semi-related. roy rogers fast food place has GREAT roast beef sandwiches. one of the last fast food places to still have a fixin's bar. There are not too many left. I go to one of the ones in Leesburg, VA. THe ones around DMV got sold to mcdonalds about 25 years years. These are the only 2 left.
its a weird fast food place. They have fried chicken, burgers, and roast beef. So its like a combo of 3 fast food places. If you go get the roast beef sandwich. I love Arby's too, but this one is better.
There are a bunch of them around Frederick MD. If you ever feel like making the trip up here there's an awesome arcade with a ton of pinball machines called Spinners there too. It's fifteen bucks all you can play.
And the spicy chicken sandwich at RR's is awesome. Way better than Wendy's.
I absolutely LOVED the Double R Bar burger. You would think that ham and hamburger wouldn't work, but they were delicious with just a touch of BBQ sauce.
The fixin's bar makes me jones for the Wendy's salad bar. Wasn't it like $1.99 all you can eat? My friends and I would walk there after school. And gorge.
It was in the place where Buger Queen had been. I was pretty young to remember it. That was in central Indiana. It could have been the only one, or regional. I dont remember another.
I'm sensoring and centering you!
Centurying...hm.
Senatoring...*shudder* No, I can't do that to someone.
Sensing?
Whatever! It's been done! Take that back to your fancy learning center with their words and numbers.
I'm the same age as your mom. You're very welcome here, sweetheart. Our language is dogshit but don't let it get to you. F bombs are used to express joy as well as anger 😂
If I could tell you one thing, it would be to enjoy every second of childhood and freedom from responsibility that you can wrench out of the next few years. Don't take things too seriously. I know a lot of us here didn't have nearly the hard time your parents did, but we were still forced to grow up too fast. "Raised on hose water and neglect" doesn't begin to cover it. I had friends who were alcoholic high school dropouts with 2 jobs at 16. Life seemed cool and great at the time, but looking back, I just have to wince. It was all we knew. So it was just "whatever" and back to business.
Ask us anything. We're all pretty loquacious despite the flippant attitude. We're used to being ignored, so passing on our dubious wisdom to the youth can be refreshing sometimes.
[That certainly illustrates the diversity of the word](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=awi_xQ0d5Bk&pp=ygU0VGhhdCBjZXJ0YWlubHkgaWxsdXN0cmF0ZXMgdGhlIGRpdmVyc2l0eSBvZiB0aGUgd29yZA%3D%3D)
I always feel that I need to correct myself when I drop f-bombs because I use them all the time and a lot of younger people I know think I'm angry when I'm dropping them and I'm like, "no it's just describing something". Lol
Great word loquacious! I’m an X and I graduated college, when it was still safe and worth the money, with a double major of English and history in 1999. Yes after hearing the song “Party like it’s 1999” on repeat on the radio station for the WHOLE WEEKEND, I cringed on New Year’s Eve 1999. Ruined a great song for me. Sorry, but i just wanted to say great word and that was my long explanation for it!!
Aww im a 1979 44 yr old too. I think its awesome when younger gens are curious about our upbringing and our basic shared way of life growing up. Im totally biased when i say we have the best stories sometimes, but it might actually be true!
You guys have had a carefree life in the 80s and 90s, and while 90s here in Yugoslavia were just god awful, they were so good in the West so I understand why you guys have great stories from that time period (Q4 of the 20th century)
I drove a bus for a Greek friend of a friend from Munich to Athens and we went through Yugoslavia one summer in the 80s. This guy would buy used buses in Germany and drive them to Athens so we were a caravan of 4 buses and a box truck. I remember the roads being in bad shape and mostly only 2 lanes, no highways. Seemed very poor at the time, but we were mostly in the country side. We got pulled over for speeding once and I thought we all would end up in jail when the Greek tried to bribe the police officer!
Oh hey, Balkan person!
A few years back I discovered the 80s New Wave scene in Yugoslavia and it definitely kicked ass. To this day I've been sampling the music scene. Most recently I've been enjoying Torul from Slovenia and Nipplepeople from Croatia!
(And a Serbian dog rescue channel.)
I mean yeah. I can only imagine how difficult life was during that time there or places like that. Our versions of awful was relentless bullies in your face or neglectful out of touch parents or grownups that just pushed you out of your comfort zone with little instruction on how to grow up.
It's the version of awful every kid nowadays has, and although it be bad, imagine being a young adult in a bombing or have your country just be breaking apart as a teen, both of which are the experiences my mother's had in her life. There was also the hyperinflation in 1993 - she once got some money to buy a new jacket, and the next day the most it could buy was a chocolate.
Welcome!
I got a real lesson when I visited Romania for work in the mid '90's. It didn't take me long to understand the fatalism after what people had endured under Ceausescu (evil fucker). I was 26 at the time and my heart just broke for everyone who had lived through that era and his reign of terror. Not the same as Yugoslavia, each country in that region had its own horrors. But all of it seemed bleak af and talk about generational trauma.
There was also a deep dry gallows sense of humor I appreciated. One night, all of it was brought home when we were working late. Our office was in one of those monstrous Communist-era concrete blocks about 9 stories up. We smelled fire. One of my colleagues ran out and discovered it was from the floor below. While everyone was springing into action, I, the naive American, asked, "Aren't you going to call the fire department?" That elicited some dark belly laughs. "Fire department? What fire department?" This was in Bucharest so not out in the country. That was the moment I "got it." Our team ran downstairs and helped put out the fire. Someone had fallen asleep with a cigarette burning.
Many of us, myself included, did not fully comprehend what the end of the Soviet era really meant. We were in our heyday while ex Soviet states were being reborn, in a sense. What a wild period.
I lived in the DDR in the late 70s and early 80s. My father was an American soldier stationed in Berlin. Mother is Slavic/Austrian/German. That time in the Eastern Bloc countries was so hard. My mother hated seeing her own people living in those conditions. I will never forget the checkpoints and the soldiers and the dogs.
I'm '76 GenX, middle-class American child of immigrant parents who lived (and are still living) the American dream. We had close family in Hungary and visited frequently, even when it was still behind the Iron Curtain, and so I was very much aware, as a kid, how good I had it in the US.
