I can't possibly be the only one facing this daunting reality. I (M55) have 3 boys (30M, 25M and 24M) plus a stepdaughter (27F). My oldest is married, my youngest is in a LTR, and the middle kids are living the single life. They all are on their own, and my stepdaughter has all she can handle on her plate to keep a roof over her head and food in the fridge, despite working 50+ hours per week, on average. Half of them live in Ontario, and the other half are in BC near me and my wife.
As long as I can remember, my oldest (especially) from the time he was a kid would say things like "when I'm a dad, I'm going to....". He and his wife both work, and earn a decent living. However, like so many, their rent is stupidly high. What's even more frustrating, is that despite having a suitable down-payment for a home, banks turn them down on the basis that they can't service an $1,800 monthly mortgage payment and are thusly forced to keep paying $2,300/m in rent (and it's a 2 bedroom apartment, in a multi-tenant building, in the suburbs!)
A while ago, he made the point of sitting me down and told me that it was very unlikely that he would have kids - they don't want to start, much less raise a family while renting, and he said that being "house poor" for 10+ years isn't an option they are willing to consider....and I don't blame them! I'm looking at retiring in the next 5 - 10 years, and even if I decided to work a few extra years for no other purpose but to give my kids the money they need to buy homes, that's 10+ years away from even being a possibility.
My younger boys, who are ridiculously bright and well informed, look at the state of the world, as it is, and where it's likely going and are both "Hard, no!" on even considering having kids, and again I can't blame them!
So, while I grew up, and raised my kids, I "assumed", (yes, I know) that I would eventually get to enjoy grandkids and have the relationship with them, that my parents, particularly my dad, has with his grandsons (or my sister's girls, whom I don't think are learning towards having kids neither).
I've always leaned hard towards "optimism" and always told my boys things like "When I was a teenager, the hole in the ozone layer causing acid rain was a "problem", that eventually was addressed when I was the age they are now, and things have improved dramatically. More recently, I have suggested that AI might be the tool to help us figure this out, but given the emerging oligarchy in NA, particularly the US, I am not at all optimistic this tech will be used for good any more than it will be used for evil - not that this isn't unexpected, and the consequences appear to be significantly more dire than any previous technological "quantum leap" we've seen in the past.
I'm heartbroken obviously, and I don't blame them one bit - I don't want grandkids to grow up in the world, given where it's headed - politically, environmentally, financially, etc..
Thoughts?
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