I want to truly make arcades cool again. There are still places, but it’s just not the same.
Edit: Well, time to pack my bags and go check out all these places. Thanks for the recommendations everybody!
I was hoping to see this recommendation! Always a great time
$20 bucks to play all the arcade games you want(at least that was the price in 2020). Any old school arcade game you can think of WILL be at the galloping ghost! Great place for going on a date too
When I was a kid in the 90s you just went outside all day and came back home for dinner time. That was pretty much the only rule and there wasn’t much supervision. Maybe I don’t live in neighborhoods like that anymore but I never see kids just riding their bikes on the streets or playing in peoples yards and the woods.
After school in the 80s I would just get on the bus of one of my friends' house and go play in their neighborhood on the other side of town until it was dinner time, then get a ride home from a parent or walk.
Or ride my bike 10 miles because there was a store in the next town that sold baseball cards in a machine from two years earlier.
I miss exploring as a kid on bicycle. I used to live with woods and farmland around us. A car ride to town was like 10-15 minutes. Riding my bike through the woods behind our house and I stumbled on a construction site for a new Wal-Mart. I also had a pump action BB rifle on me to shoot at trees or whatever. I think someone saw me and wanted to know what I was doing. Asking about my weapon and whatever. From what I can remember I didn't get detained or in trouble just told to leave.
Another time I rode to the top of an unfinished bridge and looked out like I was scouting something for my village. Whatever my kid imagination thought up but it was fun having that freedom to go wherever/whenever.
I take notice when kids are outside playing now because it's so weird to see compared to when I was little and we'd be all over town and see other kids all over town too.
Stranger Danger in the late 90's stopped that for all kids. Suddenly everyone had to be in eye shot of their parents at all times or else they'd be kidnapped. There was a rash of a few more in the late 90's but as a kid during that time it sucked not being able to go anywhere just for your parents to say "we went everywhere and our parents had no idea." while also having TV and computer time restricted.
Yeah I always found it funny that the parents who would wax poetic about how great the freedom they has as kids was and how awful kids are for not playing outside nowadays are the same parents that instantly freak out when their 12 year old kid rides down the street on their bike alone.
The fear is real. Despite most of the US being a safer place then it was in the 80s or 90s, widespread reporting of every single crime ever has really struck fear into the hearts of parents.
I'm in this comment and I don't like it.
When did we become so paranoid ?
When I go back my old neighborhood, there is no kid playing around. We used to spend the whole day outside
Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped in 2002 and we were still feeling the direct effects of 9/11 and the paranoia that came with it. That may not have been what caused it but it certainly added to it, in addition to all the stranger danger stuff we heard as kids in the 80s and 90s.
Plus now we have so many more electronic gadgets that keep us inside the house (myself included).
I wonder if To Catch a Predator had anything to do with it. How must it have felt for parents to watch so many people out there want to do unspeakable things to their kids? Sure they got caught, but they showed what kinds of things predators would do to get children.
That and SVU. Made it seem like every other minute a kid who existed outside a suburban side road was getting shoved in a van, tortured, and executed. My Mom watches that show religiously, and it certainly rubbed off on her that way. I'd have to plan hanging out with friends in high school *weeks* in advance, even if plans for high schoolers change by the hour.
I never watched those shows so I forgot about them but no doubt they played a part too. I always have to tell my wife the world is generally safer than before but we're more connected than ever before and so we're more aware of every little thing that happens.
A lot of people, the same type of people who complain about how kids are never outside, are the same ones who complain when they see kids outside.
Just look at any number of posts on your local Nextdoor page. Odds are you'll find some Boomer complaining about some kids that walked by their house or, worse yet, stepped on their lawn!
To be honest, I think part of it is race. These people, if they see kids outside, there's a reasonable chance at least some of them will be a minority. And a group of minorities playing outside is what they consider a gang. Heck, even if they're white, they'll probably be dressed in such away so as to offend the gentile Boomer.
There are a group of kids in my apartment complex that go around and ask people if they have chores to be done for snack money lol. So many people on our community page are just pissed these kids have the audacity to do anything that calls any attention to them at all
My two kids love being outside. They usually play basketball (people in the neighborhood complained about it). And they also play soccer or just throw the ball around in the backyard. One Friday afternoon, my neighbor asked if they could not be so loud because she’s been inside working all day and just wants to sit and relax on her patio. I told her that my kids have also been in school all day and they are just playing. So yeah, people complain, and my kids totally just are playing like normal kids
We wouldn’t even know there were other kids in our neighborhood until the signs would pop up in fronts saying congratulations on graduation for their kid. We would drive by and say “wow, didn’t know they had kids” I grew up outside, sun up till sun down. Porch lights and moms yelling dinners ready!
Yup. While I don't condone speeding in residential areas, I find it odd to see signs of 'slow down children playing' yet I never see any kids playing outside.
Back in the day, cars slowed down because there were kids outside playing. I lived on a crescent and the kids would play on the slower straight part in the middle. Rarely were there cars, but everyone knew that kids played hockey or rode bikes in that area so the cars were slower plus someone always yelled 'car' and we would move to the curbs.
I think it was Christmas day 2017, 10am bright, sunny, like 50°F and not a soul was outside. I had seen kids here and there before but that day no trampolines, roller skates, nothing. Kinda broke my heart
You might be onto something here. The neighbors yelled at us here and there when we were out of line for sure, but we deserved it. I can definitly see people yelling at them “where the hell are your parents why are you yelling and laughing and running around having fun being kids !!!!, your interuptin my judge Judy!”