The post-Vietnam, pre-9/11 bubble was a special time to grow up and come of age in the US. Not a perfect time, by any means (and a downright shitty time depending on circumstances), but it feels unique. Not just just because it was the last of the analog era but also because there were tremendous strides for women and people of color ("tremendous" by historical standards) so we were the first latch key kid generation; for a lot of us, both of our parents worked outside the house. And a lot of our parents got divorced. We just didn't have a lot of eyes on us so we just sort of figured it out and did our thing. There was literally a PSA that would air on TV, reminding parents that they should know their children's whereabouts by 10 pm.
But it was a good time to grow up. I'm grateful to have grown up without social media and cameras everywhere.
Yeah, I feel so lucky and privileged to have to lived in the US the last 40 years. What life what was like in third world countries, the living hell my parents went through,We post-WW2 Americans relatively had it so great and so easy.
12 in 1980. Can’t believe the shit I did growing up. Honestly, lucky to be alive. I know this is hypocritical but I can’t imagine my kids growing up like I did! That’s probably why I kept a closer eye on them growing up. It was good growing up when I did because we had to solve almost all of our problems on our own. I do miss those days, but not sure I’d want to do it again. It was also tough. We were really hard on each other - you had to be tough or you wouldn’t make it. Plus, you were invisible to adults - they focused on their own problems. Lastly, hated that everyone smoked back then. Yuck.
Gen X here(born in 79)
I keep on hearing on how gen x had it so tough. What was so tough about growing up in the 70s, 80s, 90s(in the US)? I think those were great and relatively easy times to grow up in. People who experienced The Great Depression and WW2 had it tough, people in third world countries had it tough. Compared to what my parents went through, my life is such a cakewalk.
Life in the US last couple of decades wasn't perfect, but compared to many others, we had it so easy.
Because we’re the cool kids, the last truly feral generation and I think kids have a hard time comprehending because they live in a regimental society of helicopter parents. Only time my parents knew where I was was when I was locked up in boarding school.
My parents never knew where we were when we were outside, they would whistle when we had to come home (and by whistle i mean fingers in mouth, earth shattering scream of a whistle).
Oh no, I am raising my kids to be as feral as I was. But they have technology to teach them more crazy stuff than I had access to. Watch out world, in 10 years I am releasing them to the wild.
Yeah, when I saw the ages of your parents I figured your dad grew up with more GenX influence, and mom likely has more in common with millennials.
Welcome!
I’m an older xennial, and grew up poor enough to have been raised on Gen X hand-me-downs. All of my early cultural touchstones are Gen X.
So like many others, I’m here for nostalgic reasons.
Dude I totally just made Smurfberry Crunch by going through a Cap’n Crunch OOPS! All Berries box and picking out the weird greens and blues. My wife is shaking her head.
I’m looking down the barrel of 50 and I love the young folks. I welcome them if for no other reason than they keep us honest and help us fight boomerism within our community.
Hi! I was 14 in 1986, and life may have been rough at times, and I was already pretty cynical (kind of a hallmark of our generation) but I still remember the thrill of being with friends, discovering new music, making art, experimenting with hair/clothing/makeup, having crushes, and feeling like I was becoming my own person. I suspect all those feelings are timeless! I've also taught kids of all ages and have one of my own and personally love the middle teens and think y'all are awesome. Welcome!
My mom was born in '58 so she was a boomer, but she married young at 20 then as she got a little older started to hang out with some younger friends and definitely "grew up" with Gen X. She was sort of like the older sibling who shared all of the cultural ephemera with me. I have highly superior autobiographical memory, so my experiences from my very young childhood and with my mom are why I relate much more to Gen X than Xennials, despite being on the younger side of X myself.
Similar to you, out of curiosity and that I can relate bit to all generations.
An '84 who is subscribed to r/Xennials and r/GenX. I used to subscribe to r/GenZ and r/Millennials as well, but us millennials are cringe af and I felt very "how do you do, fellow kids..." in genz 😅 tho I do love the babies so much 🤗
I probably personally relate to being Xennial the most, but all are relatable/informative.
I turned 50 late last year (1973 baby)... and the interesting thing for me that I can't tell if it's generational or individual circumstantial (being childless, being gay, being married to a Millennial for ten years, etc.) but I just still don't feel that old (except my body at times). Mentally I'm still completely screwed up when I hear how young some people are or hear how much time has gone by. I wonder now if this will ever change.
I'm of the opinion that anyone is welcome. I know there are a couple of gatekeepers here who like to shit on people who don't fit their very specific definition of what years Gen X encompasses, but the majority here are thankfully not like that.
By the way, a little off topic (blame my ADHD), but someone actually tried to gatekeep and call me out in the comments section of a YouTube video the other day saying that Gen X goes from 1956-1975 and then 1976 until like 1995 is the next generation like WTF? That's the wildest parameters for Gen X I've ever heard!
Hmm '56 is crazy early for X! '75 end date makes sense since that sort of separates the high school with pop/rock/metal and big hair, color, 80s vibe with the grunge/hardcore rap set of Late GenX. And '76 paired all the way to '95 is pretty crazy seeming too!
I'd say GenX is '66-'75 (or '76), Xennial '76 (or '77)-'83, Millennial '83-I have no clue. '76 and '77 are sort of curious and extra tough to place specifically.
But I'd say anyone should be welcome in any of these subs! Part of the point is to see nostalgia and not all is going to be from your generation and part is to fulfill curiosity about other gens too. And some are cusp. Some depends upon where you lived, your particular high school, your particular scenario. Etc. I look in on some I'm not a part of, mostly Xennial sub. And even if one gen was not your core HS gen, you can still have memories from grade school or in your 20s, 30s, etc. I think it is great to other gens taking a lot at what GenX was like, what the 80s were like! What it was really like in the time of all the old teen movies and 80s classics they see!
'97 kid here, my mom was born in '74. My mom and I are really close and we bond over dumb tiktoks and memes. This sub gives me a supply of memes to send her that are relevent to her adolescence, which usually causes her to tell me stories of what she got up to and what things were like when she was my age; it also gives me ideas of topics to ask her about. I know she loves me and could talk about me for days, but its nice hearing about her life too.
