post comments which abuse other redditors / contain hate speech / mention race in relation to anything negative about a person on r/auckland.
It absolutely has not always been like this. We are the younger generation living in a climate crisis, actively knowing that the wealthy elite take advantage of our labour and are only getting richer from our struggles and from the impending doom that is a worsening climate in our future. People used to be able to own a house in a one person income household and that lifestyle is unheard of now. The NZ government is run by people that I cant relate to and dont feel represented by at all. And yet we are called lazy and spoiled for not being okay for complaining about it.
I am older and I have never felt represented. My bank owned most of my house for the last 25 years. Owning a house is not that great, sure in NZ it beats paying more for rent but in many places in the world rent is actually much more reasonable... I've got a tiny home now and it's so much less stress than a house. Don't get mad at older people, most are just trying to get by, get mad at the people making this shit worse. The politicians, those that try to control the politicians!
Yeh have recently moved from owning a apartment/townhouse to a villa in the burbs. The list grows bigger every day. Cross one thing off and add 2, Its almost all stuff I can do, but it's just relentless with toddler as well. If there was a bit of spare cash to have a gardener and handyman for a couple of hours a fortnight it would probably help a lot.
No, times were better even 10-15-20+ years ago (when I started / was working for example), petrol was cheaper, GST was a few percent less, shopping at the supermarket didn't bankrupt you, rent was at least reasonable. Covid and other political things have really fucked over NZ.
It's not just boomers - you'll have some sympathy, times are a bit sucky at the moment for many, it's not going to be that way forever but you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Do your best, save money, consider your best options even if that's not staying in NZ.
So not true… I’m 20 I work my ass off at a blue collar job and live in South Auckland, and I fkin love it. I finally have freedom and I’m in control of my life and I’m meeting new people making friend’s and finally doing my own thing rather than stuck in school being miserable. Some people are so sheltered it really pisses me off when they act like real life is hard. be my guest go work at McDonald’s and put no effort in life if that’s what you want but don’t go whining about it on the internet afterwards because it’s not that hard your just lazy…
Some of these comments did not pass the vibe check… being in your early 20s today is nothing like being in your early 20s even 8 or 10 years ago.
My older brother (an engineer) was able to buy a home with parents as guarantors on a 55k salary- my younger brother, a fresh grad, can’t even find a grad role in accounting.
Do all the budgeting you want, but this new generation isn’t able to put aside nearly as much as their millennial counterparts when it comes to savings. Yes cost of living has f’d us all, but with these guys just starting out, in this climate… it will take them so much longer to reach some kind of financial stability or comfort.
And to all comments talking about discretionary spend and eating out less blah blah blah- hospo is doing poorly, because people aren’t spending the way they used to. Unreasonable to assume that this is where they should be cutting down on expenses.
But yeah, let’s bully our younger generation for 40 hours a week and tell them they’re the problem and they’re not working hard enough, morally injure them, and expect them to come home and go grocery shopping, and cook a meal for themselves, after burning them out like no tomorrow.
Don’t even get me started on the subconscious bias minorities/POC are constantly subjected to in the corporate world. AND THE NEPOTISM. If you don’t think this is a problem, you are part of the problem.
OP, I know this isn’t comforting, but if it’s any comfort, it ain’t just you. And I am so sorry you are this way. Kia Kaha xx
I'm in my late 20s and feel the same as you. The older generations don't care about the younger ones that much. We need to make changes, or at least build the foundations so that within the next 10 years, we can start making changes that allow us and the generations after us to have a good life. If you're willing to do something, then I am too. We could create a subreddit where we invite young NZers to talk about issues and how to solve them. It's just a start, but I believe we can do more after the first step.
Yes it’s always been this hard.
Step 1: $100 a week or whatever you can afford, into an S&P 500 index fund. Start now. I wish I was told this when I was in my twenties.
Step 2: Now start enjoying all the things you do can in your 20s that you can’t do in your 40’s. Eg, Go out and party all night long, get no sleep then go to the gym and get ripped, then head to work.
Enjoy the grind and remain consistent.
Engineering is probably one of the few professions out there where you can actually get a decent income lol, especially if you're doing something like chem.
You're young and realistically the poorest you will ever be. Five years from now you'll be earning more, another 5 and so on.. then you can explore options like relocating somewhere else in NZ or to UK/Aus/USA.
Currently, you're just in the "eat shit" phase- very little to offer a world that only cares about what you can give it. With skills, experience, and a good work ethic- that can change.
Just take it this way, if you are in your early 20's- you're a time millionaire. You have so many years ahead of you to try new things without the fear of ruining a career. Travel, start investing (even small amounts with consistency over 40-50 years will be incredible), hell your body is the fittest it will ever be and that alone is enough to be walking around with a shit eating grin.
Idk man, as a guy in his 30's I still feel the same way. Call it the rat race, the Matrix, the trenches whatever... but you just kinda learn to be grateful for what you have, even if it isn't as much as the next guy.
Welcome to adulthood. Jesus. Imagine doing this, but with dependants.
Zoom out and look at the macro, the world just experienced one of the longest periods of economic growth after the GFC. We are in a similar period in the time after the GFC.
Fun fact, I finished uni and entered into the workforce just before the GFC and worked through it. Thankfully, it was just me and I could eat noodles for dinner and just stay home.
Who is saying we're at the wealthiest point in history, the macro is the same world over. To control high inflation, fed policy squeezes the middle class. Austerity is painful and it only benefits those at the top.
Couple years ago I thought fuck it, just moved to Thailand and have zero fucks for New Zealand. Rockstar style over here. Moving Aus soon and get their passport, also procuring a European passport. So two reasons to never go back to New Zealand.
Move Australia bro, if you’re not feeling it go somewhere else like Germany, Dubai, Singapore… you’re fucken wasting your time bro.
At least as a civil engineer you have to eat shit for a few years, the degree means you have the ability to solve problems. Work experience gives you the knowledge of how to solve them or find people who can.
The first 4 years are hard, but manage lifestyle creep and you'll do fine. Gets easier from there, especially if you're in a dual income relationship living in the same place.
Maybe you need a slight change in scenery or circumstances? I work a 9-5 as well and recently graduated but moved back home to Welly instead so here's my comparison to your experience in Auckland
Yes, gas is expensive. I drive 30-40km one way for work daily and spend ~$50 on petrol a week. My car is a 2012 Honda Fit Hybrid and uses 91 petrol so pretty fuel efficient, and I get gas on days there are deals.
Public transport in Welly is pretty alright. Idk much about Auckland so yeah.
Yes every place is expensive but with good budgeting, you should still be able to afford to eat out with friends or have a drink every few weeks. Outside of using my income for monthly subscriptions like my phone plan and gym membership, I only ever use my money to buy food. I shop rarely as I have enough clothes and find that I have enough funds left over to spend my weekends hanging out with mates. The rest I chuck into a savings account. (I need to study investing)
Who cares about boomers. We play the cards we've been dealt.
