Economists can lie all they like, but this is indeed simply impossible now:

One of my friends in 1995 worked at Blockbuster full time and had his own (small) apartment. No roommates. Still had money for games and concerts and such. That is not something that would work financially in any US city anymore.

Again, no matter how much economists distort or Boomers carp, that sort of life is no longer available to anyone but trust funders.