Is Apartment Renting a Generational Thing? Yes, And It’s For Every Generation

Young husband and wife with toddler in new apartmentMuch has been made in the media over the past five years over the big numbers of millennials seeking apartments rather than single family homes. Now, in the past year, the discussion has shifted to the newest noted generation, dubbed Gen Z. But the preference of apartment renting is not isolated to just these two generations or people under 30. Apartment living spans across all boundaries of age and other demographics. There truly is an apartment out there for everyone, no matter which generation best describes you.

Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers are often described as the generation born between 1946 and 1964. They are the children of the men and women returning from WWII. The society they were born into created the iconic dream of “Main Street USA,” lined with homes surrounded by white picket fences. The goal was to work hard and someday buy your first house. Well, those times have passed and now that their kids are grown, moved out, and taking care of children of their own, many boomers have begun to downsize. They are removing the possessions they have acquired from a lifetime of hard work and choosing smaller living spaces and a more adventurous lifestyle. They may still often seek the suburban life. But, for many, those suburbs are filled with multi-family apartments.

Gen X

The smallest cross-section of age demographics has birth years between 1961 and 1981. These twenty years saw a generation defined by fun and excess. However, the parties of youth have now been replaced by the burdens of boardrooms and corporate suites. They were the first generation to fully embrace the apartment lifestyle and, for many, apartment living is still preferred. Apartments make moving for business easy. And, the glamor of city living mixed with the need to live close to the office, makes downtown apartments a mecca for Gen X.

Millennials

Born from 1981 to 2000, Millennials brought a new generation of apartments into the world. As children of baby boomers, they saw the struggles of their parents and the challenges of maintaining the single-family home. No generation has had a bigger impact on apartment living. The apartments they continue to seek are high tech, trendy social centers where everything you want as part of your lifestyle is close at hand. More space is not what they crave. They seek to create lasting memories. The apartment lifestyle gives them the flexibility and the affordability needed to make the most out of every moment.

Gen Z

The children of Gen X and Millennials have been born into a completely different world than any generation before. They have only known a world of smartphones centered in a digital world. The first portion of this generation is now leaving the confines of student housing and is heading out to find their first apartment. The ones still residing in student housing are seeing the future of apartment amenities develop around them. The ones soon leaving the nest for the first time will enter a world where ever smaller spaces, powered by artificial intelligence and smart tech, will dominate the apartment landscape. They will be the next ones to determine what the future of apartment living will be like.

No matter who you are or which generation(s) you represent, there is an apartment ready for you. And the best way to find that apartment is the free apartment locator at www.apartmentsearch.com. Find the best apartment for you by focusing on the things important to you. Also, you can earn up to $200 in rewards when you tell your leasing agent you found them on ApartmentSearch. Now that is a reward that every generation can enjoy.