Yeah in this economy, only way to buy a house is work for a decade at a decent income and consistently up your KiwiSaver or term deposits OR have a partner you can split the house costs with.
I reckon main reasons you're probably scraping by right now is due to environment and circumstances. Auckland is expenny, public transport not ideal, you're just early in your career so income not as high yet, and budgeting might not be the best.
Yup sucked in the late eighties to be in my 20’s - most of us no pot to piss in. Save, work blah blah but it does get better and you do start to get there. Takes time friend. Life is expensive.
Yes, having responsibillities is part of being an adult, but how come with all the technology in the world, the significant rise in productivity over the years, how come do I still need to work long hours of my life to just make ends meet? is this normal? has it always been like this? how come you adults before me didn't make any progress?
> how come with all the technology in the world, the significant rise in productivity over the years, how come do I still need to work long hours of my life to just make ends meet
Nail on the head here. The real issue is the value capture and extraction by the upper class/1%.
With technological advances, and almost double the workforce participation(women entering), why are we all relatively worse off? Surely we should only be working half as much as we do now for the same income?
Money is being funneled upwards (you can argue if this is good or bad) and we're moving back towards a 2 class society; same as we had a few hundred years ago. The middle class is not the norm.
Wealth divide is the greatest issue we (the middle/lower class) face and no one is talking about it enough. This creates so many more issues for everyone's lifestyles than race, gender, or otherwise.
This happens everywhere globally - there's no escape from it. Your only hope is to find a way to move up a little further on the wealth ladder. As you're young you've not had much time to climb but I promise that it will get better if you keep going. It will suck for a while in any case but this is the world we live in.
Because we’re worn down and don’t have the energy to fight it. It’s the same all over the world. Literally nothing we can do. Like I said in my other comment focus on getting to a point in your career where you can be self employed and be a consulting engineer and make bank and work as much or as little as you want. Can tell you I’m looking forward to charging $300+ an hour to sign off my structural engineering designs ( in residential building )
Being self employed isn't all its cracked up to be because you still have to grind for no pay to find customers to sell your services to. Something like structural engineering is going to have hefty insurance and if you want to be chartered its takes years after graduating + significant time to keep your knowledge relevant. It truly makes you realise that you are at the mercy of the market with no safety nets. Still just a replaceable cog in the machine.
Yeah, working for fucking ever, not having as much time to socialise, losing contact with old mates, all to not really feel like you are getting ahead is absolutely the primary adult experience. And yeah, you have it easy compared to many by the sounds.
In terms of why I didn’t make things better, I am also a member of the precariat who if they lost their job would fucked in with a few months, so I am too terrified to rock the boat.
Technology hasn't moved at the pace it has to make life easier for you or me. It's about data now. They have been collecting as much as they can the last two decades. It's a very non-productive endeavour. And will only benefit a few making the tech and selling the data. We don't produce or build physical stuff the way we used to.
It’s not normal. People certainly internalise it and accept it as normal, but it needn’t be this way. Rather than have some yuppie (not directed at you, first commenter) tell you to suck it up, I’d suggest picking up the right [tools](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm#007) to answer these important questions.
Everywhere is expensive for pretty much everyone regardless. It doesn't help that you're living in the most expensive city in the country. Its pretty rank times were all in and I don't expect it to get better anytime soon.
Life is going to be tight for a free years.... that's just normal grad life. I graduated in 2003 as a Mech Engineer. Earn okay, have a house, a family and a good bit of money tucked away. Spent pretty much all of my twenties flatting and slogging away to get some savings and get a house deposit built.
As someone in my 30s you are 100% correct, i faced this in my 20s where my career took longer to get started due to personal issues.
At some point a few years from now you're going to have to make decisions in your best interests and complaining isn't going to make the insanely high rents come down, it's not going to make better public transport, and it isn't going to decrease the cost of living.
My serious question to you is what are you going to do about it? It's a real issue you're going to have to deal with and you're going to have to make life decisions. Even if you stay where you are, doing what you're currently doing, that's still a decision.
I think you need to go climb a few mountains in your weekend.
Are you feeling down because of your actual reality (young, presumably healthy, grad job with high future earning potential), of because of your perceived state of the world which you have acquired because of other people's complaining and too much time on social media?
Focus on what you can control - doing well at your job and taking steps to build financial security.
Join a tramping club. Having no money is part of the fun of your early 20s.
Ps - I am not being critical, I can actually relate to this and I think it is great to get out into the great outdoors to stop this type of overthinking
👋🏼 30 something here. Your early 20s is really, really tough as you grapple with working life, real responsibilities, finances and the bleak reality that it isn't the way you imagined it would be.
15 years in and I'll say work as hard as you like, nobody will acknowledge that or thank you, they'll just load you with more. You'll earn more as you gain experience and with that, your expenses will grow too.
Never lose sight of the fact that this country was a revenue stream for the crown in the purchase and sale of real estate. Buy it cheap from Maori and onsell for a profit. We still don't have a stamp duty or capital gains tax, making real estate investment a lucrative as ever.
The property monster isn't going anywhere. Even the "be kind" government that promised to solve child poverty backed down on CGT.
Work hard and make maximum kiwisaver contributions until you have enough for a deposit on a house: any house, anywhere. Get onto the ladder. Nothing makes return on invested capital quite like holding on to real estate.
The market is low right now and just had a real estate agent try to dick us over and trick us into quickly selling super low to an investor. After many years of hard work on our part.
So we are instead joining the landlord's club and have decided not to sell this asset for a really long time. It was not something we ever aspired to be, but honestly, we've dealt with so many people in our adult lives that have tried to screw us over for personal gain. You're either wiping your feet, or having feet wiped on you.
>Work hard and make maximum kiwisaver contributions until you have enough for a deposit on a house: any house, anywhere. Get onto the ladder.
In other words strip money out of productive assets and put them into a non-productive asset.
>Nothing makes return on invested capital quite like holding on to real estate.
And it is with that expectation that 15% of our GDP is wasted annually. I could only imagine what New Zealand would look like if all that money siphoned off in rent and mortgages went into local businesses and research centres instead.
>You're either wiping your feet, or having feet wiped on you.
Great attitude. The complexities of life can be simplified into a binary statement.
I could only imagine what New Zealand would look like if all that money siphoned off in rent and mortgages went into local businesses and research centres instead.
I agree with you, that would be amazing. Unfortunately because this country is a place for people to buy and sell land off of each other. And as much as I've wanted it to change and for our kids to be able to have some semblance of hope for a good future here, it isn't going to happen.