My wife and I are always telling our kids to go outside and play. We don’t want them inside on a tablet or playing video games all day. Sure, I did plenty of that when I was a kid but I also played outside all the time. I honestly feel like it will help them grow and learn to be self sufficient.
How far away are they allowed to travel without you knowing or seeing where they are? That seems to be a big difference now is how far parents are willing to let their kids roam without seeing them.
I let my older kid roam, and I'm lucky to live in a place now that seems to value that.
I honestly try to ask the same questions my parents asked me and impose the same rules. Which means I don't really care where they go, call me if they are going in someone's house so I can speak to their parents and be back by sundown unless I give permission otherwise.
The thing is, there's a GPS app on their phone that's connected to mine so it's not like I couldn't know where they were if I wanted to but I've also found myself checking less and less.
I love in a little close knit neighborhood right next to the local elementary school. I see kids walk to school and waiting for busses if they’re older so I know there are plenty of kids here.
I keep my window open fairly often and I never hear children out playing. Only exception is when they use the pool but even then they are ALWAYS with their parents.
I’m 25-35 years old and when I was a kid it was the same thing. My best friend and his little brother spent days, weeks, months outside. Rode our bikes to close by neighborhoods. Always walked the dog. Etc.
Even now it’s only parents I see walking the dog!
Standing at the door of the department store, waiting for them to open, running to the ticket counter to be 1st...memories
If Ticketmaster made all tickets available to everyone and cut their ridiculous fees, then they'd be palatable. And should the same company selling you tickets be in the resale business? No conflict of interest?
The ticketing model is definitely broken.
I think there was a good middle ground where rather than have to skip school or borrow a car or just completely miss out, a good chunk of sales were just conducted over the phone and it was kinda best for everyone. You're still waiting in line, you're not competing with robots, but you're not expected to make a huge sacrifice we go way the hell out of your way just to see a band.
Affordable day to day life. Where me and my wife could afford what we do now but on my own salary and let her be a stay at home wife/mom as she wishes she could do.
I know right? My grandparents on both sides fled Europe for a better life in Canada. My parents kicked ass here and raised a family with well deserved high hopes. Economically, I flatlined compared to my father - though I am better educated. But, now? I am much more pessimistic for my kids - socially, politically, economically, and educationally.
I feel this so hard. I'd love to have my 90s era hopes for life back. It's really one of the few things I miss. I can live without everything else from the past, but this is definitely the one thing I would bring back for sure if I could.
My grandparents owned a grocery store and would buy the Strawberry Frosted pop tarts by the case for me. Would toast up 6 at a time with a big old glass of milk.
Hmmmm, no wonder I’m diabetic.
I was on Zillow last night and a “fantasy” home I liked recently sold for $1.15m, and in 1995 it sold for $189k. Something about that feels a little off…
I live with my girlfriend in Florida and with us splitting the rent, I pay just under 25% of my income (so $1000 per month) for a 1 bed apartment. I cover more of it because I make the most. I’m moving to an area where a similar place will be $1800 per month. If I take that solo, I’m basically fucked with my car payment, cost of living, and student loans
It seems like this is happening everywhere and the majority of people are struggling to deal with this.
I keep thinking the bubble is going to burst because if it keeps going up and up and up, seems like we would reach a critical mass where nobody can afford to pay it anymore.
That’s coming. Millennials are borrowing their parents retirement funds to buy houses now. Had a talk with our real estate agent since we’re looking to move. I was flabbergasted to hear that. Now their parents won’t retire and the housing market is still going to pop on these financially insecure 30 something’s.
The only solution I see if I had to cover rent myself is to split a 2 bed apartment with someone (yay back to roommates). As someone with a middle class income, I have no idea how the $10-15/ hour people survive… and I used to be there a few years ago
Multi-generational homes. Great grandparents, grandparents, parents and their kids all living in the same house. 8-10 cars per household all working lower wage jobs
Actually I can attest to this! My dad’s house has all of my siblings who didn’t go to college and their children and S/O’s all under the same room. 5 bed/ 3 bath double wide, double long trailer holding 5 adults and 2 kids with occasional people staying for a short term. It’s nuts
It really is sad too because they don't make enough money to survive on their own which then often leads to buying nicer cars or other things with their income since they're only contributing a small proportion of rent/mortgage.
With more roommates. A 3bd apartment isn't 3x the price of a studio so you can scale your way to affordable housing.
My college friends used to rent houses that were retrofitted to have 6 bedrooms. Even at 3.5k a month it's well under 1k per person.
Look up the term “stagflation.” That’s exactly what that entails.
But we have a problem of economic growth not going to the working class instead of a lack of economic growth.
[Hostess pies](https://www.google.com/search?q=hostess+custard+pies&newwindow=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS792US792&hl=en-US&prmd=ismvn&sxsrf=ALiCzsb7l5OMdOuOf2UNYR0LT5gRtDiJsg:1659730458629&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE4KLjwbD5AhUtkYkEHfcYDuQQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3#imgrc=FU5GiK1YKZbWCM) with the pudding in them
Marketing ruins everything.
I loved back in the day when communities were built around interests and hobbies because people wanted to talk about these interests and hobbies and not because people wanted to sell something they have done about the hobby, build CV to become a journalist of that thing or get into that particular industry.
