好英语网生活艰难 西班牙千禧一代重新规划人生
Spanish start-up Mr Jeff would probably win the prize for the most millennial company name in Spain. The laundry delivery service is named after Jeffrey the Butler from the 1990s TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, whose theme lyrics are ingrained in the mind of most millennials.
西班牙如果有“最具千禧年代精神奖”的话，“杰夫先生”（Mr Jeff）得奖应是当之无愧。该洗衣服务公司以20世纪90年代电视节目《新鲜王子妙事多》（The Fresh Prince of Bel Air）中的管家杰夫里（Geoffrey）来命名。而且此电视节目的主题曲歌词可以说在大多数西班牙千禧一代（大约是1982 - 2000年出生）的脑海中根深蒂固。
Mr Jeff got its start in 2016 thanks to three founders – all millennials, no surprise – and the Valencia-based company has quickly expanded from Spain into Latin America. For founder Eloi Gómez, 26, beginning his own start-up was a no-brainer.
得益于三位创始人，“杰夫先生”于2016年创立，而他们不出意外地都是千禧一代。这家总部位于巴伦西亚（Valencia）的公司迅速从西班牙扩张到了拉丁美洲。对于26岁的创始人戈麦斯（Eloi Gómez）来说，决定创业在当时是理所当然的。
“Four or five years ago it was like, if I’m not [starting a business] then I will have to go abroad or I’ll have to go and get a masters because a real job sounded crazy. It was impossible to get a real job,” he says.
“在四、五年前，如果我不创业，我就得出国或是修读硕士，因为在那时找到一份真正的工作听起来很疯狂。要找到一份真正的工作是不可能的，”他如此解释。
Around the world millennials are bearing the brunt of a crippling economic crisis – low-paid jobs on temporary contracts, rising housing prices and the pressure of supporting an ageing population. In Spain young people have felt the squeeze particularly hard. Compared to Generation X (those born between 1966 and 1980) when they were aged 30 to 34, millennials of the same age have 30% lower disposable income in real terms.
2008年全球遭受经济危机的冲击，千禧一代首当其冲，他们要承受诸如临时合同制的低薪工作，不断上涨的房价以及人口老龄化的压力等。在西班牙，年轻人感受到的经济危机所带来的生活压迫尤其明显。与X一代（1966年至1980年出生的一代）相比，同龄的千禧一代在30岁至34岁这个年龄段实际可支配收入减少了30%。
“This is probably the first generation that, to some extent, does not have a guarantee that they will benefit from better living conditions than their parents,” says Marcel Jansen, professor of economics at the Autonomous University of Madrid and researcher at the Madrid-based Foundation of Applied Economic Studies. “We did a comparison in 2014 where we compared [labour market] entry conditions of young people to those who entered in previous decades and we had to go back to the late 80s to find similar living conditions.”
詹森（Marcel Jansen）作为马德里自治大学（Autonomous University of Madrid）经济学教授以及马德里应用经济研究基金会（Foundation of Applied Economic Studies）研究员表示：“在某种程度上，这可能是第一代无法保证自己能获得比父母更好的生活的一代人。我们在2014年做了一次对比研究，比较了这代年轻人和前几十年的青年进入劳动力市场的条件，我们不得不追溯到80年代末才能找到和如今类似的生活状况。”
Five years into the Global Financial Crisis in 2013, youth unemployment levels in Spain topped 56%. Throughout the past decade long-term unemployment has multiplied fivefold among young Spaniards.
全球金融危机爆发的五年后，即2013年，西班牙青年失业率超过了56%。在过去的十年中，西班牙年轻人长期失业率达到了过去的五倍。
“Our generation was taught that you just have to study and get a degree from university and after that you will have a job,” Gómez says. But millennials like him have had to make alternative plans, deviating from the model followed by prior generations.
戈麦斯说：“我们这一代人从小被教导说，你只需要好好读书，读到大学毕业，然后你就能找到工作。”但到他长大成人，像他这样的千禧一代不得不背离了前几代人所遵循的成长模式，必须另谋出路。
The uncertain future is propelling what has been dubbed Spain’s “lost generation” toward non-traditional jobs to make a living. In modern Spain, the linear path just does not cut it for many to get by.
不确定的未来正在推动着被称为西班牙“迷惘的一代”转向非传统的工作模式以谋生。在如今的西班牙，传统模式再不能帮助人们渡过生活难关。
Going, going…
前进，继续前进……
Rents in Spain are rising 12 times faster than salaries. The average monthly rent rose during the first three months of 2018 to 1,025 euros ($1,167) – as high as 1,603 euros ($1,825) in Barcelona and 1,549 euros ($1,764) in Madrid.
