What is it like being in your 20s in the UK these days?

48 comments

1. Awful. No money to spare much. Nearly everyone absorbed by social media. Ridiculous general culture.

2. I recently left mine, but the prevailing feeling is a sort of… hopelessness? A lot of “what’s the point?”

   This subreddit has a lot of people of that age group and captures the feeling quite well.

   Obviously, a lot of the recent burdens of our time have fallen on young people, and it’s manifested as this sort of worn-out lack of ambition.

   EDIT: I don’t think it came across in the original post that I worry this mindset is a *bad and self-destructive thing* that’s making a grim situation worse than it needs to be.

   EDIT EDIT: Maybe I wasn’t clear enough – *this is not a good or healthy way to be living and definitely not what you should be feeling like.* There’s frustration with the state of the world and then there’s genuine mental health issues that need both addressing and willpower to break free from.

3. Finding a well paid job is certainly difficult and economic conditions have not been the best.

4. Just to buck the trend of the depressing answers, I feel pretty good for the most part. Could do with a holiday though.

5. Pretty challenging to be honest but I don’t think this is exclusive to the UK. Although I am overall quite happy with life. I love in north Wales and likes to escape into the mountains where we truly belong, excuse the hippy attitude there

   FYI I am a 26 male with 1 son. 29k per year and struggle to make any substantial savings. Moving up the property ladder is extremely difficult for your average Joe these days.

6. I’m 29 and live in the South East.

   My twenties started badly but ended quite well. Money is a struggle for everyone and we are all moving house constantly to keep up with rent, finding housemates etc. Only one or two of my friends around my age have been able to buy houses.

   We go to the pub but drinks are expensive so not as much as I think we would if it was cheaper. It’s the main thing to do if we want to see eachother though, especially in winter.

   No one really has pets or kids because we don’t have the stability for it ( I do have a cat but probably shouldn’t).

   It’s quite hard as the media and sitcoms we grew up with had everyone getting their lives together in their late twenties but we just can’t afford it. I know a few people that have stayed in less than ideal relationships because renting while single is much harder.

   Pretty much all my main decisions in the last ten years have been dictated by housing availability and affordability. I left home at 16 and have only just got a job that pays enough where rent now isn’t a constant worry and I might be able to live somewhere more than a year at a time. I can’t imagine what my life would have looked like if I didn’t spend 50% of my income on rent for the last ten years.

7. Difficult.

   I had a feeling of not knowing what the fuck I was doing or wanted from life. I felt that I had to have it figured out but also felt too young to know for sure. It had its fun moments though. Drunk way more than I should have and had way more female attention than I deserved. Never felt unhappy though, more clueless about what to do but didn’t focus on it.

8. Would not recommend!

9. Pretty good for me (26). Graduated with a comp sci degree so plenty of job opportunities and comparatively well paid. I feel my quality of life is far higher than it was as a teenager, my job is WFH with a great work/life balance. I’ve “figured out” a lot about well-being and what makes me happy that it makes life feel a lot smoother these days. A lot less anxiety, dread and generally uncomfortable situations than previously. Happy days!

10. About to finish my 20s

    Not bad – own a house, good job, married, very settled

11. I was talking about this with a guy who works with our company who’s in his 70s. He said he was always out with his mates in his 20s and going abroad. Whilst I try to meet up with friends regularly it is difficult. My partner and I moved further away from them for cheaper rent so meeting up means petrol or public transport costs at the minimum.We haven’t been abroad since before the pandemic. I enjoy my job which is great, and it pays more than what my mum used to make when I was growing up, but the money doesn’t stretch as far as it did then. If I wasn’t in a happy relationship there is no way I’d be able to look at buying a house right now. I’m happy, but the conversation with that colleague did make me feel like I shouldn’t be.

12. But shit mate. No more so than being 43 though. The problems most of us are facing in this country aren’t caused by age. At least you might get some use out of the NHS before it gets asset stripped, so every cloud and all that.

13. I’m 28 and my 20’s have been pretty good. Got married at 25, bought the house together when we were 24. Its a fixer upper and 4 years in it’s starting to look pretty good. We do things ourselves to save money (the wedding was pretty DIY too!).

    We don’t drink, smoke or go out but we’ve just had a baby which is pretty expensive. Because maternity pay sucks I’m probably not going to be able to take the whole year off like I wanted to, even though my baby is 2 months premature so if I return to work at 6 months he will still be breastfeeding every few hours and not ready to wean.

    Most of my gripes are about employment law and culture and how difficult it is to get by on one wage. I guess that is affecting all generations but when you’re at the age to be starting a family it’s very difficult to prioritise in a way that really makes you happy. Heck, reading back what I’ve written it’s like I’m describing having a baby as a luxury akin to drinking or smoking! It shouldn’t be a luxury! People who want babies should be able to have them without worrying how they’ll feed them! And that’s on 2 professional salaries! I’ve no idea how blue collar folks and single parents manage nowadays.