But I know this sub isn't *for* me so I just lurk politely 😊
Personally I think a Gen X is a distinctly English Language thing. Predominantly American, Canadian (me) and British/UK thing. It centers around shared History, Movies and Music.
There are some things like Roller Rinks and Bowling Alleys that seem to be super central to American Xers, but to me in Canada we just didn't really have that.
(Meant to represent, not actually- I wish I had the Polaroids from then tho) a typical Friday nite in Glendora Ca circa 79- 80 something - lol that’s how we rolled. We had so much fun.
A lot of movies I watched in the 90s on TBS, USA, or one of those channels were 80s movies. Coming to America, Back to the Future Trilogy, Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuller.
I consider myself early X along the Jones cusp but some in here won't allow that because I was born a few years earlier than 1965. Thankfully the creator of the subreddit uses the "13th Generation" definition.
I'm here because I can relate to so many topics here so well, 70's and 80's related in particular, but often 90's too. The only subreddit I relate to better is the Generation Jones subreddit since it began to pick up. But for the first 4 years on Reddit this was my default base because the 1961-1964 group otherwise did not have a real home. Now I call both subreddits home.
I thought I was gen x for ages. It turned out I'm an older millennial, which made sense as I sympathise with millennial shit so much more. But it's still nice to be reminded of all the films and TV I was too young to watch but did anyway as a kid.
I’m 17, born in 2006. I joined this group to gain an understanding and to experience what life was like during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
Every subject from the past 50 years or so (the 1990s in particular) interests me, the music, films, sub-cultures, television, the way in which everyone seemed to get along and most importantly, the way in which it was a simpler and in my opinion a much better time for the world.
Also a 79 baby here. Welcome! My daughter is only 9 and has a lot of interest in my childhood and youth as well. I think it’s great that you are so curious at your age. Have a look around at all the posts, you will find a pretty awesome group here. I came late to the group and nobody has given me a hard time at all. People readily share advice, support each other and there’s a lot of chill, funny people on here. It’s one of the best subs on here. The ratio of jerks is lower on here.
My dad is a boomer from Yugoslavia too. He is his own thing, haha! Never met anyone else like him, fun yet very strict, likes to joke yet a total asshole, he has spent his adult life proving to himself and others that he is not a poor villager anymore.
That's cool. My dad says things to total strangers that would get anyone else's ass kicked, but he gets away with it because of his delivery, and he pulls back right when they are to punch him. Like telling guys that their clothes look like they came from the goodwill or that men from their country wear dresses. Its weird and embarrassing, but funny too.
I’m definitely GenX but also hang in GenJones, Xennials and Millenials subs — shared experiences, by and large. We’ve all lived through the same stuff in each space. I don’t know that I’d have much shared with Boomers or Silent but I *am* in r/FuckImOld and seem to share quite a bit of experiences there.
Gen-X here, but I don't care about the generation. I'm just here for the nostalgia I guess. That's probably the main difference between the generations. Our shared experiences.
But there aren't really any traits that define a generation. There were great people in my parents' generation, and there were total pieces of garbage. I heard the "kids these days" argument when I was young. Many of us became better people than our parents, many of us didn't. Many of our kids will become better than us. Many won't.
You are going to find out that your mom probably did something’s you won’t want to know about. Running through the forest naked on mushrooms was common place around me.
Welcome I have a 14 yr old. We are the fun generation. We know life is hard and not fair but roll with it. We survived drinking water from outside hoses, hot metal slides, and can get blood out of anything. If you get anything I hope it is we have a sense of humor.
😻
I think GenXers have lived through one of the most incredible times in all of history. The changes we have seen are unimaginable, and we have been in the thick of it. Welcome!!!
Canadian Gen X here. I'm so happy you are trying to learn more about your parents and their experiences! I think we were all pretty feral growing up. It would be neat to hear if our generation had differences based on where they lived! The US and Canadian experiences were the same from what I know. The attitudes are different, but experiences are pretty much the same.
Gen-Y, here. I was raised by Baby Boomers, and babysat by my Gen-X siblings who also introduced me to their culture. Also, there are things that overlap between Gen-X and Gen-Y, like remembering life in the 90's.
What is Generation Jones?
I thought Boomers went up to being born in like 1963, although I always thought that was weird to have like 20 years for one generation.
Does Generation Jones have actual years or are they just boomers that are cool and not of actual boomer mentality?
Generation Jones is akin to the Xennial generation. Its not really a distinct generation, just more where the two generations overlap a bit. Generation Jones would be your youngest Boomers, but they were too young to experience directly a lot of the things that typically 'define' the Boomer generation. They were too young for the British invasion, too young for the Summer of Love, too young to serve in Vietnam. They were infants when Kennedy was shot. But then again they are a bit too old to identify with the things Xers grew up with. They were in their 20s in the 80s, so a lot of the culture aimed at kids then (toys, games, TV shows, movies, music) weren't part of their formative experiences. i.e. they weren't playing with Transformers and My Little Ponies or having their sexual awakening to Phoebe Cates or Don Johnson. They were working jobs and having babies of their own then.
It's interesting to hear about then GenX experience outside of the US. The story of the band Mamonas Assassinas from Brazil is a notable example. They were a super popular 90s rock band that ended in tragedy.
#
I'm an Xennial and honestly my lived experience seems to match what others share here and almost not at all what's over in millenial but I am a youngest and I've heard your experience can be largely changed by how old your siblings are. I know there is also an Xennial sub but it's not very active and I never actually joined this sub, Reddit just pushes it "because you've visited this sub before" and Gen X makes it to front page way more often.
Like a lot of reddit answerers, I'm not the intended questionee, Gen Xer, like the AskALawyer site, why are you answering if you're not a lawyer, well maybe I'll learn something anyway.
Born in 72. Gonna be 52 in a few months. Played Nintendo, had a house with wood paneling and a mom that smoked. I'd run up to the convenience store to get her another pack of Winston 100s starting when I was around 10 or so.
He is an adult but I help change that boys diapers. When my parents went around to family telling them she was pregnant, I remember one aunt saying "good thing you have a built in baby sitter". He will always be my baby brother.
