Frank Ramsden

The Millennial generation – often criticized, much maligned, but always sought after – is having a profound impact on the American economy and culture. There are approximately 83 million Gen Yers or Echo Boomers (other monikers for the Millennials) and thanks to their numbers, their preferences are being heard. Employers, retailers, politicians, media outlets and a wide range of other economic and social groups are tuned in to the Millennial generation. We wanted to know how this cohort will continue impacting the changing face of Boston’s urban core, so my colleagues and I in ULI Boston/New England’s Young Leaders Group have set out to survey our Millennial peers in the Greater Boston area.

To put the population wave into perspective, the generation’s peak birth year was 1991, meaning the largest number of Millennials is currently 24 years old. As such, they are just now reaching working age, with which come the trappings of true adulthood. That may seem late, but given that an undergraduate degree is a near-necessity in the current job market, Millennials don’t enter the workforce in earnest until around that age – or even later, if a graduate or master’s degree is pursued. Once we complete our studies, few of us have the privilege of a clean financial slate.

According to the Pew Research Center, the average undergraduate leaves college with $27,000 in student loan debt. A financial burden of that size placed on individuals just beginning their career is going to shape their decisions for the better part of a decade. Add to that the cost of a post-graduate education, and a decade may not be long enough. All of this isn’t to say we haven’t also had our advantages. However, our decisions are fundamentally shaped by this particular set of circumstances, which is largely atypical versus the preceding generations.

As the Millennial wave crests, it is easy to see some of the effects the generation has already had on its surroundings. Nowhere is this more evident than in the nation’s cities. As fast as the Baby Boomers moved out to the suburbs to claim their white picket fences, their children have moved back in to find their room with a view. For many in the generation, the amenities afforded by city living far outweigh the comforts of a suburban lifestyle, especially as employment growth has overwhelmingly favored city centers. It may be more expensive to live downtown, but being centrally located allows young professionals the freedom to forego classic big-ticket purchases like cars. Further, as the personal and financial barriers to homeownership reach an all-time high, the overwhelming majority of Millennials are renting their residences for longer periods, creating substantial rental demand within city limits. This has been a clear windfall for commercial real estate investors with large multifamily portfolios, as well as restaurateurs and urban-focused retailers.

The Power Of A Generation

What the Young Leaders Group hopes to achieve with the survey is a better understanding of how the generation might affect urban trends over the next decade and beyond. We hope to learn if “New Urbanism” is either the early stages of a long-term shift in geoeconomics centered on dense urban cores, or a short-term shock driven by still-fresh memories of the Great Recession and compromised personal balance sheets. We asked respondents to think about their five- and 10-year plans, knowing full well that planning is something at which the Millennials are generally very good. Topics that we felt were most pertinent to the discussion included homeownership, parenthood, employment and personal finance, as well as more specific questions related to neighborhood choices and working arrangements.

Each survey participant was asked to tell us where they lived and worked and then provide preferences on some specific attributes of their lives. For example, we wanted to know not only where Millennials choose to live, but also the importance of bars and restaurants versus open spaces, proximity to workplace and local schools.

We also asked participants about their employment arrangements and office layouts, in order gain insight on the ways in which office uses may evolve going forward, and paid special attention to transit, including access to vehicles and use of car-share systems. In all, our survey contained nearly 50 different questions which we hoped would help us gain as comprehensive a view as possible of the most important lifestyle choices facing our generation.

We distributed our survey to a cross-section of Boston’s Millennials through the distribution networks of partner industry groups, as well as social media and the personal connections of our members. In order to achieve a representative set, we worked with MassInc Polling. As of the writing of this article, our survey has garnered more than 660 responses from Millennials across a wide range of professional industries and lifestyles. We look forward to learning more about how the Millennials will continue to shape the way we live and work in Boston.

Frank Ramsden is a research manager and analyst at Bentall Kennedy and an active member of the ULI Boston/New England Young Leaders Group.