Can’t Afford a Home. Can’t Afford a Baby. Can’t Afford Life. This Is 30.

Many 30-year-olds in New York City are grappling with a stark reality: they feel financially worse off than their parents did at the same age, despite striving to build middle-class lives. The soaring cost of living, particularly housing, has made both homeownership and having a family increasingly out of reach. This widespread sense of economic stagnation raises questions about whether this is a temporary phase or indicative of a larger, enduring issue in the city's economic landscape. The situation underscores the growing challenges young adults face in achieving traditional milestones of adulthood.