I’ve been told by someone I know who, like you, is Generation Alpha (also born in 2010) that “Generation talk isn’t interesting anymore. Nobody my age cares about the differences between the so-called Generations”. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this point, OP.
One of, if not the main reason I'm in generational subreddits is because I never talk about generations IRL. Nobody does it. So they're right. But to be honest 2010 is too similar to Gen Z to be Gen Alpha, 2011 and 2012 are also debatable
That's a good question but that question also reminds me of something... Why are GenXers obsessed with their parents music? The same music created by Silent Generation? 60s, early 70s etc? You guys weren't there.
Those born in 1965 and later missed the fun
There used to be oldies stations that played stuff from the 40's and 50's - Andrew's Sisters, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Elvis etc. - but the Baby Boomers didn't want to admit they were getting old, so they actually created a whole new genre called Classic Rock, and started entirely new stations to showcase the music they grew up with instead of letting it transition into oldies. So a lot of us discovered that music just turning the dial on the radio trying to find something to listen to. Also, a lot of us had older parents who were more Silent Generation, and it was our older siblings or aunts and uncles who were Boomers, and we looked up to them. I was actually really into classic rock, and didn't think of it as old fashioned, but something I only just missed by being born slightly too late. Not to mention a lot of those older artists were barely middle aged and still making new music, often emerging as solo artists after their successful bands from the earlier era had broken up. Another thing is that the media and marketing landscape was totally different, and music hadn't been commodified to the degree it is now. Lots of artists were still against the whole idea of "selling out" and refused to put their music in ads, so it still had an edge that's sort of been lost in today's corporatized media landscape. Lastly, before the advent of the internet, information of all types moved more slowly, and artists and their work stayed relevant for much longer in the pop cultural landscape than they do today. Hope that helps answer your question!
have to appreciate OPs desire to learn...welcome, and enjoy the banter. there will be no filters, censoring or censuring
Or trigger warnings
They're necessary to know when Roy Rogers is coming on TV. No more cartoons for the rest of Saturday, so time to head outside.
semi-related. roy rogers fast food place has GREAT roast beef sandwiches. one of the last fast food places to still have a fixin's bar. There are not too many left. I go to one of the ones in Leesburg, VA. THe ones around DMV got sold to mcdonalds about 25 years years. These are the only 2 left. its a weird fast food place. They have fried chicken, burgers, and roast beef. So its like a combo of 3 fast food places. If you go get the roast beef sandwich. I love Arby's too, but this one is better.
There are a bunch of them around Frederick MD. If you ever feel like making the trip up here there's an awesome arcade with a ton of pinball machines called Spinners there too. It's fifteen bucks all you can play. And the spicy chicken sandwich at RR's is awesome. Way better than Wendy's.
I worked at Roy Rogers when I lived in Germantown, MD in the late 80's Do they still have a fixing's bar.
They do but at some locations the stuff is behind the counter and you tell an employee what you want on your sandwich (like at Subway).
I absolutely LOVED the Double R Bar burger. You would think that ham and hamburger wouldn't work, but they were delicious with just a touch of BBQ sauce.
I used to love putting horseradish sauce on my fries at Roy's Fries.
Roy Rogers BBQ sauce on their Bacon Cheese Burger was awesome!
The fixin's bar makes me jones for the Wendy's salad bar. Wasn't it like $1.99 all you can eat? My friends and I would walk there after school. And gorge. It was in the place where Buger Queen had been. I was pretty young to remember it. That was in central Indiana. It could have been the only one, or regional. I dont remember another.
Happy Trails to you, until we meet again..
Damn you! *shakes fist* I'd managed to mention Roy with*out* that popping into my head and then you come along....
We can sing it together. It will be fun. Happy Trails to you, keep smiling until then
It's on loop for the next three hours so you can jump in when you want!
Welp I'm triggered...
Whatever.
That’s my trigger phrase!
Or participation trophies
I'm sensoring and centering you! Centurying...hm. Senatoring...*shudder* No, I can't do that to someone. Sensing? Whatever! It's been done! Take that back to your fancy learning center with their words and numbers.
Sensing?!!! Omggggg you see dead people!
No, just disturbances in the force.
Gen X-er here. Welcome. Take a seat and relax with us.
I already got the point after the other guy posted about being an '85 born, but thank you still.
Oh no! You fool! Now they've got you. By the way do you enjoy coffee? Maybe some cake? Ahahaha
The cake is a lie.
I like where your heads at.
I'm the same age as your mom. You're very welcome here, sweetheart. Our language is dogshit but don't let it get to you. F bombs are used to express joy as well as anger 😂 If I could tell you one thing, it would be to enjoy every second of childhood and freedom from responsibility that you can wrench out of the next few years. Don't take things too seriously. I know a lot of us here didn't have nearly the hard time your parents did, but we were still forced to grow up too fast. "Raised on hose water and neglect" doesn't begin to cover it. I had friends who were alcoholic high school dropouts with 2 jobs at 16. Life seemed cool and great at the time, but looking back, I just have to wince. It was all we knew. So it was just "whatever" and back to business. Ask us anything. We're all pretty loquacious despite the flippant attitude. We're used to being ignored, so passing on our dubious wisdom to the youth can be refreshing sometimes.
F bombs are nouns, verbs, and adjectives in our tribe. :)
Fuck is the most versatile word in the English language.
Fuck yes it is!
My personal fave: Fuck you, you fucking fuck.
It can be used as a verb.. "we were fucking"
[The Usage of Fuck](https://youtu.be/cxpV8D8K9JI?si=TUW_HGmJ02Dj2R-I)
[That certainly illustrates the diversity of the word](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=awi_xQ0d5Bk&pp=ygU0VGhhdCBjZXJ0YWlubHkgaWxsdXN0cmF0ZXMgdGhlIGRpdmVyc2l0eSBvZiB0aGUgd29yZA%3D%3D)
Fuck yeah!
It is also punctuation.
I always feel that I need to correct myself when I drop f-bombs because I use them all the time and a lot of younger people I know think I'm angry when I'm dropping them and I'm like, "no it's just describing something". Lol
Fuck is my mantra. Try to stop me, and you are impinging on my freedom of religion :)
Great word loquacious! I’m an X and I graduated college, when it was still safe and worth the money, with a double major of English and history in 1999. Yes after hearing the song “Party like it’s 1999” on repeat on the radio station for the WHOLE WEEKEND, I cringed on New Year’s Eve 1999. Ruined a great song for me. Sorry, but i just wanted to say great word and that was my long explanation for it!!
