Professionals in 30s and 40s Choosing Travel Over Family Goals
A new report shows the new trend that professionals in their 30s and 40s want to travel and see the world, rather than have the American dream. We've heard for years that the younger generations have different goals and ambitions than their parents did. As the Millennial generation begins to age, people are less obsessed with settling down, buying a house and starting a family. Millennials are the generation who see the world as their oyster and want to discover as much as possible of it. We look for new experiences, new cultures and new outlooks on life that you wouldn't be able to achieve staying at home.
A new survey in Britain by the company Flash Pack found that 70% of people in their 30s and 40s questioned said that "life-experiences" were more important than getting married, starting a family and buying a house. Whether it be meeting orangutangs in Borneo, taking a dip in the Blue Lagoon of Iceland or tasting the wines in the hillsides of Italy, these experiences are valued more by the younger generations. When our parents were younger, they knew only of the traditional life model of settling down and starting a family. Now, only 18% of respondents say having kids is a life goal, 20% list marriage, and only 17% say buying a house is a future goal. A study out of the United States reaped similar results, with 50% of Americans saying they would rather invest in experiences than save for a home.
Reasons can vary, but it seems that easy access to other people's lives through social media has changed the social norms. More people are shunning the home life, and out exploring the world while having various thrilling adventures. This makes others wonder why can't they do the same? While you can always try to purchase a house, the same can't be said for the experience of feeding pigs in the Bahamas, hiking through the rain forest, or camping under the Aurora Borealis. Better to do while you're younger and have the stories to tell for the rest of your life. Plus that doesn't mean that the traditional families can never be accomplished. Many still see them as possibly happening for them, just farther in the future, possibly when they're more capable of handling those responsibilities.