re: Millennials make more money than any other gen. did at their age, but are way less wealthy

TBH both things are true

- Living somewhere where there is lucrative work on a large scale and offers even decent quality of life (legitimately good public schools, safety, etc.) is more expensive than ever. I'm not talking about Manhattan, I'm talking about homes in a good suburb of Atlanta starting at 400/500k. School is legitimately expensive, there are very few options to just work hard and rise or get a generic degree and excel. Things are specialized and the adage (fed by boomers) of "go anywhere and get a degree, it doesn't matter" is increasingly bad advice.

- But, the standards are increasing. When I was a kid in an upper middle class family, we didn't travel every fall/spring break. We certainly didn't travel internationally or to exotic locales. My mom had a van. My dad had a Buick. Now, legitimately middle class people shop at Whole Foods, take grand trips, have flagship electronics, get Starbucks every morning, etc. The avocado toast thing is dumb, but across the board our culture has made excess the norm.