Image Courtesy: Trip Advisor
So I am sure we’ve all said or agreed to the idea that apple pay doesn't feel like real money. We tap our hearts away on expenses that create this illusion of board game money, essentially it isn’t real. Like the kids inside of us playing ‘grocery store’ with our parents' old credit cards, igniting that nostalgic feeling.
Well, let's expand this idea to what our generation is probably facing most frequently: being a broke college student.
We don't have to get into the numbers of it all, it doesn't take a genius to understand that rising young adults are living in a costly world.
The idea of homeowning seems impossible, buying groceries seems like a sin and rent rates have made it impossible for students to have steady landings. But, as someone who is right there in the struggle with you, let's get into it.
The cost of living has damaged progression, but it's what we do in between that sets us up for, well, doom.
The city of Boca Raton for example, the home of Florida Atlantic University, has spiked in popularity within the last four years. This coastal city has welcomed more than 32,000 students and with enrollment comes booming businesses.
This is not like any other college town in the state– other than Miami or Palm Beach– nightlife and daily expenditures are automatically highly priced because of the area. Boca Raton was once named the Venice of the Atlantic, iconically nicknamed by Addison Mizner, Palm Beach county's main architect. This has brought old and new money from around the world to invest in local properties and open businesses, which then attract the ritzy franchises.
A singular cup of coffee in Central Florida at a local shop named Axum Coffee could cost you five dollars, while a local coffee shop in Boca Raton can be a minimum of eight to nine dollars. The local mall, Boca Town Center, is filled with already high priced stores such as Aritzia or L'Occitane, but the dollar signs rise as you begin to pass Chanel, Prada, David Yurman and more. Our locals are used to and have the right to a lifestyle such as this where the local mall feels comfortable having tailored stores such as these.
In a city where convenience often comes with a price tag, the question becomes more complicated than whether we should stop buying coffee. We should be asking ourselves: Are students struggling because the cost of living is too high, because spending habits have changed, or because both are happening at once?
The Boca Raton effect is indeed real. You are surrounded by the glamour and it influences you to participate, become one with the crowd. Sure the environment is motivating, you see men and women alike who are well off and give you goals and motivation. But this motivation is also masked with wedging yourself in a place that won't be as a warm welcome to you just yet. The feeling or habits of imitating a luxurious lifestyle is easier said than done.
Nightlife in South FLorida is undeniable as many travel to Fort Lauderdale and Miami scenes weekly, because it is at such easy disposal. But this also plays into the local silent pressure having a startup life can inflate, no pun intended.
We know we're broke, but we've also become accustomed to spending money in ways that make being broke feel normal.
Strike Out,
Sofia Ortiz
Boca Raton
Sofia Ortiz is a South Florida writer and media student with a love for fashion, pop culture, travel and all things that make life a little more fun. Her writing explores modern womanhood, self-discovery and the culture shaping young women today. To contact Ms. Ortiz you may reach out to her email sofialortiz04@gmail.com or Instagram Sofiaa_Laurenn .
