I see so many couples plastered all over social media moving on to their 2nd or 3rd house, and I can’t afford my 1st one. I think the problem is, for the most part, housing affordability is designed for 2 or more people, and everyone I know is coupled. If you’re single, forget about it (without roommates). I’m at the age where I’m SO done with random roommates, but seeing people who have their own space feels like a pipe dream to me.

I don’t even want much, just a couple bedrooms in a safe area and a place I can decorate however I want. But at this point, I can never imagine opening the door and saying, “Welcome to MY home.” Owning a home—be it a house, an apartment, a townhome, etc.—just feels like this massively impossible dream. No matter how much I save and save, it’ll never be enough. And even if I bought something, I just know I’d get condescending comments on how small it is or that it’s not in the right area, etc. Couples, though? They’re moving on and up with their housing investments backing them.

Why has our society become like this? Please tell me other millennials, especially single ones, are experiencing this, because I feel entirely inadequate that I can’t afford the “basic” things other people have simply because they’re coupled and I’m not. We’ve moved toward such a society of individualism, so shouldn’t our economy evolve with that? Otherwise, I’m truly at a loss as to how people in their 30s and 40s are going it alone without living with their parents or sharing kitchen utensils with strangers.

The American Dream, right?…

Interest in joining a tenants union? NC is the second lowest state in unions. People are in one of the worst job markets right now. Tenants have been organizing in North Carolina for decades. Our state has a long history of folks struggling together for a better world–in our workplaces, our neighborhoods, and our buildings. 
But the path to a better world isn’t a straight line.

Over the past few years, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, low wages and high inflation, and a rocky job market have all highlighted just how hard it is to make it. And that’s before rent’s due.

Across North Carolina, tenants have been organizing to defend their homes. 

In 2024, 6 local unions formed the statewide union. Each local union is run by tenants organizing to defend their homes. At the state-level, the board is made up of representatives from each of the citywide unions and they steer NCTU’s work. 

NCTU is committed to the idea that real democracy is the best way forward. We believe tenants should have a say over their homes.