[abritinthebay]

As a Brit in the US I don't feel the pressure is much different here.

It's a little resigned and accepting that in a big city you can't afford it, but it's still expected that eventually you'll move to the suburbs and have a home.

That's not surprising though as owning a home is generally about two things: financial responsibility and stability (obviously desirable), and actually owning the place that you live.

"A place to call your own".

Now we debate if that last one is actually useful but it's not hard to understand it. At this point it's a cultural force too. Also understandable.

[ghaff]

I don't see there being a particular expectation that you'll move to the suburbs (within the rather large confines of that term), although it's quite common for families with children to want more space and better public school systems. However, yes, I do think there's an expectation that people above a certain income level will eventually want to buy some sort of place for reasons of financial diversification and, as you say, stability. There comes a point in most people's lives where the ability to easily pull up roots and move on short notice isn't a particular win but knowing that you can't be forced out on relatively short notice--or face significantly rising rents--is.

[lkrubner]

> but it's still expected that eventually

> you'll move to the suburbs and have a home.

That might be true for the whites, but I don't think that expectation exists for the blacks or hispanics or Koreans or Chinese or basically anyone. I've known affluent Koreans who dream of eventually being wealthy enough to buy apartment buildings, but I don't know any who want to move to the suburbs.

[abritinthebay]

Sure, the suburbs was probably a bad general example (though a majority one). However most minorities that I know still have a house or condo in their plans.

Wherever the location the desire is real

[dfraser992]

When I was growing up in the US, suburbs were "the thing". I have read (sorry, can't remember where - the Atlantic?) they are becoming less that, due to social changes and increasing population density in the cities. So the projection is that the suburbs in the future will become almost slums as the poor migrate - the housing slump in Florida is one data point.

[ghaff]

There are a lot of generalities and anecdata thrown around in these sorts of demographic discussions. Certainly "white flight" has generally reversed and there's a fair bit of gentrification going on in formerly rundown areas of certain cities.

However, the "millennials are all moving to cities" meme seems to be much overstated. e.g. from fivethirtyeight [1] "Millennials overall, therefore, are not increasingly living in urban neighborhoods. Rather, the most educated one-third of young adults are increasingly likely to live in the densest urban neighborhoods. That’s great news for cities trying to attract young graduates and a sign that urban neighborhoods have become more desirable for those who can afford them. But the presence of more smart young things in Brooklyn is not evidence that millennials are a more urban generation."

I don't know much about Florida is particular. Anecdotally, I'd say that the cliche of retiring to Florida doesn't seem to apply to just about anyone I know. If anything, they're retiring to the desert Southwest if they're seeking a warm climate.

[1] http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-millennials-are-less...