14. For me, it’s generally been pretty good, but I have no idea where the rest of the 25 – 30 year old crowd are hiding. I went to a few festivals last summer and everyone seemed to be 16 – 20 years old, or 40+ years old – zero inbetween. It’s the same when I go to gigs, on holiday, or on nights out. Absolutely nothing wrong with people 16 – 20 year olds or 40+ folks enjoying themselves, but you do feel a bit out of place.

    My theory is that a lot of the mid to late 20 year olds are in their “settling” phase, and are focusing on their careers, buying houses, getting married, having kids etc. Either that, or there’s some exclusive mid/late 20’s club I haven’t been invited to…

15. I’m 31 so not in my 20s anymore, but I was in them reasonably recently.

    A lot of posters are commenting about feeling hopeless. I think that this hints at the major difference between now and the past:

    Each generation used to expect, or have hope that things would be better for them than for their parents.

    That has almost completely gone.

    I do well for myself and consider myself lucky, but I’ll still never accrue the wealth that my parents were able to, and my grandparents were able to buy a big house in London and raise 4 children starting with nothing as fresh off the boat immigrants with just the clothes they arrived in.

    The economy is rigged against young people, and inequality is becoming worse all the time.

16. What’s the point?

    I’m renting and would love to buy a house. But what’s the point? I’ll likely never pay it off.

    I’m paying loads into a pension, but what’s the point? I’m going to be working until I die.

    I’d like to see a doctor about some minor ailments, but what’s the point? There’s never any appointments anyway.

17. Can’t speak for anyone else but I have a constant feeling of time is running out to reach my goals and get to where I want to be in life

    It’s gotten to the point where I’ve stopped hanging out with my friends because I feel like going out is burning crucial minutes that I could be spending working towards my goals. Covid didn’t especially help with that either

    I miss pre covid times. It’s never been the same since

18. I guess it’s up and down.

    I’m in my mid-20s and I live independently. A lot of modern young culture is clique driven I guess, so if you do mostly without socials (I do) and don’t drink (I don’t) then it can be really tricky to meet new people.

    Things are really expensive right now, even if you’re on higher-than-average income – I rent and definitely can’t afford a house and probably won’t be able to for a good 5-10 years. A car might be doable I guess, but it’ll take a lot of consideration. The lack of meaningful reward makes work just something to do, I have very little attachment to it.

    All in all, it’s an existence and I’m grateful for it considering that I grew up in a council house. But dear god, it’s not what it was for people from previous generations.

19. I’m 21, Covid ruined alot of time for us. 2 years of uni online and now graduating in a recession with layoffs happening everywhere, is hard. It feels unfair but I guess it’s about making most of the opportunities you have.

20. There is no hope to have a house and start a family unless you have financial support from your family.

21. I frequently think ‘what’s the point’

22. I’m 32, felt like my mid 20’s were the best days of my life and loved every second.

    Less responsibilities, less stress etc. sure less money but more free time to enjoy and socialise.

    Got a mortgage at 27 and feel that is one big factor that a lot of my friends felt hopeless about. My wife is 26 and most of her friends live with parents in an effort to save for a deposit. Which then makes them feel trapped and hopeless from what she says.

    I moved out of my parents at 18 so enjoyed the freedom of my 20’s. Which is probably why I enjoyed that period.

    Everything does seem to be a downward spiral however. We aren’t having children, just feels like a world that grows more and more like a place I don’t want to raise kids in.

23. Kinda just hope I don’t wake up one day, not actively suicidal, but I can’t see things getting any better during my lifetime.

24. Yeah its great tbh.

    Most of us will never own a house, can’t afford the ridiculous rent prices. I cant afford public transport any more, and can’t afford to learn to drive either. Work full time & still can’t afford the bare minimum bc it all gets eaten up by electric, gas, rent, council tax, and the food shop.

    God help our children and grandchildren.

25. We’re the generation that has truly got fucked from the old people ruining the economy.

    There’s zero chance of me buying a house, unless I share it with at least one other person. There’s zero chance of me getting a good job with good pay, a good boss etc, either I’m not experienced enough or at least one of them won’t be good. We won’t be able to retire because the retirement age keeps going up so much that it’ll be abolished by the time we make it.

    There’s just no hope for anything to happen, so I’m just staying out of trouble and doing whatever I want.

26. As someone who came from west of Europe and moved to London for work, I don’t share the same sentiment as many others here.

    I feel excited to start this new chapter and really make some good progress in my career. I earn good money and I don’t mind living in a house share at the moment which allows me to save quite a bit!