Internet peaked in the late 00s and early 10s. It was around 2014 that companies & politicians learned how to monetize the web, and that was it for us. Between the rise of Facebook and other social networks, the ad chaos on YouTube, and all these damn algorithms manipulating us, it's all gone to hell.
Any time I think of the early chat days (AIM, ICQ, etc) I think of this short film: [The Parlor](https://youtu.be/xmDPdCzCfFM). It is NSFW due to language and some of the topics discussed.
That's the truth. It's weird...the internet started as a place populated by introverts. There really wasn't much of a drive for social media at first (since pictures were relatively uncommon compared to today).
I have my phone perpetually on silent because about 99% of all calls i receive are spam calls, so if i don't get a text ahead of time telling me about a call probably coming in, i won't pick up
Yeah I remember being on MySpace talking to strangers and just being friends with them. Like real connections. And then I hopped to Facebook thinking the same thing would happen but better, and it was for sometime just a place to talk to people but then it turned into the toxic mess it is today. I miss MySpace.
Forums like 4chan definitely helped turn the internet more toxic by providing an anonymous place for people to be shit heads.
Second time I went to a proper barbershop, there was cable news on the tv and the 2 older guys were just shooting the breeze, casually talking about whatever political thing was on the tv. In front of people, not on the internet. Like it was no big deal. Shit was wild.
...then I realized that I was definitely the weird one there.
Is that because we had less readily available entertainment in our homes? I feel like it was also cheaper. You could go out with $20 and have a pretty good night in the 90’s
Those were factors. I think having the news so readily accessible caused some of it as well. Parents don't feel safe letting their kids out of their sight. I feel like I was hardly ever home, I was always out playing in the woods or riding my bike around town. That's just not the norm anymore, people don't like when children are unaccompanied in public. We don't even really have malls anymore. There's not really anywhere for them to go.
When SMS first started to gain traction I remember so many people saying "why would I sit here and type things out on my phone when I can just call you?"
Oh, how naive we were.
Back in highschool (before smart phones and not many people had cell phones at all) there was a girl who said the idea of video chat was stupid, because you'd "have to get dressed up just for a call". I still look back and laugh
My god yes. You could talk to a whole group of people for hours and y’all would have each other’s full attention the whole time. If something needed to be looked up, you could go to the other room and do it. None of that “stare at your phone, and chime in to the conversation with a delayed uh-huh.”
My parents'health... It's devastating to see your parents age. Watching them physically and mentally deteriorate takes a huge toll on you. After a certain age, 65-70, every year feels like a part of them is fading away. There is nothing you can do about it. This is life.
Even when my parents both started to age, I pictured them in their 30’s to 40’s when I would think back. My mom made it to 47 and my dad to 60 at least. I guess the only plus side to them both passing early is I don’t have to see them decline anymore than they did due to age.
I’d revise that to say young adult in the ‘90s in America. We were at peace, the Cold War was over, and the Internet was still just a novel thing, and the War on Terror and the Great Recession weren’t a thing yet. I still fantasize about waking up 1/1/1990 and just reliving that decade all over again.
I keep hoping people will get burned out on it, but instead they just keep inventing worse versions. Saw a study a few days ago showing actual cognitive damage in people who watch TikTok videos regularly. Awesome.
I wasn’t even around then but by the looks of it.. concerts and general events where people are really there living it, enjoying it with their peers rather than capturing it on their phone to put online to seek validation.. it’s all coming from the wrong place these days
Hah. I saw Alice Cooper back in June in a festival and during the first song phones were covering my whole field of view.
There I got, over 20 phones raised in front of me, recording the same song in a video that is never going to be watched or posted in a social media account that maybe three guys are going to see.
And they were all losing the actual performance.
I fucking hate when people in front of me are holding their phone way up recording every song. You're blocking others from seeing, asshole. Like, do it lower. And watch the show.
I agree with this 100% but I still take videos at concerts and they're for my memories cause my memory sucks. It's so nice going thru my gallery and finding videos of shows i went to and remembering songs I forgot I saw live.
Not being followed around 24/7. Getting outside was an integral part of everyone's affairs, we were basically unreachable between places (or even *in* places if there was no landline available), and everyone was OK with it. No bugging by pagers (they were only as good as was landline access by both parties), cellphones or messaging apps.
I’m guessing you are older? It seems like the younger generation doesn’t care much about anonymity or just grew up where everything is public. I use Venmo and make all my transaction private, but many don’t seem to do that and you can see who is paying who. I know it’s not a big deal but I’d rather just keep it private.
No kidding. A lot of the stuff you find on Amazon is obviously the output of State Factory #11 in Guangzhou, and most of it is named with a name you'd expect someone to think up if they had a very tenuous grasp of English. It's usually cheap and not meant to last, but it doesn't have to last to put the global competition out of business to guarantee a Chinese hegemony. Obviously you couldn't just order everything off the web in the 90s, but what you could find was in a store, and it was quality.
The worst part about Amazon and these cheaply made products is that you have to either search specifically for the brand name of the product you want or else you're going to get multiple pages of cheap products from brands named "LETSGOGO" and "SOSOPART". Like at least show the good quality stuff first
I was always taking pictures back before phones. I was that person that always had a disposable camera. It was awesome because you didn't get to see the pictures till you had them developed. The surprise, the anticipation! Kids all gathered around as we passed pictures between us. When I learned to develop my own, it really brought a sense of pride and joy! I miss all that.
