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- Millennials, the generation now in their 20s and 30s, live very differently than their parents.
- Compared to baby boomers, millennials are more likely to be health-conscious and more likely to want to live in big cities, among other key differences.
- Here are some of the biggest differences between how the two generations live.
Millennials are America’s biggest generation, with 95 million members in their 20s and 30s.
They’re mostly the children of baby boomers — now America’s second largest generation. Yet millennials differ from their parents in several key ways, and the cohort is rewriting the rules for everything from marriage to employment to the food industry.
Here are five of the biggest ways millennials live differently than their parents’ generation.
Millennials are more happy in cities than in suburbs.
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Millennials are all about big city living and the cost of living that comes with it.
Educated millennials especially tend to move to more expensive urban centers. Unlike baby boomers and their parents, who migrated to the suburbs en masse, millennials find happiness in cities, according to a Regional Studies report. Larger, more urban environments offer millennials the perks of diversity, economic opportunities, entertainment, safety, and a feeling of status.
When baby boomers were in their 20s and 30s, on the other hand, they aspired more to live in suburban homes in smaller, pastoral regions. Today, millennials are the first generation to be more happy with urban life than rural life. Unlike baby boomers, they are least happy in places with fewer than 8,000 people. And millennials are the only generation that’s happier living in places with 250,000 or more people.
Millennials want to get more out of work.
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Compared to baby boomers, millennials are more motivated by their ability to make an impact wherever they work. According to a Global Report survey, 74% of millennial job candidates want a job where they feel like their work matters.
They also want the potential for growth and promotion: The Addison Group found that more than 67% of millennials want to reach manager status, compared to just 58% of the overall workforce. They’re also less afraid than previous generations to change jobs or work independently.
Baby boomers, meanwhile, are driven more by loyalty, and they’re more likely to work for the same company for long periods of time — a 2016 poll found 40% of boomers stayed with an employer for at least 20 years, and 18% stayed for 30 years or more.
Millennials are more health-conscious — and they’re driving tastes in the food industry.
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Millennials are more health-conscious consumers than their predecessors.
A 2013 Aetna poll found baby boomers were most likely to define “healthy” as not falling sick and being the proper weight for your height. Meanwhile, millennials were the more likely generation to consider good eating habits and physical activity in their definitions of healthy.
Millennials can be credited for several recent shifts in food preferences, including the rise of gluten-free, vegan, and all-natural options in the grocery aisle.
As the largest US age demographic, millennials are the key tastemakers in the food industry right now. More than ever, millennials are demanding transparency from the food industry, as well as sustainable food practices and locally sourced, natural options.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Stephanie Taylor)