    I could see myself staying here for a decent amount of time, but I don’t think I’ll settle as I would love to see more of the world and be flexible with working opportunities for that

27. Absolutely shite. Expected to slave away endlessly to buy even basic stuff, and pay some leech’s mortgage.

28. I work with a few 20 somethings. They are very very tired and are very very tired all the time. A 21 year old girl I work with said she had noticed she and her friends mainly talk about how tired they are all the time, and arrangements often get cancelled because they’re too tired to do anything.

29. Coming out of my twenties this year. My mum used to say “there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel” but that light appears to be so faint for most that I can’t blame anyone for not seeing it.
    My twenties have been spent with my nose to the grindstone in my career, rigorous budgeting and personal sacrifice. I feel fortunate to have what I have now but I can’t help but think this isn’t what life, never mind my twenties, should be about.

30. Mid 20s here. It’s shit. After school I immediately got my UG. As soon as I graduated, Covid and lockdowns hit. In and out of NMW jobs until I finally got an alright job. Did my Masters while working that job. Immediately after found myself living with my family again because rent is extortionate. Can’t have a pet because I’m moving too often and most rentals won’t allow them. Can’t seem to get a job elsewhere for more money bc there are too many applicants. And the dream of owning a house, even a two-up two-down, is further away than ever.

    All my friends are either in deadend jobs or doing their PhDs (because they can’t find meaningful work, so are putting the eternal search off), and have either not the time or money to do activities which require leaving their flats. As such, all but very few are single and lonely. Most don’t drive because it’s too expensive. Half are considering either killing themselves whilst the other half are considering emigration – but can’t decide where bc everywhere is shit.

31. OP, you’re not going to get an answer that represents the general population here. People just come here to moan and make a sort of competition to have the worst sounding life. Just watch [this](https://youtu.be/DT1mGoLDRbc) instead because it’s the same thing but at least it’s funny

32. Feels like the only jobs where you could earn enough to retire whilst you’re still mobile are in IT, Banking or Law.

    No-one told me this might be the case when I picked my degree. All the advice was outdated – ‘any degree as long as you have a good grade’.

    Had to go back to uni to have a chance of having a future. I’m therefore in more debt than I should be with no disposable income for the time being.

    But at least I’m at the bottom of the right ladder now I suppose?

    Still hard to be enthused about the future.

33. Very mixed. My Dad passed away when I was in my mid twenties – one of the things I didn’t expect about losing a parent young is that you are the first one of your friends to go through it, so in general I found people my age didn’t know how to react. I lost a couple of my best friends because of it, which made the whole awful time even worse and very lonely.

    My partner and I were able to buy a house, so I do feel very fortunate. We bought a real project and have done it up slowly over the last couple of years, and its finally starting to feel like home. My other main issue is job security in my field (university lecturer, and yes I will be striking). Unless you’re basically a professor you’re stuck on fixed term contracts, so who knows when we’ll be able to have a family with no secure mat leave..

34. I’m approaching “late 20s” and still feel like I’ve not achieved anything of merit. I’ve got a good job but there’s not a lot of opportunity to progress; I have very few friends and can’t afford to have more (travelling to see people, eating out, entertainment); more than 70% of my monthly income goes straight back out again on rent and bills (London). It’s definitely a feeling of hopelessness and a wonder of what it’s all for.

35. Fucking hopelessly depressing.

36. Problem for me is there doesn’t seem much to look forward too. There seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Can’t afford a house because of the deposit and the ridiculous interest rates. Can’t afford to rent bc they’re going up massively too. Everything seems doom and gloom and we know that things aren’t going to be getting any easier or any cheaper. But what the hell can we do about it? Things could definitely be worse for sure though.

37. Am I the only one who thinks that the outlook isn’t that bleak? Yes the country is in the shitter, partly due to Covid and partly due to the scum running it into the ground.

    But it’s not that bad honestly, the age of technology. You can now find out the answer to anything. There’s much less racism and discrimination, we’ve seen England going from failing to qualify for the World Cup to begin in the semi final and final of a major competition.

    I’m sure there’s plenty more, so please add to the list and give people something to be positive about for a change

38. I’m 29 and live in the South. I’m Welsh though.

    I have a physics degree, as does my partner, but we’re barely making it through and have very little in savings. Buying a house seems a long way off, and having a family seems impractical.

    I try and be content with just my partner and my guinea pigs, but it sucks that it’s this way.

39. Financially I found it hard. I was fed the dream of going to uni and graduating, stepping straight into a well-paid career. I graduated, couldn’t get a graduate job and ended up strategically going into an entry-level position to get experience and work my way up. I found as a single person, buying a home would be incredibly challenging for me. Rent was getting higher. Bills were rising. Going out at the weekend started getting more and more expensive. I moved to Canada and wow, what a difference. I’ve purchased my first home. I can cover my bills. My wage is relative to the work I do – but I moved rural so I now have a city wage in a small town setting. I had to make some fundamental changes and big moves, but leaving UK was best decision I could have made!