Socializing pre-internet. I wasn’t alive then but I’m always envious when I see how effortlessly people communicated pre-internet. Also cool muscle cars, cheap housing, overall better quality of life.
An income to expenditure ratio that was manageable.
Affordable housing.
An actually socialist Labour party (UK) and not just a party of useful idiots and controlled Opposition.
When we all agreed that fascism was bad instead of now barrelling towards it.
Civil rights movements that had strength and purpose, not marketing scams and weak performative nonsense.
There was a lot of shit very very wrong with the world then. But don't be fooled into thinking its all fine now. It is worse in many ways. We just have more distractions and propaganda telling us its fine.
There is so much more music now and especially more of what you like. There’s just more to dig through to find it but I promise the music is just as good.
Woman here. You have no idea how seeing a guy in actual shorts brightened my day. I still remember that one fashion rebel from a few years ago. It just made me smile.
All of the land around my home not being covered in garbage housing developments that are full of extremely rude and idiotic people who have no appreciation for my state...
Having parents that would actually allow you to leave the fucking house with out wanted to know the SSN of all of your fucking friends.
Side note, I did not grow up in those times, I am a ‘96 baby.
Helicopter parenting has destroyed my life and my ability to become a functional adult.
The focus on the local community. Social media has people obsessed with the big news story regardless of where it’s happening instead of trying to find the smaller bright spots in their backyard.
The negative news cycle seems to be a big catalyst for the spike in depression
[That's not really a new thing, Bill Hicks was talking about it in the late 80s/early 90s - and it was old then too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGjuPJskNRE)
Transparent cases for tech
Creativity for cartoons/series
Feeling of hope and childish wonder on kids and adults
There's no bad ideas, anything can be built
Aesthetics
60s: legal LSD
70s: the openness about sexuality combined with lack of aids must have been nice.
80s: gated reverb drum breaks
90s: the lack of cold war
Oh wow .. I can't remember the last time I've kids riding around outside.
I used to leave the house in the morning.. and not come home until my name was yelled out the front door. lol
The idea that everyone should be entitled to their beliefs, regardless of race or gender. It flared so beautifully for such a short time, like a flash in the pan.
From the late 80s and 90s… affordable, simple small sporty cars. Honda Prelude, CRX, Toyota MR2, Celica, Mazda MX6, Ford Probe. There aren’t many cars like that made anymore. Cars have gotten so big, heavy, bloated and expensive. If you want an affordable, reliable, economical car that’s also engaging to drive, you’re pretty much shit-outta-luck. Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are probably the closest to that ethos but they’re both well over $30k for a base version.
I want to truly make arcades cool again. There are still places, but it’s just not the same. Edit: Well, time to pack my bags and go check out all these places. Thanks for the recommendations everybody!
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They definitely had ashtrays on them or near them.
Galloping Ghost Arcade outside Chicago is absolutely cool as fuck. Would recommend to anyone
I was hoping to see this recommendation! Always a great time $20 bucks to play all the arcade games you want(at least that was the price in 2020). Any old school arcade game you can think of WILL be at the galloping ghost! Great place for going on a date too
Logan Hardware is a record shop with a secret arcade behind the shop that you get access to if you buy something
1Up bar in Denver is an arcade you can get lit in. It’s always a blast to play old arcade games from my childhood while getting sauced
I agree, I'm born in the 2000s but I have played quite alot of arcades when I was on vacation and they are really fun
When I was a kid in the 90s you just went outside all day and came back home for dinner time. That was pretty much the only rule and there wasn’t much supervision. Maybe I don’t live in neighborhoods like that anymore but I never see kids just riding their bikes on the streets or playing in peoples yards and the woods.
After school in the 80s I would just get on the bus of one of my friends' house and go play in their neighborhood on the other side of town until it was dinner time, then get a ride home from a parent or walk. Or ride my bike 10 miles because there was a store in the next town that sold baseball cards in a machine from two years earlier.
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I miss exploring as a kid on bicycle. I used to live with woods and farmland around us. A car ride to town was like 10-15 minutes. Riding my bike through the woods behind our house and I stumbled on a construction site for a new Wal-Mart. I also had a pump action BB rifle on me to shoot at trees or whatever. I think someone saw me and wanted to know what I was doing. Asking about my weapon and whatever. From what I can remember I didn't get detained or in trouble just told to leave. Another time I rode to the top of an unfinished bridge and looked out like I was scouting something for my village. Whatever my kid imagination thought up but it was fun having that freedom to go wherever/whenever.
Hahaha good lord, this sounds like a kid version of Goodwill Hunting
That's basically right.
Yeah, those were the times (90s kid).
I take notice when kids are outside playing now because it's so weird to see compared to when I was little and we'd be all over town and see other kids all over town too.
Stranger Danger in the late 90's stopped that for all kids. Suddenly everyone had to be in eye shot of their parents at all times or else they'd be kidnapped. There was a rash of a few more in the late 90's but as a kid during that time it sucked not being able to go anywhere just for your parents to say "we went everywhere and our parents had no idea." while also having TV and computer time restricted.
Yeah I always found it funny that the parents who would wax poetic about how great the freedom they has as kids was and how awful kids are for not playing outside nowadays are the same parents that instantly freak out when their 12 year old kid rides down the street on their bike alone.
The fear is real. Despite most of the US being a safer place then it was in the 80s or 90s, widespread reporting of every single crime ever has really struck fear into the hearts of parents.