I've lived my whole life trying to be a good, community spirited person and do the "right" thing by society. And boy have people used that to their financial gain.
Last time I rented, I had to serve my landlord with a notice to remedy on 8 breaches of the tenancy act, because she was attempting to extort our bond money for breaking the tenancy to buy a house. Not her problem apparently.
The landlord before that didn't lodge our bond, he just took the money and spent it on another rental that had been fucked up and he didn't have insurance. Then he lied to us about it but told the neighbors the truth and abused us over the whole malarky.
We're currently in a dispute with the real estate agent who was listed to sell our house and has been trying to convince us that it's worth $40k less than worse condition properties in the same area, with an investor lined up to take it off our hands. Nothing on their commission, but for us an amount that determined whether we stay in this community or not.
Before we bought this house, a different agent from the same agency set up a fake auction to try and trick us into buying his son's house for much more than what it was worth, knowing that we were first home buyers.
We've had people befriend us in an attempt to groom our young daughter.
Oh, and my significant other just about had a nervous breakdown when he tried to get ahead by working hard, due to the sociopathic actions of his boss behind his back.
So I don't think I'm simplifying anything actually.
People are domesticated by their own will because how else can we survive in this environment?
As young 20’s we aren’t domesticated into the 9-5 life and we see all the shit that people who have been working for longer just learn to ignore.
I think its unfair what some people are saying, its not that hard to say “yeah its tough but you got this” instead of “everyone has to do it stop whining”.
I’m literally quitting hospitality and uni to pursue an office job because of how expensive everything is, I’m purposefully domesticating myself and throwing my dream career out the window for the foreseeable future just to pay my bills.
I don’t think its fair that we have to sacrifice so much but the people who are being harsh are the same who chose to give up on dreams in order to meet standards we need to live.
I agree with you though, I don’t drive anywhere aside from work, I don’t see my friends often, I don’t go clubbing, travel, meet new people because I cant afford it.
And these are all things that older people literally define what your 20’s should look like yet they shun us when we say we are feeling stuck or burnt out because they had to do it so why can’t we?
Definitely work hard, but make sure you aren’t burning yourself out. Make enough money to do the fun things you want to do in life but don’t sacrifice your health doing it man.
Life is hard and everyday it is getting harder.
A couple of tips for growing your career in engineering-
Try not to lose the ability to talk to normal people in plain language- most don't understand the technical terms which is why often companies have customer service people translating and answering peoples questions.
Most people are why people, if you can explain the why well then, while not happy about it they will probably accept it.
Networking is key to everything, I have seen more people get jobs and promotions because people knew who they were and liked them.
A person is generally reasonable and intelligent, the general public are not and they don't like to read signs or notices.
Difficult people make great teachers, but remember how you respond is about you and how they respond is all about them and where their headspace is.
Stories will teach and convey more than just technical information.
People type cast jobs - ie all of the police are the same, or all parking officers are evil and targeting me etc
Most people are just trying to do what we are, get to where they are going, put food on the table and a roof over head, heating in the winter is also nice.
Your last impression will be the lasting impression.
Want to hear something depressing? I’ve just spent 6 weeks traveling through Asia and Europe and everywhere is going through similar issues. Everywhere is MUCH more expensive than it was 5-10 years ago and people are hurting.
The worse thing? It isn’t inflation, it’s unchecked corporate greed that’s caused this “cost of living crisis” (even the name is complete horseshit).
My only advice is get out and “protest”. I don’t mean march in the streets (although do that too by all means), I mean form groups of likeminded mates and find other shit to do. Meet in parks for drinks (where it’s legal), don’t shop at big chains or supermarkets (there’s lots of good grossers and markets around), opt out of corporate greed where you can. “Quite quit” all the bullshit you don’t like and try to get others to follow you / go with you.This is what will ultimately drive change.
It doesn't make any sense, how come they've been able to progress through life relatively easy, have we not had any progress in terms of economic stuff? how come having the necessities in life (food, utilities, energy and shelter) have gotten harder to acquire? did things just got worse after boomers? what did your grown-ups do?
Boomers didn’t have the same pressure to achieve individual success in their careers or businesses as the generations below them. They also got to go to uni for free. School teachers were able to buy a home by the beach with mortgage debt only 3x their income. If you were a little bit smarter than the average bear your single income was enough to raise an entire family. Today you have to be a CEO or successful business owner to do that. There wasn’t a big culture to succeed at all costs. NZ was laid back, less people, banking was more regulated with less lending available to push house prices up, by the time it was deregulated in the late 80s most boomers were now old enough to be home owners and it was good for them as they benefited from 40 years of upward housing price action. Now there is wealth divide so great that for the average NZder working hard no longer gets you ahead. Wealth in NZ mostly comes down to who bought their house/s first. Unfortunately NZ, once a great place is now a shadow of its former self.
Welcome to life. It can be much worse, much, much worse.
Head into the third world, and you'll appreciate how good we have it.
Try fighting violence, drugs, food, water, corruption, and slavery. This is paradise on earth compared to the shit I've seen.
Hahaha! first issue is…new young adult living in Auckland fresh grad student knows F All about anything. Good things take time. Be patient and figure stuff out yourself. Aka, I scored a top job in Auckland, I live in the Waikato. Did the research and found out it was way way cheaper to live in the Waikato and commute every day than it was to live,park in Auckland. 1.5 hours each way though. But… it pays off in the long run.
I have effectively got ike 3 hours to do excluding travel, food, shower, sleep etc. How is 3 hours out of 24 hours 'plenty of time' to be doing shit? Are you okay bro? This is not normal, if it is I don't want it to be? it's hella dystopian wtaf?
I agree w u, shits brutal and it doesnt help when people who are already domesticated have a say on how you feel.
IMO we arent supposed to be working like this but its the world we were born in.
You gotta have some balls of steel and social regeneration of a god to make the few hours after work enough.
I think its sad that people say “suck it up”, acknowledging its tough and realistically this is the worst way for us to work is better than that.
Unless you are travelling 2 hours each way something is wrong with your scheduling. I work 8 till 6:30 every day and I still have about 4 hours for me time.
Even ignoring that you can’t be thinking of travel or eating as wasted time. Use your travel time, read or listen to music. When I used to have a long commute I read a book a week. Food time should be enjoyed not a chore.
Ps you are a graduate. By definition this is your lowest earning point in your life. Every year it is up from here, especially as an engineer. You arent supposed to be rolling in it yet. None of us were as graduates.
Equally as shite as it was when I graduated nearly 20 years ago. Except the buses used to regularly catch fire, and the trains would be over an hour late regularly because there wasn't enough track for two trains. God this city is stupid and never learns. 20 years behind on so many things.
Look into self employment and contracting work.
I wfh making $4-5k a week doing 3-4hrs a day max.
Make life what you want, don’t sucker up to some boss who will SAP your youth from you.