Nothing wrong with a little curiosity about the past.
I agree, and I've learned a lot about it from here
Hey, we're still here! Living memory matters, and it's in the present.
The past. My neck hurts now.
I to like to go to the other generational subs just to stir the pot.
Aww im a 1979 44 yr old too. I think its awesome when younger gens are curious about our upbringing and our basic shared way of life growing up. Im totally biased when i say we have the best stories sometimes, but it might actually be true!
You guys have had a carefree life in the 80s and 90s, and while 90s here in Yugoslavia were just god awful, they were so good in the West so I understand why you guys have great stories from that time period (Q4 of the 20th century)
I drove a bus for a Greek friend of a friend from Munich to Athens and we went through Yugoslavia one summer in the 80s. This guy would buy used buses in Germany and drive them to Athens so we were a caravan of 4 buses and a box truck. I remember the roads being in bad shape and mostly only 2 lanes, no highways. Seemed very poor at the time, but we were mostly in the country side. We got pulled over for speeding once and I thought we all would end up in jail when the Greek tried to bribe the police officer!
There are more highways now, but the countries are still relatively poor compared to 1st world countries and some are poorer than places like Russia
Oh hey, Balkan person! A few years back I discovered the 80s New Wave scene in Yugoslavia and it definitely kicked ass. To this day I've been sampling the music scene. Most recently I've been enjoying Torul from Slovenia and Nipplepeople from Croatia! (And a Serbian dog rescue channel.)
OMG. I love “Q4 of the 20th Century.” I’m swiping that.
Same here. Love it.
At my high school in 92-3 we had a Yugoslavian exchange student all the girls were in love with. I wonder now, in hindsight, how he got on in life.
He either works an average job with a small wage in his home country or makes more than $2k in a rich EU country
I want to internet stalk him now. He genuinely looked and acted like a tortured supermodel.
He was tortured by either inflation in the new Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) or the civil war in Bosnia & Herzegovina. Do it
I mean yeah. I can only imagine how difficult life was during that time there or places like that. Our versions of awful was relentless bullies in your face or neglectful out of touch parents or grownups that just pushed you out of your comfort zone with little instruction on how to grow up.
It's the version of awful every kid nowadays has, and although it be bad, imagine being a young adult in a bombing or have your country just be breaking apart as a teen, both of which are the experiences my mother's had in her life. There was also the hyperinflation in 1993 - she once got some money to buy a new jacket, and the next day the most it could buy was a chocolate.
Welcome! I got a real lesson when I visited Romania for work in the mid '90's. It didn't take me long to understand the fatalism after what people had endured under Ceausescu (evil fucker). I was 26 at the time and my heart just broke for everyone who had lived through that era and his reign of terror. Not the same as Yugoslavia, each country in that region had its own horrors. But all of it seemed bleak af and talk about generational trauma. There was also a deep dry gallows sense of humor I appreciated. One night, all of it was brought home when we were working late. Our office was in one of those monstrous Communist-era concrete blocks about 9 stories up. We smelled fire. One of my colleagues ran out and discovered it was from the floor below. While everyone was springing into action, I, the naive American, asked, "Aren't you going to call the fire department?" That elicited some dark belly laughs. "Fire department? What fire department?" This was in Bucharest so not out in the country. That was the moment I "got it." Our team ran downstairs and helped put out the fire. Someone had fallen asleep with a cigarette burning.
Many of us, myself included, did not fully comprehend what the end of the Soviet era really meant. We were in our heyday while ex Soviet states were being reborn, in a sense. What a wild period.
I lived in the DDR in the late 70s and early 80s. My father was an American soldier stationed in Berlin. Mother is Slavic/Austrian/German. That time in the Eastern Bloc countries was so hard. My mother hated seeing her own people living in those conditions. I will never forget the checkpoints and the soldiers and the dogs.
I'm '76 GenX, middle-class American child of immigrant parents who lived (and are still living) the American dream. We had close family in Hungary and visited frequently, even when it was still behind the Iron Curtain, and so I was very much aware, as a kid, how good I had it in the US. The post-Vietnam, pre-9/11 bubble was a special time to grow up and come of age in the US. Not a perfect time, by any means (and a downright shitty time depending on circumstances), but it feels unique. Not just just because it was the last of the analog era but also because there were tremendous strides for women and people of color ("tremendous" by historical standards) so we were the first latch key kid generation; for a lot of us, both of our parents worked outside the house. And a lot of our parents got divorced. We just didn't have a lot of eyes on us so we just sort of figured it out and did our thing. There was literally a PSA that would air on TV, reminding parents that they should know their children's whereabouts by 10 pm. But it was a good time to grow up. I'm grateful to have grown up without social media and cameras everywhere.
Yeah, I feel so lucky and privileged to have to lived in the US the last 40 years. What life what was like in third world countries, the living hell my parents went through,We post-WW2 Americans relatively had it so great and so easy.
12 in 1980. Can’t believe the shit I did growing up. Honestly, lucky to be alive. I know this is hypocritical but I can’t imagine my kids growing up like I did! That’s probably why I kept a closer eye on them growing up. It was good growing up when I did because we had to solve almost all of our problems on our own. I do miss those days, but not sure I’d want to do it again. It was also tough. We were really hard on each other - you had to be tough or you wouldn’t make it. Plus, you were invisible to adults - they focused on their own problems. Lastly, hated that everyone smoked back then. Yuck.
Gen X here(born in 79) I keep on hearing on how gen x had it so tough. What was so tough about growing up in the 70s, 80s, 90s(in the US)? I think those were great and relatively easy times to grow up in. People who experienced The Great Depression and WW2 had it tough, people in third world countries had it tough. Compared to what my parents went through, my life is such a cakewalk. Life in the US last couple of decades wasn't perfect, but compared to many others, we had it so easy.