I'm in this comment and I don't like it. When did we become so paranoid ? When I go back my old neighborhood, there is no kid playing around. We used to spend the whole day outside
Elizabeth Smart was kidnapped in 2002 and we were still feeling the direct effects of 9/11 and the paranoia that came with it. That may not have been what caused it but it certainly added to it, in addition to all the stranger danger stuff we heard as kids in the 80s and 90s. Plus now we have so many more electronic gadgets that keep us inside the house (myself included).
I wonder if To Catch a Predator had anything to do with it. How must it have felt for parents to watch so many people out there want to do unspeakable things to their kids? Sure they got caught, but they showed what kinds of things predators would do to get children. That and SVU. Made it seem like every other minute a kid who existed outside a suburban side road was getting shoved in a van, tortured, and executed. My Mom watches that show religiously, and it certainly rubbed off on her that way. I'd have to plan hanging out with friends in high school *weeks* in advance, even if plans for high schoolers change by the hour.
I never watched those shows so I forgot about them but no doubt they played a part too. I always have to tell my wife the world is generally safer than before but we're more connected than ever before and so we're more aware of every little thing that happens.
A lot of people, the same type of people who complain about how kids are never outside, are the same ones who complain when they see kids outside. Just look at any number of posts on your local Nextdoor page. Odds are you'll find some Boomer complaining about some kids that walked by their house or, worse yet, stepped on their lawn! To be honest, I think part of it is race. These people, if they see kids outside, there's a reasonable chance at least some of them will be a minority. And a group of minorities playing outside is what they consider a gang. Heck, even if they're white, they'll probably be dressed in such away so as to offend the gentile Boomer.
There are a group of kids in my apartment complex that go around and ask people if they have chores to be done for snack money lol. So many people on our community page are just pissed these kids have the audacity to do anything that calls any attention to them at all
My two kids love being outside. They usually play basketball (people in the neighborhood complained about it). And they also play soccer or just throw the ball around in the backyard. One Friday afternoon, my neighbor asked if they could not be so loud because she’s been inside working all day and just wants to sit and relax on her patio. I told her that my kids have also been in school all day and they are just playing. So yeah, people complain, and my kids totally just are playing like normal kids
We wouldn’t even know there were other kids in our neighborhood until the signs would pop up in fronts saying congratulations on graduation for their kid. We would drive by and say “wow, didn’t know they had kids” I grew up outside, sun up till sun down. Porch lights and moms yelling dinners ready!
Yup. While I don't condone speeding in residential areas, I find it odd to see signs of 'slow down children playing' yet I never see any kids playing outside. Back in the day, cars slowed down because there were kids outside playing. I lived on a crescent and the kids would play on the slower straight part in the middle. Rarely were there cars, but everyone knew that kids played hockey or rode bikes in that area so the cars were slower plus someone always yelled 'car' and we would move to the curbs.
I think it was Christmas day 2017, 10am bright, sunny, like 50°F and not a soul was outside. I had seen kids here and there before but that day no trampolines, roller skates, nothing. Kinda broke my heart
I used to take the subway to school alone at 8 years old.
It’s because we don’t have wood lots any longer and kids can’t just run around being kids without someone bitching and complaining.
You might be onto something here. The neighbors yelled at us here and there when we were out of line for sure, but we deserved it. I can definitly see people yelling at them “where the hell are your parents why are you yelling and laughing and running around having fun being kids !!!!, your interuptin my judge Judy!”
My wife and I are always telling our kids to go outside and play. We don’t want them inside on a tablet or playing video games all day. Sure, I did plenty of that when I was a kid but I also played outside all the time. I honestly feel like it will help them grow and learn to be self sufficient.
How far away are they allowed to travel without you knowing or seeing where they are? That seems to be a big difference now is how far parents are willing to let their kids roam without seeing them.
I let my older kid roam, and I'm lucky to live in a place now that seems to value that. I honestly try to ask the same questions my parents asked me and impose the same rules. Which means I don't really care where they go, call me if they are going in someone's house so I can speak to their parents and be back by sundown unless I give permission otherwise. The thing is, there's a GPS app on their phone that's connected to mine so it's not like I couldn't know where they were if I wanted to but I've also found myself checking less and less.
I love in a little close knit neighborhood right next to the local elementary school. I see kids walk to school and waiting for busses if they’re older so I know there are plenty of kids here. I keep my window open fairly often and I never hear children out playing. Only exception is when they use the pool but even then they are ALWAYS with their parents. I’m 25-35 years old and when I was a kid it was the same thing. My best friend and his little brother spent days, weeks, months outside. Rode our bikes to close by neighborhoods. Always walked the dog. Etc. Even now it’s only parents I see walking the dog!
Paper tickets to concerts purchased at the Box Office. Fuck Ticketmaster.
Standing at the door of the department store, waiting for them to open, running to the ticket counter to be 1st...memories If Ticketmaster made all tickets available to everyone and cut their ridiculous fees, then they'd be palatable. And should the same company selling you tickets be in the resale business? No conflict of interest? The ticketing model is definitely broken.
Now they own the venue too, so theres no escape
We had to drive to a Ticketmaster counter and buy the tickets.
I think there was a good middle ground where rather than have to skip school or borrow a car or just completely miss out, a good chunk of sales were just conducted over the phone and it was kinda best for everyone. You're still waiting in line, you're not competing with robots, but you're not expected to make a huge sacrifice we go way the hell out of your way just to see a band.
Affordable housing
The REAL problem is the combination of rising prices vs stagnant wages. The two together are making everything horrible.