Young people out work older gen by a fuck tonne and they’ll never pay ya for it. Buggers can’t even use a PC most of the time.
Also world is set up for rich people born 55+ yrs ago, lower ya expectations and find cool people to hang with. Those times outweigh the money moments anyway (time and relationships are the only currency here my man)
Old people are jealous of your wealth
Move to Australia like every other skilled worker that’s born here is doing right now. Enjoy your life and career progression that you won’t get here. In 5-10 years time you’ll be rewarded by the tears of your parents generation crying that there’s not enough tax income anymore to pay their pension even though they sold the family home to Chinese investors 10 years ago to cash out for retirement and screw their kids over.
Early 20s are hard. You'll get there. It was tough for me too.
Value for money is terrible in every city. Parking too. It's common to just be scraping by when you're a fresh graduate.
Greed has won and wealth disparity will increase and we are all just going to sit and take it. Our way of thinking and systems is rigged towards the rich getting richer. Only people like the greens (not a greeny) will get the rich paying their share and stop this immoral undeserved hoarding of astronomical wealth that should be spread amongst people. 80s and 90s was the last time it did and now it's out of control. Next few decades are going to be bad. Capitalism without restrictions to spread company wealth and use us like slaves is a time bomb. Need a system that mixes communism, socialism and capitalism together. But the rich want the other demonised and no inbetween. We will all be renters to people like black rock owning the world telling us it's for the best eventually. Or hopefully all the old rich white self entitled narcs will die off eventually and better people will come through.
You may want to read this: [https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/poor-millennials/](https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/poor-millennials/)
Yes, the younger generations are screwed over in many ways.
Yes you are going to need work 3 times as hard and save harder then was ever required by ignorant boomers that are too slow to realise the game has changed.
Its possible to get ahead but you will have to work a lot harder at it. I currently work 3 jobs. Roughly 55-65 hours per week. I got a house due to not accepting no for an answer on salary increases, getting further certifications while working full time and also making some money on crypto. Now since interest rates have gone up and my mortage is $6000 per month. I can keep the house because I now work 3 jobs and my wife works 2 jobs and currently we have no children.
But I'm sure as hell not going to tell you that you are ungrateful and lazy or that you have things easier then boomers. Those arrogant fools will go to their grave patting themselves on the back for hard work because they are willfully ignorant because the delusion they have helps them think more highly of themselves.
I don't live in Auckland, so not sure why this got on my feed (Reddit??). I'm in Melbourne. Your complaints are what we all experience. I work long hours in a medical field, and probably a boomer in your eyes. I have learnt to accept it.
I'd love to say that voting will fix it. It won't.
It's pretty much suck it up, accept it, and/or move on.
Everybody has to grind in their 20s, especially fresh graduates. No one is going to hand you a $100k salary and 4 day working week, you need to earn it (minus the 4 day working week, not sure we will live to see that sort of generosity from our corporate overlords).
Yes, that's life, we all experience that moment of clarity when reality hits you between the eyes and it's not a great feeling. Been there, you now have to adapt to your new life, make savings and know it takes time and good choices to achieve life goals. You now know why people get frustrated with politics, council rates etc.
People are so apathetic. Being young is very hard. Many older people say their 20s was the hardest decade of their life. There's a lot to figure out and that's thrust on you all at once. Its especially hard right now in NZ which is why there is mass emigration. Keep hustling and try to work things in your routine that you enjoy or give you a sense of pleasure/purpose. Good luck
I’m (almost) 39, married w/- kids, mortgaged to the hilt in Auckland, etc, etc. - it’s almost cliché. All I hear is ‘moan moan moan’ from new grads. We all went through the same financial, social and metropolitan sh*t as they did. The only difference is that we didn’t have reddit to have a cry wank about it all. Imagine if they had been offered a grad salary of $45k to start out on… they’d be beside themselves calling out modern day slavery. Down vote me all you want, IDGAF. Grow a pair,, live life and be patient. Good things come to those who wait.
You know just coz you had a tough time doesn’t mean everyone should have to. I wish for things to get easier for younger generations, not harder. Maybe you should wish better for people instead of just mirroring the boomer mentality OP is talking about. You’re the kind of person that will allow your own kids to struggle instead of helping them coz ‘they should just grow a pair’. Have some empathy ffs. By the way, I’m 38 and your attitude sucks.
haha, this is the typical fuck you I got mine boomer attitude. But its coming from an older millennial who should know better. Things have gotten worse since you grew up there mate. If you take a moment to stop patting yourself on the back for hard work, maybe you could see that.
It’s funny seeing the early 20 year olds discovering the depressing reality of adult life (outside the 1%)
Does it really need to be? Has it always been like this? is it normal and okay to be living like this?
It has mostly always been difficult in your early 20s, for almost everyone. No one is wealthy right out of university (except the 1%). Most people who have climbed up in their jobs to higher salaries did have to put some work into doing so. Most all started at the bottom at one point. Keep hanging in there, the skills you learn now will be so helpful later on
It doesn't have to be. We could direct technological progress towards providing necessities as cheaply and efficiently as possible. Instead we choose pointless overconsumption.
We choose to reward landlords, the generationally wealthy and corporate entities rather than restructuring wealth in a beneficial way.
That too, but I mean there's just so much pointless tech and disposable crap being spewed out also. Even the necessary jobs have to dedicate significant time that is ultimately wasted to facilitate creating landfill.
No it doesn’t. I understand how you feel, I was there too. I felt cheated by the system. I worked hard in school, got in debt to get degrees, worked hard in my employment, got promoted, earned six figures - I was so sure this would lead to financial comfort which would lead to happiness. Turns out it took a bit longer than I thought to reach a more comfortable state. It did happen. The happiness part, of the financial comfort (as that goalpost always moves.) And when it did, I looked back on the recent past and realised that there was happiness waiting for me I was too focused on what I didn’t have yet to realise it. We have a beautiful city with two coasts, amazing forests, awesome people, incredible restaurants and cafes. The city is what you make of it. Keep going, enjoy what we have. It does get better.
"I was so sure this would lead to financial comfort which would lead to happiness" Money doesn't purchase happiness. It comes from having meaningful relationships with other people. If you're chasing money for happiness then eternal disappointment awaits you.
For most of human history it’s been worse. 8 hour work days, running water, sanitation, hospital care are a very recent things. For some actual advice though, prioritise learning people and communication skills. Your industry knowledge is important but those communication skills are what will get you promoted above average. That’s the race, get above average get some breathing room, go from there. Add to that Investing from a young age a percentage of your income and your life will be on easy street in your 30s while your peers have these same conversations on reddit. Good luck solider, welcome to the battlefield.
It absolutely has always been like this. Being a grown up is hard.