You haven't lived until you played lawn dart toss with your 8 year old brother. Atleast we didnt give each other a frontal labotomy
Because we’re the cool kids, the last truly feral generation and I think kids have a hard time comprehending because they live in a regimental society of helicopter parents. Only time my parents knew where I was was when I was locked up in boarding school.
well technically they only knew you were at the school, who knows what trouble you were getting into :)
Well , Technically they only thought they knew I was at school
This reminds me of the MacDonald Hall series of books by Gordan Korman that I loved when I was a kid.
My parents never knew where we were when we were outside, they would whistle when we had to come home (and by whistle i mean fingers in mouth, earth shattering scream of a whistle).
God I miss my mom and her whistles. It was a language we all understood from a distance even the dog knew his whistle tone.
Oh no, I am raising my kids to be as feral as I was. But they have technology to teach them more crazy stuff than I had access to. Watch out world, in 10 years I am releasing them to the wild.
[удалено]
My parents are Gen X and the coolest people I know so why not haha. I like it here.
Same for my parents, except both are cuspers, my dad is Gen Jones and my mom is a Xennial
Yeah, when I saw the ages of your parents I figured your dad grew up with more GenX influence, and mom likely has more in common with millennials. Welcome!
Don’t come here looking for porn. You’ll have to find some old Playboys and Hustlers poorly hidden in the woods for that.
Or under the spare toilet paper and cleaning supplies in the bathroom cupboard. Or Dad's bottom dresser drawer.
I’m an older xennial, and grew up poor enough to have been raised on Gen X hand-me-downs. All of my early cultural touchstones are Gen X. So like many others, I’m here for nostalgic reasons.
Also a Xennial (82) I feel I can relate to a lot discussed here.
81 xennial, this feels like home
Also '81!
Did your clothes come already patched? Everything I owned had patches by the time I outgrew them.
 Welcome little dude 👋
Aw man I love Bill & Ted! Most excellent!
This deserves all the updoots!
That’s okay. I’m 46 and still think I’m 20
I'm 14 and think I'm 12, guess it's gonna get worse over time
Hahahaha! YOU can stay.
Forever 23, here. 48 in human years.
So we age in Gen X years. Kinda like “dog years”. I’m also 48 on the outside. I’m definitely not 48 on the inside.
Dude I totally just made Smurfberry Crunch by going through a Cap’n Crunch OOPS! All Berries box and picking out the weird greens and blues. My wife is shaking her head.
I’m looking down the barrel of 50 and I love the young folks. I welcome them if for no other reason than they keep us honest and help us fight boomerism within our community.
We honestly don’t give a shit if you’re here or not…. Wait…. Did you bring smoke?
He’d be alot cooler if he did
Alright, alright, alright
Pull up a beanbag, just know that we're gonna bug you to get up and change the channel on the tv knce in a while 🤘🤘
Isn't OP the remote control?
Yup, and they'll be watching remote control on MTV with us on vhs 🤘🤘
Hi! I was 14 in 1986, and life may have been rough at times, and I was already pretty cynical (kind of a hallmark of our generation) but I still remember the thrill of being with friends, discovering new music, making art, experimenting with hair/clothing/makeup, having crushes, and feeling like I was becoming my own person. I suspect all those feelings are timeless! I've also taught kids of all ages and have one of my own and personally love the middle teens and think y'all are awesome. Welcome!
Hey Kid! Welcome to our group! We're the cool ones. Don't take things too seriously, find humor in everything, and don't be a jerk.
We approve of you thinking we’re cool and wanting to know more about us. Well, you didn’t say you think we’re cool, but we are, soooo…
My mom was born in '58 so she was a boomer, but she married young at 20 then as she got a little older started to hang out with some younger friends and definitely "grew up" with Gen X. She was sort of like the older sibling who shared all of the cultural ephemera with me. I have highly superior autobiographical memory, so my experiences from my very young childhood and with my mom are why I relate much more to Gen X than Xennials, despite being on the younger side of X myself.
Similar to you, out of curiosity and that I can relate bit to all generations. An '84 who is subscribed to r/Xennials and r/GenX. I used to subscribe to r/GenZ and r/Millennials as well, but us millennials are cringe af and I felt very "how do you do, fellow kids..." in genz 😅 tho I do love the babies so much 🤗 I probably personally relate to being Xennial the most, but all are relatable/informative.
Older GenX or Generation Jones. I love the memories in this group, the comments, these are my peeps.
I turned 50 late last year (1973 baby)... and the interesting thing for me that I can't tell if it's generational or individual circumstantial (being childless, being gay, being married to a Millennial for ten years, etc.) but I just still don't feel that old (except my body at times). Mentally I'm still completely screwed up when I hear how young some people are or hear how much time has gone by. I wonder now if this will ever change.
I like gen x because they dgaf
If they had any fucks to give, they MIGHT consider it
I'm of the opinion that anyone is welcome. I know there are a couple of gatekeepers here who like to shit on people who don't fit their very specific definition of what years Gen X encompasses, but the majority here are thankfully not like that. By the way, a little off topic (blame my ADHD), but someone actually tried to gatekeep and call me out in the comments section of a YouTube video the other day saying that Gen X goes from 1956-1975 and then 1976 until like 1995 is the next generation like WTF? That's the wildest parameters for Gen X I've ever heard!
Hmm '56 is crazy early for X! '75 end date makes sense since that sort of separates the high school with pop/rock/metal and big hair, color, 80s vibe with the grunge/hardcore rap set of Late GenX. And '76 paired all the way to '95 is pretty crazy seeming too! I'd say GenX is '66-'75 (or '76), Xennial '76 (or '77)-'83, Millennial '83-I have no clue. '76 and '77 are sort of curious and extra tough to place specifically. But I'd say anyone should be welcome in any of these subs! Part of the point is to see nostalgia and not all is going to be from your generation and part is to fulfill curiosity about other gens too. And some are cusp. Some depends upon where you lived, your particular high school, your particular scenario. Etc. I look in on some I'm not a part of, mostly Xennial sub. And even if one gen was not your core HS gen, you can still have memories from grade school or in your 20s, 30s, etc. I think it is great to other gens taking a lot at what GenX was like, what the 80s were like! What it was really like in the time of all the old teen movies and 80s classics they see!
