In Vallejo, California, a waterfront city located about an hour from San Francisco, young adults face a distinctive set of circumstances as they navigate adulthood. One in three of this cohort resides in their parental home. This reality breeds the dating scene, exposing the new normal of multigenerational households and continuing developing social changes. We have seen a decline in police-involved killings in recent years. Residents continue to often describe a pattern of persistent harassment, especially for residents of color. This mix of social forces produces a young adult relational ecology unlike any other, particularly as cities continue to adapt to a new accelerating urbanism.
Rich with history, Vallejo was the home of the first West Coast naval station. Throughout the 20th century, it attracted hundreds of thousands of Black, Filipino, and Hispanic laborers. As a consequence, it turned into one of the nation’s most diverse major metropolitan areas. Despite this, crime in Vallejo remains markedly higher than the national average, contributing to residents’ concerns about their safety and security. Further maddening to their lives are economic changes that upended once-stable markers of adulthood, like stable work with a living wage, homeownership and family formation.
The Challenge of Intergenerational Living
The never-married young adult living-at-home share is truly astonishing. Daniel, a local resident, notes that “basically everyone I know lives with their mom, or if they moved out, they moved back in.” This trend is not merely a matter of personal preference. It speaks to both the economic realities and cultural values of Vallejo. Young adults across this country are increasingly being pushed to delay their adulthood with soaring rents and vanishing job prospects.
Daniel expresses his feelings of urgency regarding adulthood: “I know, as a man, that I need to jump out the nest soon.” However, he’s quick to point out that what often makes the prospect of leaving home so overwhelming are the obstacles. “Like, I want to move back permanently, I want to get an apartment out here, but it’s like, what’s the point. I’m going to lose my job or something,” he adds. These feelings reflect the stress leveled by the lack of economic security and dread of being trapped in a vicious cycle.
Consequently, young adults are frequently left balancing competing interests between family obligations and career or financial pursuits. The cultural benefit of having supportive intergenerational shelters becomes a double-edged sword, creating a greater burden to achieve the normative adult milestones. Daniel articulates this conflict: “Sometimes I do want to come home and it just be me and it just be mine.”
Dating Dynamics in a Changing Environment
Vallejo’s colorful homegrown hub offers young adults a mixed bag of environment to explore romance. The city’s waterfront is lined with quaint breweries and local bars. Tied for the most are the three Mare Island Brewing outposts owned by Kent Fortner. Fortner has seen a change in the demographic makeup of his clients. Today, just one-fourth of his patrons are in their 20s, compared to nearly 35% a decade earlier.
This decrease implies that young adults might be visiting less nightlife in conventional social spaces. About safety Daniel Further, Daniel notices that safety concerns come to play a major role in how young men date in Vallejo. A friend is hanging out with a girl. They are going to text me their location,” he tells me. This kind of proactive avoidance behavior highlights the deep fear of violence that permeates women’s social interactions today.
Further, Daniel is under constant scrutiny to “perform” in public settings. He adds, “I’m conscious that I have to seem more age-appropriate too. If I go out in a hoodie people will think I’m doing something shady. This issue clearly demonstrates the way social influence impacts people and their abilities to express their identity and relationship.
The Economic Landscape and Its Impacts
The impact Vallejo’s boom and bust economy reverberates through generations forcing many young adults to reconsider what they want out of life. Daniel reflects on how these changes have altered perceptions of the American dream: “Back then, the American dream was like: you start a family, you get a job … you get your own house.” Unfortunately for many of today’s young residents, this dream seems like a distant fantasy.
With housing costs skyrocketing and wages remaining stagnant, the once-taken-for-granted transition into adulthood feels ever more out-of-reach. In Vallejo, crime rates above the national average further complicate matters. Many young adults weigh their desires for independence against fears for their safety. Daniel’s experience resonates with many: “I don’t know one couple that has bought a house and started a family out here.”
As economic challenges and societal expectations continue to collide, adulthood is increasingly redefined for young adults in Vallejo. Consequently, they experience this important life transition at a much later age compared to previous cohorts. Thousands more are deciding to push back major life events as they continue to weather this unpredictable storm.