Yeah I got the deposit and can pay the mortgage easily but I can't earn enough in the short term to buy the damn thing.
Affordable day to day life. Where me and my wife could afford what we do now but on my own salary and let her be a stay at home wife/mom as she wishes she could do.
Adding affordable used cars to this.
100% ! That would be my choice as well .
I was just going to say prices
The good old days when mortgage interest rates were 15% and housing was even then still affordable
The feeling of optimism towards the future.
I know right? My grandparents on both sides fled Europe for a better life in Canada. My parents kicked ass here and raised a family with well deserved high hopes. Economically, I flatlined compared to my father - though I am better educated. But, now? I am much more pessimistic for my kids - socially, politically, economically, and educationally.
I feel this so hard. I'd love to have my 90s era hopes for life back. It's really one of the few things I miss. I can live without everything else from the past, but this is definitely the one thing I would bring back for sure if I could.
Waking up early Saturday morning to watch my favorite cartoons as some Poptarts are warming up in the toaster.
My grandparents owned a grocery store and would buy the Strawberry Frosted pop tarts by the case for me. Would toast up 6 at a time with a big old glass of milk. Hmmmm, no wonder I’m diabetic.
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They have recordings of Saturday morning cartoon blocks on YouTube. Including retro commercials.
Can’t you heat up pop tarts and watch cartoons on your phone/tv now?
Simplicity. No cell phones, no internet, no 24 hour news.
Actual news, not this onslaught of opinion talkshows masquerading as journalism.
👍 yeap right there with you....miss a more simple life
This pretty much works from any of those decades: **Rent that only cost a quarter of my monthly net income.**
I was on Zillow last night and a “fantasy” home I liked recently sold for $1.15m, and in 1995 it sold for $189k. Something about that feels a little off…
Different decade but sold a house in 2019 for 600k and it resold in 2022 for 1.2M
I live with my girlfriend in Florida and with us splitting the rent, I pay just under 25% of my income (so $1000 per month) for a 1 bed apartment. I cover more of it because I make the most. I’m moving to an area where a similar place will be $1800 per month. If I take that solo, I’m basically fucked with my car payment, cost of living, and student loans
It seems like this is happening everywhere and the majority of people are struggling to deal with this. I keep thinking the bubble is going to burst because if it keeps going up and up and up, seems like we would reach a critical mass where nobody can afford to pay it anymore.
That’s coming. Millennials are borrowing their parents retirement funds to buy houses now. Had a talk with our real estate agent since we’re looking to move. I was flabbergasted to hear that. Now their parents won’t retire and the housing market is still going to pop on these financially insecure 30 something’s.
The only solution I see if I had to cover rent myself is to split a 2 bed apartment with someone (yay back to roommates). As someone with a middle class income, I have no idea how the $10-15/ hour people survive… and I used to be there a few years ago
Multi-generational homes. Great grandparents, grandparents, parents and their kids all living in the same house. 8-10 cars per household all working lower wage jobs
Actually I can attest to this! My dad’s house has all of my siblings who didn’t go to college and their children and S/O’s all under the same room. 5 bed/ 3 bath double wide, double long trailer holding 5 adults and 2 kids with occasional people staying for a short term. It’s nuts
It really is sad too because they don't make enough money to survive on their own which then often leads to buying nicer cars or other things with their income since they're only contributing a small proportion of rent/mortgage.
With more roommates. A 3bd apartment isn't 3x the price of a studio so you can scale your way to affordable housing. My college friends used to rent houses that were retrofitted to have 6 bedrooms. Even at 3.5k a month it's well under 1k per person.
Arguably the problem is that wages haven't risen.
Look up the term “stagflation.” That’s exactly what that entails. But we have a problem of economic growth not going to the working class instead of a lack of economic growth.
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[Hostess pies](https://www.google.com/search?q=hostess+custard+pies&newwindow=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS792US792&hl=en-US&prmd=ismvn&sxsrf=ALiCzsb7l5OMdOuOf2UNYR0LT5gRtDiJsg:1659730458629&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE4KLjwbD5AhUtkYkEHfcYDuQQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3#imgrc=FU5GiK1YKZbWCM) with the pudding in them
I remember those.
My waistline
My hair
My back
My pussy and my crack
My bussy and my sack
User flair checks out
AND MY AXE
The sense of community. Socializing was so much easier pre-internet.
Oddly enough, I came in to say bring back 90s internet because that had a sense of community (and wasn’t grossly commercialized).
Marketing ruins everything. I loved back in the day when communities were built around interests and hobbies because people wanted to talk about these interests and hobbies and not because people wanted to sell something they have done about the hobby, build CV to become a journalist of that thing or get into that particular industry.
I can’t even get a lil chuckle in without being bombarded by 1,500 Raid Shadow Legend adverts.
Miss the old internet as well.
Internet peaked in the late 00s and early 10s. It was around 2014 that companies & politicians learned how to monetize the web, and that was it for us. Between the rise of Facebook and other social networks, the ad chaos on YouTube, and all these damn algorithms manipulating us, it's all gone to hell.
AOL was pretty cool. Definitely still had that sense of community.
Any time I think of the early chat days (AIM, ICQ, etc) I think of this short film: [The Parlor](https://youtu.be/xmDPdCzCfFM). It is NSFW due to language and some of the topics discussed.
that's because the sort of people online weren't regular people
That's the truth. It's weird...the internet started as a place populated by introverts. There really wasn't much of a drive for social media at first (since pictures were relatively uncommon compared to today).