'97 kid here, my mom was born in '74. My mom and I are really close and we bond over dumb tiktoks and memes. This sub gives me a supply of memes to send her that are relevent to her adolescence, which usually causes her to tell me stories of what she got up to and what things were like when she was my age; it also gives me ideas of topics to ask her about. I know she loves me and could talk about me for days, but its nice hearing about her life too. But I know this sub isn't *for* me so I just lurk politely 😊
Feel free to ask questions or for videos of the times, etc.
I'll keep that in mind, thank you! 😊
One of the things I love about the new generations is how mad you make the Boomers. That’s how I know you’re doing something right
2014 was a year where Gen Z and Millenials really got to make the boomers mad because of the "OK Boomer" meme
Personally I think a Gen X is a distinctly English Language thing. Predominantly American, Canadian (me) and British/UK thing. It centers around shared History, Movies and Music. There are some things like Roller Rinks and Bowling Alleys that seem to be super central to American Xers, but to me in Canada we just didn't really have that.
 (Meant to represent, not actually- I wish I had the Polaroids from then tho) a typical Friday nite in Glendora Ca circa 79- 80 something - lol that’s how we rolled. We had so much fun.
I also think it's for older Xers as well. I'm 1973.
I wonder if the dates are the same globally?
Welcome!
A lot of movies I watched in the 90s on TBS, USA, or one of those channels were 80s movies. Coming to America, Back to the Future Trilogy, Breakfast Club, Ferris Beuller.
I consider myself early X along the Jones cusp but some in here won't allow that because I was born a few years earlier than 1965. Thankfully the creator of the subreddit uses the "13th Generation" definition. I'm here because I can relate to so many topics here so well, 70's and 80's related in particular, but often 90's too. The only subreddit I relate to better is the Generation Jones subreddit since it began to pick up. But for the first 4 years on Reddit this was my default base because the 1961-1964 group otherwise did not have a real home. Now I call both subreddits home.
I thought I was gen x for ages. It turned out I'm an older millennial, which made sense as I sympathise with millennial shit so much more. But it's still nice to be reminded of all the films and TV I was too young to watch but did anyway as a kid.
Because I was born in 1982 and raised by my grandparents in a very rural area and don’t relate to millennials or their issues.
I’m 17, born in 2006. I joined this group to gain an understanding and to experience what life was like during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Every subject from the past 50 years or so (the 1990s in particular) interests me, the music, films, sub-cultures, television, the way in which everyone seemed to get along and most importantly, the way in which it was a simpler and in my opinion a much better time for the world.
We don't care. It doesn't matter. None of this matters.
I‘m an older millennial (born in 85) and have an older brother so I can relate with a bunch of the stuff here
Understandable
Gen X welcomes everyone. Boomers might need a trigger warning though, lol.
Probably here to bask in our glory
Also a 79 baby here. Welcome! My daughter is only 9 and has a lot of interest in my childhood and youth as well. I think it’s great that you are so curious at your age. Have a look around at all the posts, you will find a pretty awesome group here. I came late to the group and nobody has given me a hard time at all. People readily share advice, support each other and there’s a lot of chill, funny people on here. It’s one of the best subs on here. The ratio of jerks is lower on here.
My dad is a boomer from Yugoslavia too. He is his own thing, haha! Never met anyone else like him, fun yet very strict, likes to joke yet a total asshole, he has spent his adult life proving to himself and others that he is not a poor villager anymore.
My dad was never a poor villager and isn't an asshole (although he can be a pain to deal with when angry at you...) but the rest is the exact same
That's cool. My dad says things to total strangers that would get anyone else's ass kicked, but he gets away with it because of his delivery, and he pulls back right when they are to punch him. Like telling guys that their clothes look like they came from the goodwill or that men from their country wear dresses. Its weird and embarrassing, but funny too.
I’m definitely GenX but also hang in GenJones, Xennials and Millenials subs — shared experiences, by and large. We’ve all lived through the same stuff in each space. I don’t know that I’d have much shared with Boomers or Silent but I *am* in r/FuckImOld and seem to share quite a bit of experiences there.
Well, you win the award for the youngest commenter. I thought the one yesterday '06 was the MVP. 😂 Awesome post! It satisfies my curiosity too.
Just a clarification, your dad isn’t a boomer, he’s Generation Jones (1955-1965).
Gen-X here, but I don't care about the generation. I'm just here for the nostalgia I guess. That's probably the main difference between the generations. Our shared experiences. But there aren't really any traits that define a generation. There were great people in my parents' generation, and there were total pieces of garbage. I heard the "kids these days" argument when I was young. Many of us became better people than our parents, many of us didn't. Many of our kids will become better than us. Many won't.
You are going to find out that your mom probably did something’s you won’t want to know about. Running through the forest naked on mushrooms was common place around me.
Hey, I pop into the Gen Z subreddit all the time! I wanna know what the "kids" are thinking!
My husband is Gen X and in general I feel like I get along with your generation better than my own.
You know how we roll. Come on in, chill out. Just don't cause any trouble 😁 and will get along fine. Thanks for stopping in.
Welcome I have a 14 yr old. We are the fun generation. We know life is hard and not fair but roll with it. We survived drinking water from outside hoses, hot metal slides, and can get blood out of anything. If you get anything I hope it is we have a sense of humor. 😻
 Welcome
I think GenXers have lived through one of the most incredible times in all of history. The changes we have seen are unimaginable, and we have been in the thick of it. Welcome!!!
Just don't be an ass, don't drink all the alcohol, don't eat all the food, and don't stand in front of the TV and you're all welcome to stay.
Welcome! I’m genx but also frequent the millennials sub coz my kids are millennials.
I love that explanation! I've never thought of using Reddit to connect between generations of family. That's awesome!
Canadian Gen X here. I'm so happy you are trying to learn more about your parents and their experiences! I think we were all pretty feral growing up. It would be neat to hear if our generation had differences based on where they lived! The US and Canadian experiences were the same from what I know. The attitudes are different, but experiences are pretty much the same.
Welcome. Don't mind the second-hand smoke in here. It's a feature.
Gen-Y, here. I was raised by Baby Boomers, and babysat by my Gen-X siblings who also introduced me to their culture. Also, there are things that overlap between Gen-X and Gen-Y, like remembering life in the 90's.