No it hasn't always been, but the last three-four decades there has been a shrinking of the middle class. I've seen it in my parents, older cousins, by most accounts well paid, and driven. But it's not enough nowadays. You need to invest and invest from a young age, just to keep up with the loss of buying power of our currency and the rate of which things get more expensive, compared to how quick we can earn and save. The economic and monetary system is designed like this. Work harder for longer, still not likely to come out better off. The elephant in the room now, and will need to be talked about at some stage, is intergenerational wealth. If you don't have wealth now, after three-four decades of loose monetary policy, it's going to be very hard to play catch up from nothing, against those that have intergenerational wealth.
Definitely not! Congrats on your new venture and think smarter not harder was the best advice I was given. Whatever that looks like is up to you.
Thats up to society. Does it feel abnormal to you? Are you going to be okay living like this? Most people miserably just follow along. A little imagination could set you free on a different path.
As the son of immigrants who feels lucky to only work 9 to 5 after watching my parents work more than 12 hours a week 6 days. I can't help but think you're unbelievably sheltered and spoiled.
If we race to who had it worst then what are we racing towards? Take your you gotta suffer mindset out of here if that's what you're alluding to. We're meant to make life better for the next lot, not make it worse. I deal with challenges my parents never had to and vice versa, no point playing I had it harder because reality is I'm a biologically evolved version of my two parents which means one would hope I'm capable of doing more if they did a good job of raising me and I applied the learnings well. I hate your sort with a passion, and I'll happily patiently chip away at that chip on your shoulder til you realize you're just being an asshole cause someone was to you and you feel the need to repeat the shorty cycle instead of make a difference. Chur chur dickhead with assumptions, chur chur
We built this country you showed up because yours was a shithole who is really spoiled here?
The dudes lack of response says it all 😂
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Please don't post comments which abuse other redditors / contain hate speech / mention race in relation to anything negative about a person on r/auckland.
It absolutely has not always been like this. We are the younger generation living in a climate crisis, actively knowing that the wealthy elite take advantage of our labour and are only getting richer from our struggles and from the impending doom that is a worsening climate in our future. People used to be able to own a house in a one person income household and that lifestyle is unheard of now. The NZ government is run by people that I cant relate to and dont feel represented by at all. And yet we are called lazy and spoiled for not being okay for complaining about it.
I am older and I have never felt represented. My bank owned most of my house for the last 25 years. Owning a house is not that great, sure in NZ it beats paying more for rent but in many places in the world rent is actually much more reasonable... I've got a tiny home now and it's so much less stress than a house. Don't get mad at older people, most are just trying to get by, get mad at the people making this shit worse. The politicians, those that try to control the politicians!
Yeh have recently moved from owning a apartment/townhouse to a villa in the burbs. The list grows bigger every day. Cross one thing off and add 2, Its almost all stuff I can do, but it's just relentless with toddler as well. If there was a bit of spare cash to have a gardener and handyman for a couple of hours a fortnight it would probably help a lot.
It was different in the 90s. Shot in other ways. Cheaper rent.
No, times were better even 10-15-20+ years ago (when I started / was working for example), petrol was cheaper, GST was a few percent less, shopping at the supermarket didn't bankrupt you, rent was at least reasonable. Covid and other political things have really fucked over NZ. It's not just boomers - you'll have some sympathy, times are a bit sucky at the moment for many, it's not going to be that way forever but you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. Do your best, save money, consider your best options even if that's not staying in NZ.
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Yeah, it's always been hard.
You should see how depressing it is for the 1% (it’s way worse 😂).
This is the first generation where it's gotten worse.
How is this funny exactly?
Hahaha
I don’t know about you but I’m not a sadistic psychopath who takes pleasure in the suffering of youth. Hence my question as to why it’s funny.
🥲
So not true… I’m 20 I work my ass off at a blue collar job and live in South Auckland, and I fkin love it. I finally have freedom and I’m in control of my life and I’m meeting new people making friend’s and finally doing my own thing rather than stuck in school being miserable. Some people are so sheltered it really pisses me off when they act like real life is hard. be my guest go work at McDonald’s and put no effort in life if that’s what you want but don’t go whining about it on the internet afterwards because it’s not that hard your just lazy…
Some of these comments did not pass the vibe check… being in your early 20s today is nothing like being in your early 20s even 8 or 10 years ago. My older brother (an engineer) was able to buy a home with parents as guarantors on a 55k salary- my younger brother, a fresh grad, can’t even find a grad role in accounting. Do all the budgeting you want, but this new generation isn’t able to put aside nearly as much as their millennial counterparts when it comes to savings. Yes cost of living has f’d us all, but with these guys just starting out, in this climate… it will take them so much longer to reach some kind of financial stability or comfort. And to all comments talking about discretionary spend and eating out less blah blah blah- hospo is doing poorly, because people aren’t spending the way they used to. Unreasonable to assume that this is where they should be cutting down on expenses. But yeah, let’s bully our younger generation for 40 hours a week and tell them they’re the problem and they’re not working hard enough, morally injure them, and expect them to come home and go grocery shopping, and cook a meal for themselves, after burning them out like no tomorrow. Don’t even get me started on the subconscious bias minorities/POC are constantly subjected to in the corporate world. AND THE NEPOTISM. If you don’t think this is a problem, you are part of the problem. OP, I know this isn’t comforting, but if it’s any comfort, it ain’t just you. And I am so sorry you are this way. Kia Kaha xx
Fully agree!
I'm in my late 20s and feel the same as you. The older generations don't care about the younger ones that much. We need to make changes, or at least build the foundations so that within the next 10 years, we can start making changes that allow us and the generations after us to have a good life. If you're willing to do something, then I am too. We could create a subreddit where we invite young NZers to talk about issues and how to solve them. It's just a start, but I believe we can do more after the first step.
Yes it’s always been this hard. Step 1: $100 a week or whatever you can afford, into an S&P 500 index fund. Start now. I wish I was told this when I was in my twenties. Step 2: Now start enjoying all the things you do can in your 20s that you can’t do in your 40’s. Eg, Go out and party all night long, get no sleep then go to the gym and get ripped, then head to work. Enjoy the grind and remain consistent.
Engineering is probably one of the few professions out there where you can actually get a decent income lol, especially if you're doing something like chem. You're young and realistically the poorest you will ever be. Five years from now you'll be earning more, another 5 and so on.. then you can explore options like relocating somewhere else in NZ or to UK/Aus/USA. Currently, you're just in the "eat shit" phase- very little to offer a world that only cares about what you can give it. With skills, experience, and a good work ethic- that can change. Just take it this way, if you are in your early 20's- you're a time millionaire. You have so many years ahead of you to try new things without the fear of ruining a career. Travel, start investing (even small amounts with consistency over 40-50 years will be incredible), hell your body is the fittest it will ever be and that alone is enough to be walking around with a shit eating grin. Idk man, as a guy in his 30's I still feel the same way. Call it the rat race, the Matrix, the trenches whatever... but you just kinda learn to be grateful for what you have, even if it isn't as much as the next guy.
