Finding a decent place to live shouldn't be as hard as it is.
Speak to young people about their experience with housing and not many will be positive. Whether it's rental properties left in dire straits, rapidly increasing rents or having to live with parents far longer than they would've liked, there isn't much to be cheery about.
It is certainly something I'm dwelling on at the moment. I recently moved into a new flat - the seventh place I've rented in the eight years since I left home for university.
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That in itself is pretty tiring. Never really being able to settle, instead accepting you have to up sticks each year in search of something which remains within budget.
The common themes with these flats have been their problems. You might expect that landlords would spend the time between tenancies to deal with underlying issues, to ensure that the new tenant can move into a functioning home - the least they can hope for after handing over hundreds as a deposit.
Chance would be a fine thing.
That certainly isn't my experience and speaking to friends, it doesn't seem to be theirs either. Whether it's cheap fixtures and fittings that are on their last legs, appliances that just don't work or damp spreading through the property, lots of flats that cost a fair wedge to rent seem to be completely neglected.
Now I don't believe that all flats around the country are left to fall into disrepair, but my overwhelming feeling is that rental accommodation in this country is in such a sorry state. And if you're lucky enough to find a flat of decent quality, there's every chance you can't afford to rent it.
If it weren't hard enough, these properties are getting ever more expensive.
Earlier this week, the FT reported that residential rents in the UK have increased by an average of 12% in the past year. That is the largest annual increase on record. Frankly, how is anyone expected to keep up?
However, if you want to escape the misery of paying for somebody else's mortgage, then panic not - you only need to save for a decade if you want your own. Earlier this year, campaign group Generation Rent said it would take an average of 9.6 years for first-time buyers to save enough to put down a deposit - an increase from 6.8 years in 2012.
In the North West, the average deposit now stands at £36,000, according to Zoopla. For anyone not earning silly money or with benefactors by the name of mum and dad, this feels rather intimidating.
Fortunately, those not having to climb this ever-growing mountain are always on hand with plenty of advice for young people. Want to save £40,000 for a nice house? Just cancel Netflix and take a break from the cappuccinos my friend.
If only it were that simple. I'm not sure the monthly payment for a streaming service or a coffee to wake you up on the way to work will even touch the sides.
Even if it did, why should you cancel your streaming service? At what point did we decide that even the most basic of luxuries should be given up so you can afford a place to call your own?
What do they want? Young people to stop going out and helping the hospitality industry stay afloat? Instead, go to work, go straight home, pour yourself a nice glass of tap water and stare at the wall.
Fancy a curry and a film? A nice week night in? Or a couple of pints out with mates? Don't you dare - there's a deposit to save for, young man.
It is exhausting. We are getting a very sorry deal.
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