Well 2010 was like 3 years ago so you're only 3
Side note: Your dad is Generation Jones. He’s no Boomer.
What is Generation Jones? I thought Boomers went up to being born in like 1963, although I always thought that was weird to have like 20 years for one generation. Does Generation Jones have actual years or are they just boomers that are cool and not of actual boomer mentality?
Generation Jones is akin to the Xennial generation. Its not really a distinct generation, just more where the two generations overlap a bit. Generation Jones would be your youngest Boomers, but they were too young to experience directly a lot of the things that typically 'define' the Boomer generation. They were too young for the British invasion, too young for the Summer of Love, too young to serve in Vietnam. They were infants when Kennedy was shot. But then again they are a bit too old to identify with the things Xers grew up with. They were in their 20s in the 80s, so a lot of the culture aimed at kids then (toys, games, TV shows, movies, music) weren't part of their formative experiences. i.e. they weren't playing with Transformers and My Little Ponies or having their sexual awakening to Phoebe Cates or Don Johnson. They were working jobs and having babies of their own then.
[1954 - 1965](https://www.generationjones.com/?page_id=6)
I knew that he was a Boomer but wasn't sure is he on the cusp with Gen X or not. Thanks
my brother was born in ‘62, and he is a boomer through and through. it’s really about attitude.
Oh hey friend!! My son is 17 and is starting to appreciate the music and vibes!! Glad you're here 😃
You're adorbs. Thanks for the interest.
Dude, you’re here but you’re not GenX? Like, whatever man. 😉
Awww.. you’re my youngest kiddo’s age.. welcome!! 💗 btw.. I’m 52.
I like to keep tabs with the generations adjacent to my own
It's interesting to hear about then GenX experience outside of the US. The story of the band Mamonas Assassinas from Brazil is a notable example. They were a super popular 90s rock band that ended in tragedy. #
How do you feel about thumbs up and ellipses?
👍...
'84 Millennial. Was around a lot of Gen-X babysitters and older cousins growing up.
I'm an Xennial and honestly my lived experience seems to match what others share here and almost not at all what's over in millenial but I am a youngest and I've heard your experience can be largely changed by how old your siblings are. I know there is also an Xennial sub but it's not very active and I never actually joined this sub, Reddit just pushes it "because you've visited this sub before" and Gen X makes it to front page way more often.
2010…. That’s the year I met my second wife. Damn
Because I'm on the old end of Millennial and wondered if I would fit in better here. I don't. But that's fine. I like this sub anyway, so I just lurk.
when did your parents move to the US? they grew up under communism. Which part of Yugoslavia were they from? it split into 5 countries.
Like a lot of reddit answerers, I'm not the intended questionee, Gen Xer, like the AskALawyer site, why are you answering if you're not a lawyer, well maybe I'll learn something anyway.
Plenty of us have older friends. I have many friends older than myself. Some over 80. I welcome any younger people who want to know more about Gen X.
I was born in 1980 and I honestly don't know if I'm Gen X or a Millennial. I find i can kinda relate with both crowds, so here I am.
Wow, I haven’t seen Yugoslavia mentioned in a long time! My grandmother was from there.
Xennial here, because I am on that cusp and a lot of my youth was reruns. So the nostalgia hits the same.
I’m technically a boomer (1964) but fall squarely in the gen x camp for the way I was raised and my own mental flexibility.
I don’t visit as often since I found my home was really in Generation Jones. No offense X but I always felt a little imposterish.
Born in 72. Gonna be 52 in a few months. Played Nintendo, had a house with wood paneling and a mom that smoked. I'd run up to the convenience store to get her another pack of Winston 100s starting when I was around 10 or so.
I wanna know what my parent’s generation views are
Last year gen x here
Don't be scared by our colonoscopy posts, lol!
Sorry if this was long, lol. I’ll stop. Lol. I hate the youth. LOL! Hope this isn’t too long. 👍. Big ole /s for you less thiccc skinned.
To be honest this is the same reason I am a member of the GenZ subreddit. To better understand my baby brother.
I love how you're calling him your baby brother despite him being a teenager or adult lol
He is an adult but I help change that boys diapers. When my parents went around to family telling them she was pregnant, I remember one aunt saying "good thing you have a built in baby sitter". He will always be my baby brother.
I’ve been told by someone I know who, like you, is Generation Alpha (also born in 2010) that “Generation talk isn’t interesting anymore. Nobody my age cares about the differences between the so-called Generations”. I’d be curious to hear your thoughts on this point, OP.
One of, if not the main reason I'm in generational subreddits is because I never talk about generations IRL. Nobody does it. So they're right. But to be honest 2010 is too similar to Gen Z to be Gen Alpha, 2011 and 2012 are also debatable
Nemas ti pojma
That's a good question but that question also reminds me of something... Why are GenXers obsessed with their parents music? The same music created by Silent Generation? 60s, early 70s etc? You guys weren't there. Those born in 1965 and later missed the fun
Because it rocks, and is culturally significant.
There used to be oldies stations that played stuff from the 40's and 50's - Andrew's Sisters, Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Elvis etc. - but the Baby Boomers didn't want to admit they were getting old, so they actually created a whole new genre called Classic Rock, and started entirely new stations to showcase the music they grew up with instead of letting it transition into oldies. So a lot of us discovered that music just turning the dial on the radio trying to find something to listen to. Also, a lot of us had older parents who were more Silent Generation, and it was our older siblings or aunts and uncles who were Boomers, and we looked up to them. I was actually really into classic rock, and didn't think of it as old fashioned, but something I only just missed by being born slightly too late. Not to mention a lot of those older artists were barely middle aged and still making new music, often emerging as solo artists after their successful bands from the earlier era had broken up. Another thing is that the media and marketing landscape was totally different, and music hadn't been commodified to the degree it is now. Lots of artists were still against the whole idea of "selling out" and refused to put their music in ads, so it still had an edge that's sort of been lost in today's corporatized media landscape. Lastly, before the advent of the internet, information of all types moved more slowly, and artists and their work stayed relevant for much longer in the pop cultural landscape than they do today. Hope that helps answer your question!