Gen Z want marriage and kids as surprising study reveals they prioritise traditional life goals

Gen Z are shunning travelling and gap years, and millennials dream of having their own driveway. A new study reveals the surprising life choices younger generations aspire to make. 

When it was found that Gen Z's happiness is most driven by a sense of purpose, thoughts might immediately go to this purpose involving planning gap years and travelling the world. However, along with leading future generations into making sobriety the norm, it's been found that Gen Z along with millennials, are prioritising traditional life goals - while it's their boomer parents who are dreaming of trips overseas.

In a surprising study carried out by John Lewis Money, it was found that Gen Z are hoping to pursue traditional life goals like getting married and starting a family - of the 2000 young people interviewed, 35 per cent had dreams of walking down the aisle, with 34 per cent hoping children will follow. 

Millennials weren't far behind when it came to making unusual life choices. This generation (36 per cent) say their main efforts are focused towards being frugal and saving for the future, with 16 per cent giving their main life goal of owning a house with its own driveway. While 37 per cent of Gen Zs and millennials believe they have more opportunities than older generations, it doesn't look like they're actually set to make the most of them by wanting to settle down or putting all their efforts into saving.

Boomers however, don't seem to be letting the lack of opportunities they had in their younger years stop them grabbing life by the horns and making up for it. The study found 36 per cent of this age group plan to travel the world, prioritising this over paying off their mortgage. 

Shunning living a quiet life with a dog (10 per cent of boomers gave this as a life goal,) a whopping 62 per cent say they're planning to use their savings to fund their travels. Following behind and showing determination to achieve their dreams, 40 per cent said they'd use their salary and 20 per cent suggest they'd use their investments  to fund their goals.

A further 46 per cent of boomers believe it’s important to have a life bucket list, with 63 per cent saying they want something to aim for, and 54 per cent adding making exciting plans made them feel alive. 

Speaking about the study findings, Wayne D'Aranjo from John Lewis Money, says, "In a reversal of received wisdom, it’s interesting to see the traditional, and some would say very sensible, life moments and milestones that the younger generations aspire to experience - like becoming financially independent and saving for the future."

He concludes that whatever your life choices are, you should always set out to achieve them, adding "Whether it’s a desire to have a family dog, or to buy a new car, just having a bucket list of what we want to achieve from life can be a good starting point to help make it actually happen." Hopefully any boomers in the lives of Gen Z will steer them towards living a little, before they forge ahead with those marriage and baby plans.

For more on Gen Z, this generation reveal how they really want their intense emotions handled by those around them, as many say their parents don't take their mental health concerns seriously. On a lighter note, millennials reveal the things they hated as kids but love now they're adults, and they're all so relatable.