Older millennials leave big cities and move to the suburbs

[Tom De Napoli]

The location preferences of young adults hold large consequences for real estate investors.  The trend for the past 10+ years has been that the millennial generation (those born between 1981 and 1996) are opting to live in cities more than previous generations and have a strong preference for its amenities such as its walkable access to retail, entertainment, recreation, restaurants and of course employment.  However, that trend is starting to shift. 

Cities with more than a half million people lost 27,000 residents age 25 to 39 in 2018. While this number is quite small relative the total number of people in this demographic, it is a trend that has persisted in the last four years and is a reversal from the four years immediately following the recession. This drop was driven by residents between the ages of 35 and 39 leaving the city for the surrounding suburbs, which is consistent with historic patterns of families leaving cities for more space and better schools, but remaining within the metro area. Millennials are moving to the suburbs, they're just doing it later than previous generations because they are forming families later.

As the millennial generation follows the pattern of migrating to the suburbs set by their parents and grandparents, how are members of the Bigger Pockets community preparing to supply that demand with housing options that are tailored for the needs and tastes of this group?

[Justin Gottuso]

@Tom De Napoli

Hey Tom!

Yeah, Columbus is cool and are on those superlative lists that I’ve read about. Something I haven’t seen on those list as much is the fact that Columbus is ranked number two in the United States for quality-of-life indicators. Raleigh North Carolina is number one. Which is where my sister and brother-in-law moved to a year ago ha ha. But on the ground the majority people don’t make moves just based on economic growth potential alone, relationships, especially family make a huge impact in our decisions and desires. I’m just grateful my wife’s family happen to be from a cool college town in the Midwest with lots of things going for it now and in the future. Really stoked about the possible hyper loop between Pittsburgh, Columbus and Chicago! 



Being from LA I was actually the one who for many years kept telling my wife, “why don’t we move to Columbus?“ it wasn’t until she reached a certain mile stone in her career, experiencing a sour moment at her “perfect“ company they started to doubt the long-term viability of sticking with the organization, and then being back for the holidays a couple months ago and our 2 1/2-year-old daughter playing with her cousins like they were brothers that got us seriously thinking about the move. The stars aligned and I was offered an amazing job at Ohio State University medical center and she was able to work out a flex schedule with her employer, plus consultation with friends and family as well as prayer and spiritual guidance that finally let us to decide “yes, let’s move!”