It seems like everyone is at home during the pandemic. Oh sure, you know about the parents working from home and children learning virtually, but now according to Pew Research, it’s more than half of young adults (18-29).
52% of young adults are now living at home.
That surpasses the previous peak in 1940, better known as the end of the Great Depression.
There’s nothing new about young adults living at home. Following the recession in the early 2010s, many parents welcomed recent college graduates back home as they tried to get their careers started in a tough job market while also facing rising housing costs. But this jump is more significant, reaching an all-time high in a very short period.
It's possible these young adults could move out as rapidly as they moved in, but it's also possible there is more at work.
In the early days of the pandemic, a person on my team asked if she could decamp from Chicago to her parents’ home in North Carolina. My initial reaction was reluctance, influenced by a generational bias, assuming she was “running home to mom” when faced with a little adversity. Luckily I didn’t act on that thought, approving the request, and what both she and I thought would be a couple of weeks turned into a couple of months (at least).
At the same time, my niece, who grew up in my Michigan hometown and moved to Nashville in 2018, also decided to return to her parental home for an extended period. While these two examples don’t actually count in the numbers above, since they didn’t actually move home, they were surely not alone in this "return to roots."
The question now, how many won't return?
One factor fueling the growth in cities - and indeed in Nashville - has been Millennials moving to urban areas. If the youngest among these are spending extended time in home towns, how many will decide to make the move permanent? For those simply making an economic decision, will this stunt new household formation and have longer-term effects on population and economic growth?
In the short term, renters and first-time homebuyers in Nashville and elsewhere may have a long road back to normal. That lull, however, could become a boom in 2022 as the economy regains its footing and these adults emerge older and ready for something new.
For Nashville, all indications are that growth will continue. The area’s size should continue to be a benefit in the near term - big enough to offer amenities yet small enough to provide a little space. It also likely means continued growth for the surrounding counties who are likely to be the benefit of those moving from bigger cities.
Read more about the data at the Pew Research site here.
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An opportunity for publishers in the self-improvement category?
A clear trend during the pandemic is the desire for self-improvement. Whether driven by the need to find a new job, concerns of long-term stability, or a desire for more fulfillment, people are looking to a variety of sources to upgrade skills and credentials.
This post by the newsletter MediaLyte details a great opportunity for publishers to create educational content to add value to their subscription and membership models.
As publishers have tried to generate more revenue from paying subscribers, there is more pressure on the value they deliver. Many have started by packaging their content in new ways to reach new audiences - email newsletters, podcasts, and use of video. With the interest in self-improvement, publishers could now look to create educational assets - in person and online - to have a more direct revenue benefit. For example, in Nashville, what if The Tennessean or the Scene offered a four-part series on music criticism with current and former writers? Not only can these assets help attract and retain regular subscribers, but they could also be offered in a premium tier or as standalone products.
Additionally, this approach can be used for lead generation, offering some for free in exchange for contact information, and if properly tracked, add to consumer behavior data to help develop new ad solutions and improving advertiser targeting.