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There are many things I would not want to live without, including all the usual suspects others have mentioned here.
To hit a button, have the garage door open and drive my car in out of the elements is a luxury I still appreciate six years later. That will never get old after 34 years of living with an unattached garage that modern cars didn’t fit into.
Thus thread is born out of the thread about "what invention/technology did you not see coming in 1968"...
So... what modern convenience and or technology that exists today at the end of 2018 could you NOT do without?
A dishwasher? A microwave? Personal Computer ? Smart TV? GPS?
I could not do without my smart phone!. It acts as and replaces: my phone, my camera, my GPS device, my maps, almost totally replaces my personal computer , my watch, my calendar, my dictionary, my encyclopedia,
and so much more. I rarely use the computer anymore. I use my smartphone to do almost everything i do on the computer except type or copy long documentation or letters. All in my hand!!
So..what modern convenience can you NOT LIVE without?
( this might tell us what invention is the "best" from this or last century)
Ditto although air conditioning is a lifesaver not just for comfort but to keep the asthma at bay in the more humid climates.
Over a year ago, we backed out of an offer to buy a very nice house which met almost all of our house search criteria except having high speed Internet connection. We were willing to consider the option to connect to the Internet through a cellphone but the cellphone receptions were very poor too!
Of course we can live without broadband internet or any internet connection but it would be a major inconvenience and disruption to our 'way' of living.
Our current internet connection is not very fast (only 10Mbps wireless internet vs the 50Mbps fiber optic internet which we had in NY). However, it is sufficient for us to use Magic Jack VoIP and Roku/Smart TV. So we have internet, phone and TV for a very cheap price of $55 a month.
The internet is our window and door to the world. We can pretty much get everything that we need or want (news, weather, entertainment, shopping, research, communication, get help, make arrangement for transportation etc.) with few single clicks. I would gladly trade indoor plumbing to a good, reliable internet connection ;-)
There are many things I would not want to live without, including all the usual suspects others have mentioned here.
To hit a button, have the garage door open and drive my car in out of the elements is a luxury I still appreciate six years later. That will never get old after 34 years of living with an unattached garage that modern cars didn’t fit into.
Ditto all you said. I will also add the TV remote. I laugh now when I think that I get annoyed if DH puts the remote on his right side of the chair table and I have to get up to get it. Good golly have I gotten lazy!!
Over a year ago, we backed out of an offer to buy a very nice house which met almost all of our house search criteria except having high speed Internet connection. We were willing to consider the option to connect to the Internet through a cellphone but the cellphone receptions were very poor too!
Of course we can live without broadband internet or any internet connection but it would be a major inconvenience and disruption to our 'way' of living.
Our current internet connection is not very fast (only 10Mbps wireless internet vs the 50Mbps fiber optic internet which we had in NY). However, it is sufficient for us to use Magic Jack VoIP and Roku/Smart TV. So we have internet, phone and TV for a very cheap price of $55 a month.
The internet is our window and door to the world. We can pretty much get everything that we need or want (news, weather, entertainment, shopping, research, communication, get help, make arrangement for transportation etc.) with few single clicks. I would gladly trade indoor plumbing to a good, reliable internet connection ;-)
Imagine it's 3am and you 'gotta go'. It's -10* outside and you can't hold it. You'd be using that internet connection to find a place in the FL Keys! I do agree that high speed internet is pretty awesome tho.
For me, too, I would rather have a dishwasher and use a laundromat, than have a washer and dryer but have to hand-wash dishes.
You should see me when I am camping. Cook everything on a stick of some sort, then throw the sticks in the fire when done eating. I just don't like to do dishes.
LED lights, particularly flashlights. Lots more light for your battery life.
"Modern" wood stove, like my old Waterford Erin. 1/3 more heat from the cord of wood, no creosote in the chimney, less pollution overall.
Of course there are no modern conveniences I *can't* do without. I could live like it was 1880 and I'd be fine.
Hm, well, I'm going to interpret "new modern" as meaning something that newly appeared after the 1950s. Not things like cars and electric washing machines and vacuum cleaners and telephones which were all commonplace by then.
So by those lights, I'd say that in the category of post-1950s "absolutely would not want to live without" conveniences there'd be:
* personal computer with internet access
* DVDs (I prefer my movie library in physical form, I am absolutely NOT a 'streamer')
* cell phone, although not a smartphone; I'm a flip-phone kinda gal, LOL
* car with air conditioning. Although the first ones were available in the early 1940s, they didn't really become commonplace until the late 1950s. None of our family's pre-1960 cars had air conditioning, and my dad bought a new car every 3 years too. No AC was not fun on those August vacations to Florida, I can tell you.
* permanent press clothing
There are a bunch of other things that I strongly prefer to have and are important but the OP asked for "cannot live without" and those five are pretty much it.
The Internet and microwave are "must haves" in my life.
^^^^
ditto this!
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I do agree that high speed internet is pretty awesome tho.