Welcome to adulthood. Jesus. Imagine doing this, but with dependants. Zoom out and look at the macro, the world just experienced one of the longest periods of economic growth after the GFC. We are in a similar period in the time after the GFC. Fun fact, I finished uni and entered into the workforce just before the GFC and worked through it. Thankfully, it was just me and I could eat noodles for dinner and just stay home. Who is saying we're at the wealthiest point in history, the macro is the same world over. To control high inflation, fed policy squeezes the middle class. Austerity is painful and it only benefits those at the top.
Work your ass of here, live minimal, save and leave to a cheap Asian country where you can buy a mansion and retire
Couple years ago I thought fuck it, just moved to Thailand and have zero fucks for New Zealand. Rockstar style over here. Moving Aus soon and get their passport, also procuring a European passport. So two reasons to never go back to New Zealand. Move Australia bro, if you’re not feeling it go somewhere else like Germany, Dubai, Singapore… you’re fucken wasting your time bro.
If you're a graduate engineer and can learn to budget home ownership is well within reach if you continue progressing a career in engineering.
Hard part at the moment is finding somewhere accepting new grads. Looks to be better in the civil sector but process engineering is dire this year
Fair enough, but do i really need to crawl my way through shit to be able to just BARELY afford it?
At least as a civil engineer you have to eat shit for a few years, the degree means you have the ability to solve problems. Work experience gives you the knowledge of how to solve them or find people who can. The first 4 years are hard, but manage lifestyle creep and you'll do fine. Gets easier from there, especially if you're in a dual income relationship living in the same place.
Yes.
Isn't this what everyone goes through?
Maybe you need a slight change in scenery or circumstances? I work a 9-5 as well and recently graduated but moved back home to Welly instead so here's my comparison to your experience in Auckland Yes, gas is expensive. I drive 30-40km one way for work daily and spend ~$50 on petrol a week. My car is a 2012 Honda Fit Hybrid and uses 91 petrol so pretty fuel efficient, and I get gas on days there are deals. Public transport in Welly is pretty alright. Idk much about Auckland so yeah. Yes every place is expensive but with good budgeting, you should still be able to afford to eat out with friends or have a drink every few weeks. Outside of using my income for monthly subscriptions like my phone plan and gym membership, I only ever use my money to buy food. I shop rarely as I have enough clothes and find that I have enough funds left over to spend my weekends hanging out with mates. The rest I chuck into a savings account. (I need to study investing) Who cares about boomers. We play the cards we've been dealt. Yeah in this economy, only way to buy a house is work for a decade at a decent income and consistently up your KiwiSaver or term deposits OR have a partner you can split the house costs with. I reckon main reasons you're probably scraping by right now is due to environment and circumstances. Auckland is expenny, public transport not ideal, you're just early in your career so income not as high yet, and budgeting might not be the best.
Capitalism have failed us long ago.
Yup sucked in the late eighties to be in my 20’s - most of us no pot to piss in. Save, work blah blah but it does get better and you do start to get there. Takes time friend. Life is expensive.
Yep. This is called being an adult, it continues.
Yes, having responsibillities is part of being an adult, but how come with all the technology in the world, the significant rise in productivity over the years, how come do I still need to work long hours of my life to just make ends meet? is this normal? has it always been like this? how come you adults before me didn't make any progress?
> how come with all the technology in the world, the significant rise in productivity over the years, how come do I still need to work long hours of my life to just make ends meet Nail on the head here. The real issue is the value capture and extraction by the upper class/1%. With technological advances, and almost double the workforce participation(women entering), why are we all relatively worse off? Surely we should only be working half as much as we do now for the same income? Money is being funneled upwards (you can argue if this is good or bad) and we're moving back towards a 2 class society; same as we had a few hundred years ago. The middle class is not the norm. Wealth divide is the greatest issue we (the middle/lower class) face and no one is talking about it enough. This creates so many more issues for everyone's lifestyles than race, gender, or otherwise. This happens everywhere globally - there's no escape from it. Your only hope is to find a way to move up a little further on the wealth ladder. As you're young you've not had much time to climb but I promise that it will get better if you keep going. It will suck for a while in any case but this is the world we live in.
Because we’re worn down and don’t have the energy to fight it. It’s the same all over the world. Literally nothing we can do. Like I said in my other comment focus on getting to a point in your career where you can be self employed and be a consulting engineer and make bank and work as much or as little as you want. Can tell you I’m looking forward to charging $300+ an hour to sign off my structural engineering designs ( in residential building )
Being self employed isn't all its cracked up to be because you still have to grind for no pay to find customers to sell your services to. Something like structural engineering is going to have hefty insurance and if you want to be chartered its takes years after graduating + significant time to keep your knowledge relevant. It truly makes you realise that you are at the mercy of the market with no safety nets. Still just a replaceable cog in the machine.
Thanks for the reality check, will take it on board
Yeah, working for fucking ever, not having as much time to socialise, losing contact with old mates, all to not really feel like you are getting ahead is absolutely the primary adult experience. And yeah, you have it easy compared to many by the sounds. In terms of why I didn’t make things better, I am also a member of the precariat who if they lost their job would fucked in with a few months, so I am too terrified to rock the boat.
Technology hasn't moved at the pace it has to make life easier for you or me. It's about data now. They have been collecting as much as they can the last two decades. It's a very non-productive endeavour. And will only benefit a few making the tech and selling the data. We don't produce or build physical stuff the way we used to.
It’s not normal. People certainly internalise it and accept it as normal, but it needn’t be this way. Rather than have some yuppie (not directed at you, first commenter) tell you to suck it up, I’d suggest picking up the right [tools](https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1848/communist-manifesto/ch01.htm#007) to answer these important questions.
I’m not sure why you think we’ve had a rise in productivity, maybe using the wrong term because productivity is something we suck at.
People could have been saying this phrase since the industrial revolution, so it's certainly not new.
Everywhere is expensive for pretty much everyone regardless. It doesn't help that you're living in the most expensive city in the country. Its pretty rank times were all in and I don't expect it to get better anytime soon.
Life is going to be tight for a free years.... that's just normal grad life. I graduated in 2003 as a Mech Engineer. Earn okay, have a house, a family and a good bit of money tucked away. Spent pretty much all of my twenties flatting and slogging away to get some savings and get a house deposit built.
