Tag Archives: Generation X

Sometimes I feel like bologna on wry

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© Jkstudio@aol.com | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

© Jkstudio@aol.com | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

I had one of those “aha” moments the other day when I found mold in a piece of frozen bread. Isn’t that why we freeze bread in the first place? To keep those gross green spores from invading our otherwise pristine baked goods?

It’s a metaphor, I realized. My life is sandwiched between the beginning and the end. I’m somewhere between that fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven, mouth-watering, buttery baguette, and a dried-up end of old pumpernickel that you’ve been saving in the back of the freezer for a science experiment. And the mold is … ignore the mold. It doesn’t work in my metaphor, but it was gross and I thought I’d share.

How did this happen? It seems just a minute ago that I was in the middle of elementary school, and now my son is there. Wasn’t it just yesterday that my mom was the one running errands for her parents and schlepping the kids around town? Why am I driving carpool? Where are all the adults? Shouldn’t there be a grownup here to pass my overflowing plate of stresses and responsibilities along to?

I read a study recently that says the average person will spend 17 years taking care of a child and 18 years taking care of a parent. But my parents have been taking care of me for 44 years now and I’ve been “helping out” with them for, well, I’m planning to start next week. Which means they’ve got to live a good long time if we’re ever going to even things up statistically.

Again, I’m the grown-up? When did I make the switch from having mom to cut the crusts off my bread to being the one making sure we had peanut butter in the cabinet and cheese in the fridge?

And when did my membership shift from Generation X (by marriage–it counts) to the Sandwich Generation? Did I miss a meeting? I’m definitely missing some brain cells. The other day, I was driving away in my car when it dawned on me that my 8-year-old son was still sitting in our living room, home alone, since my husband had gone out to pick up his mother.

I know–from friends I’d like to keep, who shall therefore remain nameless–that this kind of “whoops, I forgot Johnny” incident happens to people with lots of kids all the time. But, let’s face it, they have extra children, so leaving one of them behind by accident is only a minor disaster.

As an only child, Koss is our not just our only contribution to the future of the planet, he’s also our great white hope for the future (a.k.a. our retirement plan), so if something were to happen to him, well, let’s just say that wouldn’t be chopped liver.

Although I think he’s caviar, or whatever that really rare and precious Japanese fish is that people pay millions of dollars for–he’s an open-faced sandwich, with no siblings to keep the ingredients together. When eventually it’s his turn to juggle that massive Dagwood sandwich made up of his kids on one side, us (his parents) on the other and him jammed in the middle, he’ll have no one to help him.

This does not bode well for me, ’cause he’s already killed a fish and lost a dog.

Another “aha” moment: We may have to adopt a nurse someday.

If life is a sandwich, which kind are you? Tell us at email. For more of Leslie’s columns visit www.LeslieDinaberg.com.
Originally appeared in the Santa Barbara Daily Sound on October 5, 2007.

This is not your father’s homebuying crowd

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Generation Xers open a gap when it comes to real estate market trends

Once pigeonholed as “slackers,” members of Generation X are now in their mid-20s to mid-30s and having a significant impact on home buying and building trends. Although the high cost of housing on the South Coast makes it difficult for Gen Xers to break into the market, when they are able to buy — through IPO bonuses, good old fashioned savings, 100 percent financing, or help from mom and dad — they want different things than their parents did.

Quality is important. “They are happier with one good thing rather than three average things,” said Greg Nester, owner of Greg Nester Construction & Development and president of the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast.

Their dream house might be smaller than their parents’ house, but not necessarily less expensive.

“They want the best product they can get for the money they spend,” he said.

It’s all about value. This is a generation that has seen dot bombs and the stock market roller coaster. That uncertainty leads to more cautious spending.

“Where wealthy boomers might brag about how much they pay for something, Gen Xers relish talking about how much they managed to save — and that applies even to those in the top income brackets,” concluded a recent survey by marketing-strategy firm Reach Advisors.

Kara Rocque seems to agree.

“We started to think that maybe we don’t want something that’s too nice to have something that we can kind of fix up and make our own,” said the new Goleta homeowner.

Homes should fit their lifestyles. “Gen X are goers, they’re not sitting at home,” Nester said. “They come home in the evening and would prefer to have less of a burden as far as maintenance goes.” For example, they don’t’ want elaborate kitchens because they say they don’t cook that often, he said.

And when they are entertaining on the South Coast, it’s more often in the backyard than in a formal dining room.

“We want to have people come over and have barbeques,” Rocque said.

Flexible interior spaces. “They want media rooms and functional areas that replace the classic dining room and formal living rooms. Secondary to home theater and media rooms are rooms that are more computer and study oriented,” said Nester.

They’re also not afraid to embrace new styles like concrete countertops instead of traditional tile. Stained and glazed concrete floors are becoming more common as well as more modern plumbing fixtures. Xers like to be able to customize their living spaces, said Nester.

They’re not running to the ‘burbs. “Many Xers prefer inner city living. … They are purchasing properties that may have mixed use with retail below and a condo above for residential,” said Nester.

Being just blocks away from La Cumbre Plaza and Upper State Street stores is part of what made her new condominium in San Roque appealing to Cari Thomas. “Being able to walk places in the neighborhood is great,” she said

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on July 8, 2004.

The Generation X Homebuyer

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Courtesy http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14938

Courtesy http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14938

Once pigeonholed as “slackers,” members of Generation X are now in their mid-20s to mid-30s and having a significant impact on home buying and building trends. Though the high cost of housing on the South Coast makes it difficult for Gen X to break into the market, when they are able to buy — through IPO bonuses, good old fashioned savings, 100 percent financing or help from mom and dad — they want different things than their parents did.

Quality is important. “They are happier with one good thing rather than three average things,” said Greg Nester, owner of Greg Nester Construction & Development and President of the Home Builders Association of the Central Coast. Their dream house might be smaller than their parents’ house, but not necessarily less expensive. “They want the best product they can get for the money they spend,” said Nester.

It’s all about value. This is a generation that has seen dot bombs and the stock market roller coaster. That uncertainty leads to more cautious spending. “Where wealthy boomers might brag about how much they pay for something, Gen Xers relish talking about how much they managed to save — and that applies even to those in the top income brackets,” said a recent survey by marketing-strategy firm Reach Advisors.

Homes should fit their lifestyles. “Gen X are goers, they’re not sitting at home. They come home in the evening and would prefer to have less of a burden as far as maintenance goes,” said Nester. For example, they don’t’ want elaborate kitchens because they say they don’t cook that often.

Flexible interior spaces. “They want media rooms and functional areas that replace the classic dining room and formal living rooms. Secondary to home theater and media rooms are rooms that are more computer and study oriented,” said Nester. They’re also not afraid to embrace new styles like concrete countertops instead of traditional tile. Stained and glazed concrete floors are becoming more common as well as more modern plumbing fixtures. Xers like to be able to customize their living spaces, said Nester.

They’re not running to the ‘burbs. “Many Xers prefer inner city living. … They are purchasing properties that may have mixed use with retail below and a condo above for residential,” said Nester. While many Santa Barbara suburbanites can’t understand why anyone would want to live above a business, this fits in well with city plans for infill development.

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on May 20, 2004.