Seated in the front row of a charter bus barreling down a winding three-lane highway, weaving in and out of cars and motorbikes in a manner I somewhat appreciated, I could see The Great Wall emerging on the side of the deep-green mountain range ahead. My husband and I arrived in Beijing 24 hours earlier open-minded, ready to experience the vast cultural and geographical differences of China. The 70th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China celebration had been in full swing the week prior to our visit. Our arrival coincided with the last day of one of China’s two annual “Golden Weeks.” This particular Golden Week celebrates the country’s independence after years of civil war. The celebration kicks off with “National Day,” —an anniversary of high expectations that promotes social cohesion, paying tribute to the past, and celebrating innovation and advancements. Each city block was unapologetically draped in bold red “70 Years” banners and signs. Aesthetically, the city was a study in juxtaposition, with its expansive brutalist-style buildings, mixed with a smattering of ancient structures that broke up the modern monotony. We strolled next to perfectly manicured shrubs, trees, and climbing vines on walls that ran alongside broad sidewalks packed 12 people across. Floral sculptures of happy children, camels, and birds were created specifically for Golden Week, and locals and tourists alike flocked around each botanical masterpiece for photos. We met our guide, Chris, in the lobby the following morning to catch our bus for a tour of The Great Wall. Chris is in his early thirties, like my husband and myself. He was excited to have people around his age on the tour and eager to talk to us about what our life was like. He was especially curious about whether we owned a house or rented an apartment. In China, he explained, you can buy an apartment but it is leased from the government for seventy years. The younger generation pays a fee if their parents wish to transfer this “mortgage” to them. The intent of this arrangement is affordability for young adults just starting out. But these “mortgage fees” are dramatically increasing in major cities like Beijing, and the reality is that many millennials cannot afford to live on their own anymore. This narrative would normally validate my initial belief of an apparent difference between our countries but it’s all too familiar back home. On the other side of the Pacific, families and friends also pass down their rent-controlled apartments. Los Angeles, where we live, has some of the costliest rents in the country. Renters earning the state’s minimum wage would need to work nearly double the standard 40-hour workweek to pay for an average one-bedroom apartment. Beyond affordable housing struggles, parental expectations (home ownership, marriage, children) between generations are the same everywhere too, it seems. Chris’s mother-in-law barely spoke to him after his wife told her they wanted to wait a few years before having a child of their own, so they’d have savings built up. My husband and I are holding off on having children for the same reasons. We shared a few laughs about our mutual gripes. There was magic in knowing we were walking the same path, thousands of miles apart. As the bus zig-zagged through traffic, I turned my attention to the bold, red, ubiquitous “70” bandaged to storefronts and busy walkways. I thought of our Independence Day that celebrates national unity, honoring the past, and looking toward the future with red, white, and blue decor. Millennials don’t appear to fit these longstanding narratives even if we wanted to embrace them. Regardless of where we live, or under what regime, we are left out. We are not heard. So we find solace and solidarity instead in each other, in small moments of commonality, instead of national spectacles of forced unity. I didn’t expect to find the distance between China and the US to be so small. Instead, the distance is a paradox we live with every day in our respective countries. The generational gap is increasing while the world is becoming more connected than ever. It’s a phenomenon I share with Chris from across the world. Different cultures, same millennial predicament.