A 29-year-old has sparked conversation after he shared his raw frustration on Reddit‘s r/Millennials subreddit, capturing the feelings of a generation that feels like they did everything “right”—only to be left with little to show for it.
The post, by anonymous user u/6FootMidgett, who lives in California, said: “I worked hard. Put myself through college working 40-hour weeks. Got my Bachelor’s. I’ve been grinding in corporate America for over 7 years now, in engineering and IT. And yet, finding a job has never been harder.”
With over 15,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments, the thread became an impromptu town hall for millennials struggling under the weight of a system they feel was rigged against them from the start.
‘I Feel Like I’m Constantly Starting Over’
Many echoed the sentiment of burnout, economic hopelessness, and a haunting sense that the American dream isn’t achievable.
Reddit user u/fragofox, a self-described “Xennial” who graduated in 2008, wrote: “I’ve never been able to just simply feel comfortable in anything or at any time … I feel like I’m constantly starting over.”
User u/lurk_mcgurk shared their heartbreaking story of finally buying a home after years of saving—only for it to be destroyed by a natural disaster just four months later. “I was desolate and now so filled with rage,” u/lurk_mcgurk wrote.
“I came across the millennials sub reddit and just let my thoughts and frustrations flow. Apparently, a lot of people felt the same way,” the Reddit user told Newsweek.
“We have it way harder than any generation until us. Good luck to Gen Z and Gen Alpha. We were sold a pipe dream. After COVID and Trump, we can’t afford any housing,” he added.
His comments shine a harsh light on the struggle to own a home. While previous generations could buy a home on a single income, house price growth has outpaced income growth by over 30 percent since 2015.
And the pressure isn’t just financial—it is psychological. A recent Savings.com survey found that 50 percent of parents are still financially supporting their adult millennial or Gen Z children. But, with inflation eroding retirement funds, nearly 40 percent say they will stop helping within two years, potentially stranding younger adults in an unforgiving economy.
Millennials also carry the heaviest student-loan burden in history, with average debt per borrower hovering around $30,000, combined with rising rent costs, health care bills and grocery costs, and dwindling job security.
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‘The System Stacked Against Us
“I have seen houses around me that were bought for 43k. Even adjusted that’s close to $110k. Now they’re worth over 1.5 million,” u/6FootMidgett said. “We need more housing and we need to protect that housing. Something like only for people who don’t already own a house.”
Solutions proposed in the thread range from systemic housing reform to mandatory remote work options—a nod to how COVID-era flexibility proved both popular and productive.
For the Reddit poster, the issue comes down to a system that set his generation up to fail—and the “greed” of the older generation.
“It is common because we have the system stacked against us from the start,” the Reddit user said. “Boomers sold every generation after them’s future due to uncontrollable greed. Reagan f***** us over too with his trickle-down economics. Everyone I know is not getting married rather living with their parents and trying to just save, save, save.
“We should have a protected job that we’re secure in, the opportunity to buy a house, and start a family on one salary,” he said.