西班牙的房租涨幅速度是工资的 12 倍。在 2018 年的前三个月，平均月租金上涨到了 1025 欧元（1167美元），而在巴塞罗那则涨到了 1603 欧元（1825美元），马德里涨到了 1549 欧元（1764美元）。
In contrast, researchers from Spain’s National Statistics Institute estimated the average Spanish millennial monthly salary as 943 euros ($1,074) for aged 20 to 24; 1,323 euros ($1,506) for aged 25 to 29; and 1,612 euros ($1,835) for aged 30 to 34. At the bottom end of the range for rent, even the highest earning millennials statistically pay well beyond 50% of their monthly salary for shelter – far beyond the expert-recommended 30% upper limit.
来自西班牙国家统计局的研究人员估计，相比高价房租， 20 至 24 岁西班牙千禧一代的平均月薪只为 943 欧元（1074美元）， 25 至 29 岁为 1323 欧元（1506美元）， 30 至 34 岁为 1612 欧元（1835美元）。即使是收入最高的千禧一代，从统计数据来看，房租也远远超过了他们月薪的 50%，而这一比例也远高于专家所建议的 30%上限。
Researchers from the Intergenerational Commission at UK-based think-tank the Resolution Foundation concluded that “millennials have substantially lower incomes than Generation X did at the same age. In Spain, for example, typical incomes for millennials in their early 30s are – so far – a sizeable 30% (7,000 euros) lower than they were for Generation X”.
位于英国的智库决议基金会（Resolution Foundation）的跨代事务委员会（Intergenerational Commission）研究人员得出结论：“千禧一代的收入比同年龄的X一代实际收入要低得多。例如，目前在西班牙，30岁出头的千禧一代的平均收入与X一代相比低了30%（7000欧元）。”
And although living standards have certainly improved during the past 30 years, whether conditions are actually “better” becomes a bit fuzzier, according to economist Francisco José Goerlich, who works at the University of Valencia. “It is true that rising rents, especially in big cities, are an important share of expenditures, so money left for other things is, to some extent, less,” he says.
巴伦西亚大学（University Of Valencia）经济学家戈尔利希（Francisco José Goerlich）表示，尽管生活水平在过去30年里确实有所改善，但生活条件是否真的更好则变得有些模糊。他表示：“毫无疑问，租金的上涨，尤其是在大城市，是人们生活支出的很大部分。因此，在某种程度上，可用于其他方面的资金就相对应地减少了。”
A different flight path
不同的选择
Cristina Robles, 30, studied documentary film-making and interned at companies around Madrid, including Spanish national broadcaster Televisión Española. Robles has also discovered that breaking into Spain’s job market as a millennial is difficult – especially compared to her predecessors. “Everyone is expecting you to do five different jobs in one and be paid 650 euros ($740) a month,” she says.
30岁的罗伯斯（Cristina Robles）曾学习纪录片制作并在马德里周边的公司实习，其中包括西班牙国家广播电视台（Televisión Española）。罗伯斯发现，千禧一代要进入西班牙的就业市场是十分困难的，特别是与她的前辈相比。她说道：“每个人都希望你能在一份月薪650欧元（740美元）的工作中完成五份不同的工作。”
Robles has not taken a job in media, but is instead part of La Pájara Ciclomensajería (The Delivery Bird), a bicycle service offering scheduled deliveries, arranged over the phone or online, and on-the-spot food deliveries which customers order via their website.
罗伯斯最后并没有在媒体行业工作，而是选择成为“送货鸟”合作社（La Pájara Ciclomensajería）的一员。“送货鸟”是一家自行车外送服务，提供通过电话或网络在线安排的预定送货服务，以及通过网站订购的食物外送服务。
30岁的罗伯斯（图片最右），最近加入了自行车外送服务，她认为这份工作比在电视台工作更有成就感
La Pájara was launched in September 2018 by five millennial friends – three Spaniards, a Costa Rican and an Italian. The five had previous experience working for gig-based companies, including Deliveroo, and and said they wanted to leave the restrictive model for something with more autonomy and more ethical work practices.