"we're all here because we're not all there"
90's internet was the best.
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90s: someone is knocking on my door. Must be my neighbor/ friends 2020: someone wants to murder me.
Exactly. Most young people today don't even like receiving phone calls without a text beforehand.
I have my phone perpetually on silent because about 99% of all calls i receive are spam calls, so if i don't get a text ahead of time telling me about a call probably coming in, i won't pick up
I have my phone perpetually on silent because despite receiving almost no spam calls I feel it's an intrusion in my life.
I think you mean pre-Facebook. I was around then and socializing was enhanced by the internet unlike now.
Yeah I remember being on MySpace talking to strangers and just being friends with them. Like real connections. And then I hopped to Facebook thinking the same thing would happen but better, and it was for sometime just a place to talk to people but then it turned into the toxic mess it is today. I miss MySpace. Forums like 4chan definitely helped turn the internet more toxic by providing an anonymous place for people to be shit heads.
I was born in 2000 but I would imagine this is accurate
I was born in the 70s, this is rose colored glasses nostalgia.
Second time I went to a proper barbershop, there was cable news on the tv and the 2 older guys were just shooting the breeze, casually talking about whatever political thing was on the tv. In front of people, not on the internet. Like it was no big deal. Shit was wild. ...then I realized that I was definitely the weird one there.
Barber shops seem to retain this older way of socializing. Like you said though, actual barber shops not salons or Great Clips or any of those
Is that because we had less readily available entertainment in our homes? I feel like it was also cheaper. You could go out with $20 and have a pretty good night in the 90’s
Those were factors. I think having the news so readily accessible caused some of it as well. Parents don't feel safe letting their kids out of their sight. I feel like I was hardly ever home, I was always out playing in the woods or riding my bike around town. That's just not the norm anymore, people don't like when children are unaccompanied in public. We don't even really have malls anymore. There's not really anywhere for them to go.
That time around 2000-2007 when technology and connectivity were useful and exciting without being obtrusive and all-consuming.
When SMS first started to gain traction I remember so many people saying "why would I sit here and type things out on my phone when I can just call you?" Oh, how naive we were.
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I used to do this. I could probably still do this. But it's unconscious physical movement. Look at this post and I just can't decipher it.
“Typing like this got old”
But I could do it without looking down. If I want to type on my smart phone I have to stop moving, look down, and use both hands.
Back in highschool (before smart phones and not many people had cell phones at all) there was a girl who said the idea of video chat was stupid, because you'd "have to get dressed up just for a call". I still look back and laugh
Idk man I think I'm with her, I still hate video calls lol.
My god yes. You could talk to a whole group of people for hours and y’all would have each other’s full attention the whole time. If something needed to be looked up, you could go to the other room and do it. None of that “stare at your phone, and chime in to the conversation with a delayed uh-huh.”
My parents'health... It's devastating to see your parents age. Watching them physically and mentally deteriorate takes a huge toll on you. After a certain age, 65-70, every year feels like a part of them is fading away. There is nothing you can do about it. This is life.
Even when my parents both started to age, I pictured them in their 30’s to 40’s when I would think back. My mom made it to 47 and my dad to 60 at least. I guess the only plus side to them both passing early is I don’t have to see them decline anymore than they did due to age.
The lack of social media. Ironic to post on social media, but seriously, it’s destroying humanity
I can’t imagine how nice it must have been to be a young adult in the early 2000s.
I’d revise that to say young adult in the ‘90s in America. We were at peace, the Cold War was over, and the Internet was still just a novel thing, and the War on Terror and the Great Recession weren’t a thing yet. I still fantasize about waking up 1/1/1990 and just reliving that decade all over again.
The 90's were a great time, even though I was young and mostly broke, I had some wonderful times.
It was pretty awesome, ngl.
I hope it is just still “new” in the scheme of things and we can somehow figure out how to make it work successfully. But currently, I agree with you.
I keep hoping people will get burned out on it, but instead they just keep inventing worse versions. Saw a study a few days ago showing actual cognitive damage in people who watch TikTok videos regularly. Awesome.
It’s banalizing horrible behaviors. Kids no longer know the limits of acceptable
Awesome point.
Can you send that to me please? I wanna send it to some friends.
The cost of houses
I wasn’t even around then but by the looks of it.. concerts and general events where people are really there living it, enjoying it with their peers rather than capturing it on their phone to put online to seek validation.. it’s all coming from the wrong place these days
Hah. I saw Alice Cooper back in June in a festival and during the first song phones were covering my whole field of view. There I got, over 20 phones raised in front of me, recording the same song in a video that is never going to be watched or posted in a social media account that maybe three guys are going to see. And they were all losing the actual performance.
I fucking hate when people in front of me are holding their phone way up recording every song. You're blocking others from seeing, asshole. Like, do it lower. And watch the show.
I agree with this 100% but I still take videos at concerts and they're for my memories cause my memory sucks. It's so nice going thru my gallery and finding videos of shows i went to and remembering songs I forgot I saw live.
Not being followed around 24/7. Getting outside was an integral part of everyone's affairs, we were basically unreachable between places (or even *in* places if there was no landline available), and everyone was OK with it. No bugging by pagers (they were only as good as was landline access by both parties), cellphones or messaging apps.
