They go out while the economy goes down

Social lives of young adults help counter decline in spending by families

Walk down Raleigh's trendy Glenwood South district most nights, and you'll be hard-pressed to find evidence that the economy is on shaky ground.

The restaurants and bars are filled with 20-somethings and 30-somethings sipping $5 drinks and spending $50 or $60 on an evening of fun with friends.

It's not that these young adults are unaware of the state of the economy. It's just not a part of their reality. They have good jobs, no kids, no mortgage, and they aren't planning to change their spending ways.

Though many say they're just doing what they want, their continued spending may be bolstering sectors of the Triangle's economy, especially because this area has a high concentration of young adults.

Nationally, people between 20 and 34 compose 20.3 percent of the population. In the Triangle's largest communities, the percentages are much higher, according to the latest census data: 28.5 percent in Raleigh, 25.6 percent in Durham and 37.8 percent in Chapel Hill.

While their spending isn't enough to offset all economic pain, they are helping many local businesses stay afloat.

"It's not going to prevent whatever's happening from happening," said Michael Walden, an economist with N.C. State University. "What you need to have happen to either prevent an economy from getting worse or bring it out of a recession is for consumers to spend."

Elizabeth Wachowski and Jon Ferrell are doing their part. They eat out two or three times a week, most often at Hi5, a Glenwood South restaurant where they usually spend about $40.

Wachowski, 24, works a lot of nights as an emergency medical technician for Durham County. Ferrell, 33, is a manager of a Raleigh comic book store and works mostly during the day. The couple has been dating since July, and with conflicting schedules, Wachowski said their priority is spending time together -- not tracking the economy.

"We're not really too worried about it," Wachowski said. "We're both making decent money."

They both rent -- Wachowski in Raleigh, Ferrell in Garner -- but Wachowski has been saving and hopes to buy a house this fall.

The two feel their financial footing is sound, so they're not cutting back.

"No one ever goes, 'Wow, the economy's bad, I can't go out,' " she said. "It's more personal. It's, 'How am I doing? How much do I have in the bank right now?' "

Expecting more later

Younger people feel this way because they have different financial responsibilities and a different mindset, said John Lynch, a professor at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.

"People don't save when they think their income is going to be going up a lot in the near future," he said. "Young people are at a point when their income is growing fairly rapidly, compared to other times in their lives."

In a monthly consumer survey by Ohio research firm BIGResearch last month, 27.7 percent of consumers ages 18 through 34 said their personal financial situation was better than it had been at the same time last year. Just 12.3 percent of people older than 55 said the same thing.

It's not only restaurants and bars that are benefiting.

Jason Chirakan, 34, said he's going to buy a washer and dryer and take a trip to Thailand this year.

Chirakan, a computer programmer for IBM, said his financial situation is secure. He is 11 years from paying off his North Raleigh home, and his only other debt is a car loan.

"My habits have been pretty much the same," he said. "I haven't changed much."

Still, Chirakan has made minor adjustments. He tries to work at home one or two days a week -- saving $4 a day in gas -- and goes to the movies once a week instead of two or three times.

Such small cuts are typical for young adults, said Paco Underhill, president of Envirosell, a New York firm that studies how people shop.

"Young people are waiting longer to get married, and many are saving money with a roommate," he said. "It's hard to entertain at home, and going out becomes your social context."

With other consumers cutting back, many businesses rely on the younger shoppers.

Dean Ogan, partner in Rocky Top Hospitality in Raleigh, which owns several area restaurants including Hi5, said sales are up at its three restaurants on Glenwood South that attract younger people.

But Rocky Top's two North Raleigh restaurants, which tend to draw more families, have seen sales drop by 7 percent to 10 percent, Ogan said.

Noodles for nights out

"Kids that are in college or just in their first apartment are going to go out," Ogan said.

"They'll eat ramen noodles to be able to do that. ... Families are the ones who are being a little bit more conservative now."

At the 42nd Street Oyster Bar & Seafood Grill, about a quarter of the customers are young professionals, said co-owner Brad Hurley. Sales so far this year have kept pace with 2007. "We feel very fortunate to be doing what we were doing last year," he said.

Kellie Harris, 30, is working hard to pay off the last $1,100 of her student loan and recently consolidated some bills to get a lower interest rate. She walks to work to save on gas money.

But will the Raleigh elementary school drama teacher stop going out?

No way.

"When you're a teacher, you have to have adult friends," she said.