Young Aussie TikToker in regional NSW questions life decisions amid grim housing crisis

Sky News AU

09-06-2025

A young Australian woman has exposed a major problem when it comes to home ownership and financial freedom in a powerful social media post.
Larissa Kay has asked her TikTok followers 'what are we doing?' as the 28-year-old finds herself struggling to save up for a home at a time where she feels the Australian dream is dead.
Kay is currently living in a studio in regional New South Wales after deciding a move to the bush would give her an upper hand in saving up for a home, but feels she still can't get ahead.
She told her followers, 'If you're maybe in your 20 or 30s and you're not being given things by your parents and you've gone to uni, you've finished school, got a degree, which was meant to give you a good job and that job was meant to pay for a house or holiday once a year or maybe have some kids, and that's not happening now'.
She admitted to feeling disillusioned, believing she would have a three-bedroom house, be preparing for kids or successfully setting up her career.
'I moved regional to save money but there's no jobs out here. It has made me reassess my whole life. What am I doing? Should I just go travelling? She said on her TikTok, amassing more than 800,000 views.
'Is the world going to blow up in 10 years and nothing of it matters anyway? What's the general attitude?
'I'm a pretty A-type person, I like to plan everything, but I'm just kind of feeling like f**k it, should I just do what makes me happy?'
Many agreed with Kay in the comments of her post.
'In my 30's, I'm the highest paid person in my extended family, minimal debt, in secure employment and its miserable. Still can't buy a house (local or regional), so we're using money to travel and see the world. Definitely a f**k it attitude!' one said.
'They fed us a lie about uni. Uni was just a place to show our employer that we could commit for four years somewhere and attend every day. That's all a uni degree is,' another added.
However one follower strongly disagreed with Kay's sentiment.
'Controversial opinion here: we are SO LUCKY! Australian salaries are one of the highest in the world, we live in an age where there is so much opportunity available to us. We are in a safe, stable country. If you're willing to work hard (find a side hustle to increase your earnings) and build wealth and live within your means. We have the internet where you can literally teach yourself any skill that can earn you a side income,' they wrote.
Ms Kay has now started a pet-sitting service, Luupo, matching owners with pet sitters. She started the side hustle to find a way to build her wealth.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has found that younger people are financially struggling to get their foot in the door of the housing market compared to previous generations.
About half of Millennials are homeowners at 55 per cent, whereas 66 per cent of Baby Boomers were homeowners at the same age.
In 1984, the average Australian could buy a home that cost 3.3 times their annual income.
In 2025, the average person faces house prices 10 times their annual pay packet.