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> with the proportion of the economy accounted for by solitary freelancers expected to rise Am I the only one absolutely horrified by this? The gig economy ha

by amyjess 11y ago

> with the proportion of the economy accounted for by solitary freelancers expected to rise Am I the only one absolutely horrified by this? The gig economy has never, ever interested me. I have no interest in being a freelancer. I want a nice 9-5 office job at an office park in the suburbs with strict boundaries between work time and personal time, a dependable salary, and benefits provided by my employer. I don't even care about working on interesting things as part of my career; I'd rather work on interesting projects as a side project on my own time for pure fun. I work only because I need some way to pay my bills, because I really don't want to end up homeless. I don't have any desire to mix paying my bills with my personal life or with anything I do for fun. But I've never really understood Millennials, despite technically being one (born in 1984; Millennials are defined as born 1982-2004). I've always identified more with previous generations. "Millennial culture" has always escaped and mystified me. Between this comment and things like the article a few weeks ago on how suburban office parks are going away (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10773865 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10773865), I've lost hope for the future.

abalashov 11y ago
No, you're not the only one absolutely horrified by this. But it does mean that tech entrepreneurship is probably not for you, and that's completely okay. I would say it isn't for most people. I'm still horrified by suburbs regardless, though. :-)
- michaelbuddy 11y ago
  Why? If a suburban neighborhood is full of good people, there are a LOT of social things people do that match or are superior than what hipsters do in gentrified urban areas. Cheaper too. Want to pay 5 dollars a coffee or sit with one of your friends on their back sun room and have the same conversations with 30 cent espresso. Want to have drinks and watch a game? How about beers and grill out with your neighbors while your kids play in the grass? Want to visit the coolest hacker space ever and scratch that DIY itch? How about help your suburban neighbor rebuild his 1971 camaro in his heated 3 car garage, or get your neighbors help you build that man-cave / craft room in the basement. You know once the real estate parasites have convinced enough people to live in lofts with cracked 'artisan' concrete, exposed brick and stainless steel counter tops that they will then make their way back to the suburbs and try to make new dollars there a generation later. Millenials have been sold on an image just like the working man and woman were sold on the suburbs in the '50's to '80s.
  - Grishnakh 11y ago
    The problem I've found with your description of suburban life is that what you describe relies on having neighbors you get along really well with and identify with. But in my experience, suburban neighbors were generally very conservative, religious, and frequently outright unneighborly, letting their vicious dogs run wild or bark at all hours of day and night. The suburbs, in my experience, seem to attract people who want to live "off the grid" in rural Alaska or something but can't afford to do so, but act like that anyway. Anyway, a place that's full of conservative religious people is going to repel Millenials for what I hope are obvious reasons. And why would I want to help someone rebuild a '71 Camaro? I'm not even a Millenial, but I have no nostalgia for poorly-engineered, obsolete junk. Man cave? You're sounding like an overweight, cheap-beer-swilling 40-something there. And you wonder why the Millenials don't like the same things you do?

by amyjess 11y ago

abalashov 11y ago

No, you're not the only one absolutely horrified by this. But it does mean that tech entrepreneurship is probably not for you, and that's completely okay. I would say it isn't for most people. I'm still horrified by suburbs regardless, though. :-)

michaelbuddy 11y ago
Why? If a suburban neighborhood is full of good people, there are a LOT of social things people do that match or are superior than what hipsters do in gentrified urban areas. Cheaper too. Want to pay 5 dollars a coffee or sit with one of your friends on their back sun room and have the same conversations with 30 cent espresso. Want to have drinks and watch a game? How about beers and grill out with your neighbors while your kids play in the grass? Want to visit the coolest hacker space ever and scratch that DIY itch? How about help your suburban neighbor rebuild his 1971 camaro in his heated 3 car garage, or get your neighbors help you build that man-cave / craft room in the basement. You know once the real estate parasites have convinced enough people to live in lofts with cracked 'artisan' concrete, exposed brick and stainless steel counter tops that they will then make their way back to the suburbs and try to make new dollars there a generation later. Millenials have been sold on an image just like the working man and woman were sold on the suburbs in the '50's to '80s.
- Grishnakh 11y ago
  The problem I've found with your description of suburban life is that what you describe relies on having neighbors you get along really well with and identify with. But in my experience, suburban neighbors were generally very conservative, religious, and frequently outright unneighborly, letting their vicious dogs run wild or bark at all hours of day and night. The suburbs, in my experience, seem to attract people who want to live "off the grid" in rural Alaska or something but can't afford to do so, but act like that anyway. Anyway, a place that's full of conservative religious people is going to repel Millenials for what I hope are obvious reasons. And why would I want to help someone rebuild a '71 Camaro? I'm not even a Millenial, but I have no nostalgia for poorly-engineered, obsolete junk. Man cave? You're sounding like an overweight, cheap-beer-swilling 40-something there. And you wonder why the Millenials don't like the same things you do?