“送货鸟”合作社于2018年9月由五名千禧一代创立，其中三个是西班牙人，一个哥斯达黎加人和一个意大利人。这五人都曾在包括“户户送”（Deliveroo）之类以临时工为基础的公司工作过。他们都表示希望能离开这种传统的限制性模式，以获得更多的自主权和更良好的工作环境。
“I think the key is that we are the owners of the cooperative and all the money is shared by us,” says Martino Correggiari, 30. He adds that “there are no people in between” like other gig economy business models that rely on contractors. The heart of La Pájara, he stresses, is working for yourself.
30岁的科里盖利（Martino Correggiari）说：“我认为这个合作社模式的关键是在于我们都是合作社的所有者，所有的钱都由我们分配”。他补充说，和其他依赖承包商的零工经济商业模式不同，这个模式“没有中间人”。他强调，“送货鸟”合作社的核心是在于你在为自己工作。
At the moment, the riders are on their way to making 9 euros ($10.25) per hour, but with the business having started so recently, they are in what they refer to as a “transition phase”: building a strong client base. (Spain does not have an hourly minimum wage, but the required monthly minimum is 735 euros [$837], or 4.50 euros [$5.12] per hour for a 40-hour week).
目前，合作社的成员们已经快达到每小时9欧元（合10.25美元）的收入，但由于业务刚刚起步，他们正处于所谓的“过渡阶段”，即他们仍在建立强大的客户群。（西班牙没有规定每小时最低工资，但要求每月最低工资为735欧元（837美元）或每周工作40小时的情况下每小时工资为4.50欧元（5.12美元）。）
Robles’ new work is precarious but she is still making more than she did during her last position in TV: an internship for which she was not paid anything. “We love to be on the streets and ride and it’s really cool if you think you can be paid for something you really love,” she says.
虽然罗伯斯新工作的收入不稳定，但她的收入仍然高于她上一份在电视台的工作。在电视台的实习期间，她没有得到任何报酬。她说：“我们喜欢在街上骑自行车，如果你能一边做自己喜欢的事情一边赚钱，那真是太酷了。”
Lost generation, found
迷惘一代找寻人生方向
María Ramos is the co-author of The Invisible Wall, which explores the barrier between youth and independent adulthood in Spain. She says that the economic constraints faced by millennials are slowing down their progress through major life milestones. These transitions – such as becoming parents - are happening later and later and, in some cases, stalling entirely.
拉莫斯（María Ramos）是《看不见的墙》（The Invisible Wall）的作者之一，该书探讨了西班牙青少年成长为独立成年人的障碍。她认为，千禧一代所面临的经济限制正在拖慢他们跨越人生重要里程碑的进程。人生的重要转变，如成为父母养儿育女，正变得越来越遥远，在某些情况下甚至完全停滞不前。
“This delay in Spain is very evident,” says Ramos. “At age 30, 78% of young people still live at home with their parents. The insecurity in the employment of the young people is enormous, and in many cases it extends throughout life.”
拉莫斯说：“在西班牙，人生规划推后是非常明显的。78%的人在30岁时仍与父母同住一起。青年人就业缺乏保障很严重，在许多情况下，这种缺乏就业安全感甚至贯穿于整个人生。”
In 2018, Spain registered its lowest birth rate in 40 years: 1.3 children per mother. In 1972, it was 2.9 children. “Millennials stay longer with their parents, marry later and have children later,” agrees Mr Jeff’s Gómez. “My mother was 16 when she left home and my dad was 25.”
2018年，西班牙创下了40年来最低的出生率 ，即平均每位母亲生1.3名子女。1972年时的出生率是每位母亲2.9名子女。戈麦斯同意说，“千禧一代与父母住在一起的时间较长，因此结婚时间较晚，生育时间也会更晚。我母亲出嫁时是16岁，我父亲是25岁。”
Along with changes in how they live, many millennials are also rethinking traditional expectations about what it means to be successful, both professionally and personally.
随着生活方式的改变，许多千禧一代也在重新思考着对人生成功的传统期望是什么。从职业还是个人生活来说，什么才叫成功？
“People are looking for experiences more than life goals as we know them; you know, by 30 I’m going to be married and have two dogs and hopefully a kid. People aren’t measuring their lives on goals, they are measuring their lives on experiences,” says Robles. “If this job allows us to have a decent life and enjoy what we do… then I think we’re not doing anything wrong.”
罗伯斯说：“众所周知的是，人们期待获得的是人生经历这个过程而不是人生未来的某个目标。到了30岁，我将要结婚，养两条狗，还可能会有一个孩子。我认为，人们不是用目标来衡量他们的生活，而是用经历来衡量他们的生活。如果这份工作能让我们过上体面的生活，并且我们也享受自己的工作，那我想，我们并没有做错任何事。”