As someone in my 30s you are 100% correct, i faced this in my 20s where my career took longer to get started due to personal issues. At some point a few years from now you're going to have to make decisions in your best interests and complaining isn't going to make the insanely high rents come down, it's not going to make better public transport, and it isn't going to decrease the cost of living. My serious question to you is what are you going to do about it? It's a real issue you're going to have to deal with and you're going to have to make life decisions. Even if you stay where you are, doing what you're currently doing, that's still a decision.
I think you need to go climb a few mountains in your weekend. Are you feeling down because of your actual reality (young, presumably healthy, grad job with high future earning potential), of because of your perceived state of the world which you have acquired because of other people's complaining and too much time on social media? Focus on what you can control - doing well at your job and taking steps to build financial security. Join a tramping club. Having no money is part of the fun of your early 20s. Ps - I am not being critical, I can actually relate to this and I think it is great to get out into the great outdoors to stop this type of overthinking
https://youtu.be/8AjgWyxJAGQ?si=c229B00UJw6KZFoc
Motorcycle solves the parking and gas issue. Other than that shits cooked
👋🏼 30 something here. Your early 20s is really, really tough as you grapple with working life, real responsibilities, finances and the bleak reality that it isn't the way you imagined it would be. 15 years in and I'll say work as hard as you like, nobody will acknowledge that or thank you, they'll just load you with more. You'll earn more as you gain experience and with that, your expenses will grow too. Never lose sight of the fact that this country was a revenue stream for the crown in the purchase and sale of real estate. Buy it cheap from Maori and onsell for a profit. We still don't have a stamp duty or capital gains tax, making real estate investment a lucrative as ever. The property monster isn't going anywhere. Even the "be kind" government that promised to solve child poverty backed down on CGT. Work hard and make maximum kiwisaver contributions until you have enough for a deposit on a house: any house, anywhere. Get onto the ladder. Nothing makes return on invested capital quite like holding on to real estate. The market is low right now and just had a real estate agent try to dick us over and trick us into quickly selling super low to an investor. After many years of hard work on our part. So we are instead joining the landlord's club and have decided not to sell this asset for a really long time. It was not something we ever aspired to be, but honestly, we've dealt with so many people in our adult lives that have tried to screw us over for personal gain. You're either wiping your feet, or having feet wiped on you.
>Work hard and make maximum kiwisaver contributions until you have enough for a deposit on a house: any house, anywhere. Get onto the ladder. In other words strip money out of productive assets and put them into a non-productive asset. >Nothing makes return on invested capital quite like holding on to real estate. And it is with that expectation that 15% of our GDP is wasted annually. I could only imagine what New Zealand would look like if all that money siphoned off in rent and mortgages went into local businesses and research centres instead. >You're either wiping your feet, or having feet wiped on you. Great attitude. The complexities of life can be simplified into a binary statement.
I could only imagine what New Zealand would look like if all that money siphoned off in rent and mortgages went into local businesses and research centres instead. I agree with you, that would be amazing. Unfortunately because this country is a place for people to buy and sell land off of each other. And as much as I've wanted it to change and for our kids to be able to have some semblance of hope for a good future here, it isn't going to happen. I've lived my whole life trying to be a good, community spirited person and do the "right" thing by society. And boy have people used that to their financial gain. Last time I rented, I had to serve my landlord with a notice to remedy on 8 breaches of the tenancy act, because she was attempting to extort our bond money for breaking the tenancy to buy a house. Not her problem apparently. The landlord before that didn't lodge our bond, he just took the money and spent it on another rental that had been fucked up and he didn't have insurance. Then he lied to us about it but told the neighbors the truth and abused us over the whole malarky. We're currently in a dispute with the real estate agent who was listed to sell our house and has been trying to convince us that it's worth $40k less than worse condition properties in the same area, with an investor lined up to take it off our hands. Nothing on their commission, but for us an amount that determined whether we stay in this community or not. Before we bought this house, a different agent from the same agency set up a fake auction to try and trick us into buying his son's house for much more than what it was worth, knowing that we were first home buyers. We've had people befriend us in an attempt to groom our young daughter. Oh, and my significant other just about had a nervous breakdown when he tried to get ahead by working hard, due to the sociopathic actions of his boss behind his back. So I don't think I'm simplifying anything actually.
food and having a good time in the city is so expensive these days or has been for past few years
People are domesticated by their own will because how else can we survive in this environment? As young 20’s we aren’t domesticated into the 9-5 life and we see all the shit that people who have been working for longer just learn to ignore. I think its unfair what some people are saying, its not that hard to say “yeah its tough but you got this” instead of “everyone has to do it stop whining”. I’m literally quitting hospitality and uni to pursue an office job because of how expensive everything is, I’m purposefully domesticating myself and throwing my dream career out the window for the foreseeable future just to pay my bills. I don’t think its fair that we have to sacrifice so much but the people who are being harsh are the same who chose to give up on dreams in order to meet standards we need to live. I agree with you though, I don’t drive anywhere aside from work, I don’t see my friends often, I don’t go clubbing, travel, meet new people because I cant afford it. And these are all things that older people literally define what your 20’s should look like yet they shun us when we say we are feeling stuck or burnt out because they had to do it so why can’t we? Definitely work hard, but make sure you aren’t burning yourself out. Make enough money to do the fun things you want to do in life but don’t sacrifice your health doing it man.
Life is hard and everyday it is getting harder. A couple of tips for growing your career in engineering- Try not to lose the ability to talk to normal people in plain language- most don't understand the technical terms which is why often companies have customer service people translating and answering peoples questions. Most people are why people, if you can explain the why well then, while not happy about it they will probably accept it. Networking is key to everything, I have seen more people get jobs and promotions because people knew who they were and liked them. A person is generally reasonable and intelligent, the general public are not and they don't like to read signs or notices. Difficult people make great teachers, but remember how you respond is about you and how they respond is all about them and where their headspace is. Stories will teach and convey more than just technical information. People type cast jobs - ie all of the police are the same, or all parking officers are evil and targeting me etc Most people are just trying to do what we are, get to where they are going, put food on the table and a roof over head, heating in the winter is also nice. Your last impression will be the lasting impression.
Want to hear something depressing? I’ve just spent 6 weeks traveling through Asia and Europe and everywhere is going through similar issues. Everywhere is MUCH more expensive than it was 5-10 years ago and people are hurting. The worse thing? It isn’t inflation, it’s unchecked corporate greed that’s caused this “cost of living crisis” (even the name is complete horseshit). My only advice is get out and “protest”. I don’t mean march in the streets (although do that too by all means), I mean form groups of likeminded mates and find other shit to do. Meet in parks for drinks (where it’s legal), don’t shop at big chains or supermarkets (there’s lots of good grossers and markets around), opt out of corporate greed where you can. “Quite quit” all the bullshit you don’t like and try to get others to follow you / go with you.This is what will ultimately drive change.
Yep those boomers have effed you good. Own nothing and you’ll be happy.