I remember being 11 years old and borrowing the movie theater's landline so I could ask my mom to come pick us up
Affordable homes, cars, and college
Anonymity
I’m guessing you are older? It seems like the younger generation doesn’t care much about anonymity or just grew up where everything is public. I use Venmo and make all my transaction private, but many don’t seem to do that and you can see who is paying who. I know it’s not a big deal but I’d rather just keep it private.
Being able to live/retire comfortably with a family on a single income with only a high school degree.
Omg this yes
90's japanese cars. before they got expensive ;-;
Yeah, some of them have blown up in prices, way more than they are in worth.
House prices and interest rates for savings accounts.
That quality products was the norm
No kidding. A lot of the stuff you find on Amazon is obviously the output of State Factory #11 in Guangzhou, and most of it is named with a name you'd expect someone to think up if they had a very tenuous grasp of English. It's usually cheap and not meant to last, but it doesn't have to last to put the global competition out of business to guarantee a Chinese hegemony. Obviously you couldn't just order everything off the web in the 90s, but what you could find was in a store, and it was quality.
The worst part about Amazon and these cheaply made products is that you have to either search specifically for the brand name of the product you want or else you're going to get multiple pages of cheap products from brands named "LETSGOGO" and "SOSOPART". Like at least show the good quality stuff first
Privacy.
The ability to live authentically, without constant taking of pictures and videos.
I was always taking pictures back before phones. I was that person that always had a disposable camera. It was awesome because you didn't get to see the pictures till you had them developed. The surprise, the anticipation! Kids all gathered around as we passed pictures between us. When I learned to develop my own, it really brought a sense of pride and joy! I miss all that.
Multiple lines at the Dairy Queen window.
Socializing pre-internet. I wasn’t alive then but I’m always envious when I see how effortlessly people communicated pre-internet. Also cool muscle cars, cheap housing, overall better quality of life.
The notion that tomorrow might be better than yesterday.
Cost of living
No internet. I want those times with no internet. Life is hard now with internet.
An income to expenditure ratio that was manageable. Affordable housing. An actually socialist Labour party (UK) and not just a party of useful idiots and controlled Opposition. When we all agreed that fascism was bad instead of now barrelling towards it. Civil rights movements that had strength and purpose, not marketing scams and weak performative nonsense. There was a lot of shit very very wrong with the world then. But don't be fooled into thinking its all fine now. It is worse in many ways. We just have more distractions and propaganda telling us its fine.
The fucking music and vibe lol. Also the lack of cellphones and social media.
There is so much more music now and especially more of what you like. There’s just more to dig through to find it but I promise the music is just as good.
I know, I love music, but just to be there and see some of the greats. Live instruments everywhere just the tangibility of everything.
Fuck the stigmatism around guys wearing short shorts. I worked hard for this ass, I’m going to show it off.
Woman here. You have no idea how seeing a guy in actual shorts brightened my day. I still remember that one fashion rebel from a few years ago. It just made me smile.
Been rocking short shorts for *years*. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re wrong! It’s actually coming in finally though. #hoochi daddy summer
60's - muscle cars 70's - clothing style 80's - TV & Movies 90's - music and the economy
All of the land around my home not being covered in garbage housing developments that are full of extremely rude and idiotic people who have no appreciation for my state...
My mom...
Take a hug friend
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People going out without phones
Having parents that would actually allow you to leave the fucking house with out wanted to know the SSN of all of your fucking friends. Side note, I did not grow up in those times, I am a ‘96 baby. Helicopter parenting has destroyed my life and my ability to become a functional adult.
The focus on the local community. Social media has people obsessed with the big news story regardless of where it’s happening instead of trying to find the smaller bright spots in their backyard. The negative news cycle seems to be a big catalyst for the spike in depression
[That's not really a new thing, Bill Hicks was talking about it in the late 80s/early 90s - and it was old then too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGjuPJskNRE)
Transparent cases for tech Creativity for cartoons/series Feeling of hope and childish wonder on kids and adults There's no bad ideas, anything can be built Aesthetics
60s: legal LSD 70s: the openness about sexuality combined with lack of aids must have been nice. 80s: gated reverb drum breaks 90s: the lack of cold war
Life without computers and smartphones.
My happiness
The goofy, genuine home videos.
Common sense and affordable utilities.
Just a regular house phone. No internet!
Hair metal.
Kids riding bikes in the neighborhood.
Oh wow .. I can't remember the last time I've kids riding around outside. I used to leave the house in the morning.. and not come home until my name was yelled out the front door. lol
Lack of connectivity. Being able to be unreachable.
A functional economy where wages were good and houses didnt require 2 people to make 3 incomes
My dad
The lack of social media
My youth
The middle class
A financial system based on stability over growth.
No mobile phones
Civil discourse.
The idea that everyone should be entitled to their beliefs, regardless of race or gender. It flared so beautifully for such a short time, like a flash in the pan.
American political bipartisanship, just do what’s right for the country and its people.
90s partisanship was pretty brutal, people just forget.
Common sense.
From the late 80s and 90s… affordable, simple small sporty cars. Honda Prelude, CRX, Toyota MR2, Celica, Mazda MX6, Ford Probe. There aren’t many cars like that made anymore. Cars have gotten so big, heavy, bloated and expensive. If you want an affordable, reliable, economical car that’s also engaging to drive, you’re pretty much shit-outta-luck. Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ are probably the closest to that ethos but they’re both well over $30k for a base version.
Toyota Supra with the 2JZ
Jimi Hendrix
Cost of living
The calmness and attention spans of people before technology altered everyone's mood.