40. It’s quite difficult to be honest I’m 24 and single and don’t have a family. The classism here makes it so difficult to even dream of little things like having savings or even a deposit for a home. My plan is to get my degrees and leave for a better life elsewhere. Yes we might have the nhs here but it’s falling apart and hearing news everyday about how stupid the government is and how awful the state of the country is has genuinely made me hopeless and contemplate suicide. Wherever I go I know that I may have to pay for healthcare and other things but if the quality of life is better I’ll chance it

41. I feel hopeless.

    If I didn’t have my parents to stay with, I’d have absolutely no chance in life. Rent and mortgages are ridiculously expensive, and my job doesn’t pay enough for me to be able to even rent my own place.

    Even with a pay increase, if I was on my own, I’d be just about existing with no spare money at all. It would be a joyless, pointless existence.

42. Im 62 or boomer if thats what you want to call me. Life has never been easy for normal working people.
    I do feel sorry for youngsters today as there doesnt seem much hope for the future with all thats going on and the fate of the planet at stake. Idont think you can blame your parents and granparents for all this mostly, but you can blame the rich elite whove ruled us for hundreds of years. Its time to rise up against these people and fight back. Just sitting there moaning about generations doesnt cut it because i feel the same as you. Do something about the problems.
    The current capitalist system is not working so rise up against it. Capitalism is causing most of your problems today.

43. Someone shared a post on Facebook with a picture of their Jr Dr payslip dated 2005 showing their net pay as north of £2k, and then pointed out that fact that 18 years later a Jr Dr will still have a take home of ~£2k. I took this post with a pinch of salt because I’ve heard sometimes people lie for likes on the Internet. Although amongst the pinch of salt is a grain of truth, and I find it ridiculous that in almost 2 decades wages haven’t risen anywhere close to in line with inflation.

    In my own families experience, my dad earned ~£400 a week in the early 90s. This was considered “good money” at the time, and allowed my parents to buy a house (new build) own a vehicle, have a child, have hobbies and savings, all on my dad’s wage. My mum worked part time for a little top up on the ol’ funds, but it wasn’t necessary. 30 years later people are still earning £400 a week but they have to get their dinner from a food bank and live paycheck to paycheck because their rent is £850 a month, their utilities are £150 a month or more, it costs £100 to fill your car with fuel to get to work, plus all the other associated costs of simply existing means that £1200 a month disappears very quickly.

44. I was in the 20s until last month.

    The general feeling is that why us? We’ve literally seen 2 recessions now, a global pandemic, university fees tripling and all house pricing going through the roof like it’s a bubble.

    We’re powering through in hopes that it will get better. Surely it’ll get better right? Right?

45. I feel like my ability to progress in life has completely halted due to lack of affordability in housing. No partner, no kids, no independence due to living with parents trying to save money. My job is anchored to London as well so it limits my options. One of those jobs I could easily do remotely but they still want us to go into the office just for the sake of it even though half my team is based on Poland.

46. [removed]

47. Miserable. I’m on the edge of 30 and have been feeling super depressed recently. I’ve saved up a 20k deposit and am on 29k and naively thought I might be able to start looking into home ownership but I’ll need to be earning at least 46k to.

    I’m not the most career driven and I work in the charity sector so earnings are lower than most sectors.

    Dating is horrendous and my social life is almost non-existent.

48. PLEASE READ ME, THEN COMMENT ON YOUR OWN KIDS, Society has changed a lot, from the point of my 3 daughters (all in there twentys) travel to work in other cities has changed drastically (it is now extremely difficult to afford to either travel or live without a huge wage which are few on the ground) my daughters are all skilled higher than i ever was (im, a joiner) yet non of them (teacher, 3Dartist, physician associate) can afford to buy there own homes and all three of them spend the greater part of there wages on crappy overpriced flats (there is very little choice, either pay up or dont travel), i worked hard (60yrs male) and was easily able to afford a five bed home that is now mortgage free, that option does not exist anymore on there level, i constantly worry about how they are ever going to be able to retire without investing in a huge pension which they cant do because rent and travel costs have already eaten away much of there earnings, they live in a false economy and i see despair amongst many of our young folk, we need as a society to ensure that our young will have somewhere to live when there earning capacity is no longer there, succesive governments seem not to be bothered about this and it has to change or society will indeed break down, i dont know the answer but i hope we change things soon to give our young a future. i dont know how relevant this is but my property gains all came within the labor regime and changed from when the torys came in, with labor we could afford housing with torys not so, who do we blame?, who do you blame?.