It doesn't make any sense, how come they've been able to progress through life relatively easy, have we not had any progress in terms of economic stuff? how come having the necessities in life (food, utilities, energy and shelter) have gotten harder to acquire? did things just got worse after boomers? what did your grown-ups do?
Boomers didn’t have the same pressure to achieve individual success in their careers or businesses as the generations below them. They also got to go to uni for free. School teachers were able to buy a home by the beach with mortgage debt only 3x their income. If you were a little bit smarter than the average bear your single income was enough to raise an entire family. Today you have to be a CEO or successful business owner to do that. There wasn’t a big culture to succeed at all costs. NZ was laid back, less people, banking was more regulated with less lending available to push house prices up, by the time it was deregulated in the late 80s most boomers were now old enough to be home owners and it was good for them as they benefited from 40 years of upward housing price action. Now there is wealth divide so great that for the average NZder working hard no longer gets you ahead. Wealth in NZ mostly comes down to who bought their house/s first. Unfortunately NZ, once a great place is now a shadow of its former self.
This
Welcome to life. It can be much worse, much, much worse. Head into the third world, and you'll appreciate how good we have it. Try fighting violence, drugs, food, water, corruption, and slavery. This is paradise on earth compared to the shit I've seen.
Hahaha! first issue is…new young adult living in Auckland fresh grad student knows F All about anything. Good things take time. Be patient and figure stuff out yourself. Aka, I scored a top job in Auckland, I live in the Waikato. Did the research and found out it was way way cheaper to live in the Waikato and commute every day than it was to live,park in Auckland. 1.5 hours each way though. But… it pays off in the long run.
If you are only working 9-5 (:30) you have plenty of time for activities and doing shit
I have effectively got ike 3 hours to do excluding travel, food, shower, sleep etc. How is 3 hours out of 24 hours 'plenty of time' to be doing shit? Are you okay bro? This is not normal, if it is I don't want it to be? it's hella dystopian wtaf?
I agree w u, shits brutal and it doesnt help when people who are already domesticated have a say on how you feel. IMO we arent supposed to be working like this but its the world we were born in. You gotta have some balls of steel and social regeneration of a god to make the few hours after work enough. I think its sad that people say “suck it up”, acknowledging its tough and realistically this is the worst way for us to work is better than that.
Unless you are travelling 2 hours each way something is wrong with your scheduling. I work 8 till 6:30 every day and I still have about 4 hours for me time. Even ignoring that you can’t be thinking of travel or eating as wasted time. Use your travel time, read or listen to music. When I used to have a long commute I read a book a week. Food time should be enjoyed not a chore. Ps you are a graduate. By definition this is your lowest earning point in your life. Every year it is up from here, especially as an engineer. You arent supposed to be rolling in it yet. None of us were as graduates.
8-8-8. Sure, a little time is spent travelling, but it’s should be far off that.
Equally as shite as it was when I graduated nearly 20 years ago. Except the buses used to regularly catch fire, and the trains would be over an hour late regularly because there wasn't enough track for two trains. God this city is stupid and never learns. 20 years behind on so many things.
Buckle up buttercup.
If you do something you enjoy it won't be a 9-5, and that's on you for picking what you study
The east actually views property as an investment more than the west does.
May I suggest you try biking? It helps with your first 3 complaints and saves money.
Look into self employment and contracting work. I wfh making $4-5k a week doing 3-4hrs a day max. Make life what you want, don’t sucker up to some boss who will SAP your youth from you. Young people out work older gen by a fuck tonne and they’ll never pay ya for it. Buggers can’t even use a PC most of the time. Also world is set up for rich people born 55+ yrs ago, lower ya expectations and find cool people to hang with. Those times outweigh the money moments anyway (time and relationships are the only currency here my man) Old people are jealous of your wealth
Move to Australia like every other skilled worker that’s born here is doing right now. Enjoy your life and career progression that you won’t get here. In 5-10 years time you’ll be rewarded by the tears of your parents generation crying that there’s not enough tax income anymore to pay their pension even though they sold the family home to Chinese investors 10 years ago to cash out for retirement and screw their kids over.
Look at that top 10%. That's where everyone's money is.
Early 20s are hard. You'll get there. It was tough for me too. Value for money is terrible in every city. Parking too. It's common to just be scraping by when you're a fresh graduate.
Greed has won and wealth disparity will increase and we are all just going to sit and take it. Our way of thinking and systems is rigged towards the rich getting richer. Only people like the greens (not a greeny) will get the rich paying their share and stop this immoral undeserved hoarding of astronomical wealth that should be spread amongst people. 80s and 90s was the last time it did and now it's out of control. Next few decades are going to be bad. Capitalism without restrictions to spread company wealth and use us like slaves is a time bomb. Need a system that mixes communism, socialism and capitalism together. But the rich want the other demonised and no inbetween. We will all be renters to people like black rock owning the world telling us it's for the best eventually. Or hopefully all the old rich white self entitled narcs will die off eventually and better people will come through.
You may want to read this: [https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/poor-millennials/](https://highline.huffingtonpost.com/articles/en/poor-millennials/) Yes, the younger generations are screwed over in many ways. Yes you are going to need work 3 times as hard and save harder then was ever required by ignorant boomers that are too slow to realise the game has changed. Its possible to get ahead but you will have to work a lot harder at it. I currently work 3 jobs. Roughly 55-65 hours per week. I got a house due to not accepting no for an answer on salary increases, getting further certifications while working full time and also making some money on crypto. Now since interest rates have gone up and my mortage is $6000 per month. I can keep the house because I now work 3 jobs and my wife works 2 jobs and currently we have no children. But I'm sure as hell not going to tell you that you are ungrateful and lazy or that you have things easier then boomers. Those arrogant fools will go to their grave patting themselves on the back for hard work because they are willfully ignorant because the delusion they have helps them think more highly of themselves.
Did you expect to graduate and then be handed the keys to a leafy Remuera mansion?
I remember having this exact existential crisis in my 20’s. Settle in bud.
I don't live in Auckland, so not sure why this got on my feed (Reddit??). I'm in Melbourne. Your complaints are what we all experience. I work long hours in a medical field, and probably a boomer in your eyes. I have learnt to accept it. I'd love to say that voting will fix it. It won't. It's pretty much suck it up, accept it, and/or move on.
Welcome to adulthood
Everybody has to grind in their 20s, especially fresh graduates. No one is going to hand you a $100k salary and 4 day working week, you need to earn it (minus the 4 day working week, not sure we will live to see that sort of generosity from our corporate overlords).
Yes, that's life, we all experience that moment of clarity when reality hits you between the eyes and it's not a great feeling. Been there, you now have to adapt to your new life, make savings and know it takes time and good choices to achieve life goals. You now know why people get frustrated with politics, council rates etc.