Does Long Beach Have What it Takes to Attract Millennials?
These are exciting times for the City of Long Beach as far as economic development goes. The city has new and exciting things on the horizon that residents and business owners alike can look forward to. As I hear about the new big box stores opening at the Pike and the Marina, and the new developments happening at City Place, I can’t help but wonder if this city has taken into consideration the needs and wants of millennials.
We can all agree that the whole point of all of these flashy new stores, is to attract residents and other businesses into the area; however, are all of these new additions to the city positioning Long Beach to attract those that categorically fall within the largest generation in US history? I’m sure everyone is sick and tired of hearing about this self-absorbed group of entitled, narcissistic, know-it-alls, but the reality is that the economic impact of this generation is huge. They make up one fourth of the population, and their annual spending power is upwards of $200 billion. If you take a step back and look at what a city might look like that’s catered to the needs and wants of Gen-Y, in spite of their less than desirable traits, you might find that their ideal world is probably more desireable than you’d think.
We are a highly educated group…
And we need good jobs to keep us here, not minimum wage jobs that require minimum education, where young locals would be subject to under-employment, or long commutes to neighboring cities that have more opportunities. According to LongBeach.gov, the unemployment rate for young adults in Long Beach is 20.7 percent, which is more than double the national rate of 9.9 percent. Job opportunities for those with college degrees are necessary to not only serve newcomers, but residents as well. High under and unemployment isn’t attractive to anyone, especially millennials, as they tend to live with their parents well into their adult years, due to high cost of living.
We Have Commitment Issues…
And we’re proud of it. According to Goldman Sachs Investment Research, we are less likely to commit to major purchases, and we tend to hold out as long as we can for certain things. Like buying homes or cars for example, or even getting married and starting families, we place less importance on traditional milestones, and we pretty much evolve at our own pace. The good news is that Long Beach has more intercity accessibility through public transportation than most of its neighboring cities, and is great for those that love to bike and walk around to get to the destinations that they most frequent. As far as housing goes, there are beautiful apartments where all of the action is. We work hard and play harder, so as the city grows and adds more rental properties to its portfolio, we will have plenty of space to accommodate. At the end of the day, us millennials are attracted to more access, not ownership and Long Beach provides just that.
You have to give us what we want, or we go somewhere else…
While there is a lot to do and see in Long Beach, millennials tend to want what they like vs. what’s put in front of them, and if they have to go far to engage with creativity and stimulating social opportunities, they will go somewhere that will meet that need. Luckily, Long Beach isn’t overly saturated with big chain stores and brands that aren’t authentic, because otherwise they may not survive the millennial takeover that’s happening. Why? Because we aren’t traditional for the simple fact that the internet is our biggest ally. We will search high and low for what we want, and with a little persistence we get it. Amazon Prime and those businesses that have adapted to offer speedy delivery and easy returns makes having a ton of bigger name brand stores in proximity useless.
Unless of course they have culture, they engage with the community, and they show that they have a social consciousness that people can get behind. Luckily Long Beach has the best of both worlds. While we have stores like H&M and Forever 21 now, we also have stores like The Academy where the clothes are handmade locally and the business owner has a focus on his impact on his community and the world as whole, that millennials across the country tend to be more drawn to. According to Forbes, 75% of millennials expect companies to give back to their local communities. To see the City of Long Beach promote their unique local vendors as much as they do renaming Cityplace, I think it really and truly would draw the type of people to Long Beach that can appreciate the diversity and creativity of those that came before them have worked hard to foster and support. Speaking of diversity…
We are a diverse crowd…
We thrive on diversity across the board. So much so that we are actually the most ethnically diverse generation in history. Luckily, Long Beach is one of the most diverse cities in the country, according to Wallet Hub. While Long Beach may be attractive to millennials by default in this category, this is something to pay attention to. Diversity doesn’t just have significance from a demographics standpoint, it’s important in general. While it’s great to have brick and mortar presence that is familiar, there is something about being in a city that operates differently. Where a grocery co-op is more exciting than the local Whole Foods, and the city has a certain flair and an abundance of unique experiences that you can’t get anywhere else.
At the end of the day, millennials are now young adults that know what they want, and won’t settle until they find it. Long Beach has an authenticity and uniqueness that would make any millennial feel at home, so long as the city maintains its community vibe and can create enough jobs locally for this generation as it continues to grow.
Amara Omoregie is a Tech, Innovation and Startups contributor and columnist for the Post, and a managing partner at Innovatory, the creative services division of WE Labs.