A Gen Xer born in 1976 asked Reddit whether people are better off than their parents were at the same age, and wondered whether Gen X might be the last generation that can broadly say yes. One answer captured the contradiction in a few lines. "I have more money than they did," the person wrote. "But they had lives. Friends. Kids. I don't have any of those things. They lived better. I exist." Others described the same disconnect between income and lifestyle. "Nope, earn more but certainly can't afford the lifestyle they had at an equivalent age," one wrote, describing parents with no mortgage who could afford vacations, restaurants, theater, a caravan and a boat. "I make as much or more, but it doesn't go nearly as far," another added. Housing came up constantly. One Gen Xer said their parents bought a house for around $80,000 and paid it off by their current age. That house is now worth roughly $600,000, while local homes generally start around $500,000. Retirement was the other dividing line. Commenters described parents with pensions and paid-off homes, including a father who retired from a blue-collar job at 55 with $500,000 invested. One person has a mortgage running until age 70. Plenty answered yes. Some grew up poor and went on to buy homes and build careers. Others measured progress in therapy, stable homes and better relationships with their children.