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Definitely the 80s. It seems everything was more care-free back then and just more fun. I was only 4-5 years old in the late 80s, so unfortunately I never got to experience it at my prime. All my favorite bands are from then, so I would have LOVED to have seen them at their peak if I were a teenager back then.
Now we have to worry about terror/the war, the terrible economy, global warming, etc. I know the 80s experienced it too, but not to the level it is today.
I'm eight years older than you, so I remember the 80s a bit better. Back then we worried about global warming, terrorism (airline hijacking was big back then), the communists, nuclear war, the deficit (it was new, so more worisome), crack cocaine, gangs (at least in L.A. this was a big one... Crips and Bloods were heating up), Reagan's dismantling of the welfare state, making our soceity a harsher more dog-eat-dog kind of place. Oh yeah, fears of child predators were huge too.. even our biggest star (MJ) had a problem with it, but we didn't know about that until 1991.
I'm eight years older than you, so I remember the 80s a bit better. Back then we worried about global warming, terrorism (airline hijacking was big back then), the communists, nuclear war, the deficit (it was new, so more worisome), crack cocaine, gangs (at least in L.A. this was a big one... Crips and Bloods were heating up), Reagan's dismantling of the welfare state, making our soceity a harsher more dog-eat-dog kind of place. Oh yeah, fears of child predators were huge too.. even our biggest star (MJ) had a problem with it, but we didn't know about that until 1991.
There are more welfare programs now than there were in the 80s.
There are more welfare programs now than there were in the 80s.
I don't know. That may be true. But we definitely left the 70's and began the 80's with a liberal government must help the people attitude. During the 80's Reagan era that attitude was gradually replaced by a "do for yourself" attitude. The 80's also was a period where people became increasingly materialistic and people at the time were very aware of this happening. Some loved it others hated it. But people then I still don't think were anywhere near as materialistic as they are now.
My point was that the 80s had its overhyped media problems too... I think a major story trend in the 80s was that America was becoming a harsher place due to Reagan's approach to government. I'm not saying whether this was true or not, but it was a hot topic on the news. I remember stories about homeless people with college degrees, or mentally ill people being kicked out of government subsidized hospitals and onto the streets, etc.
I'm in my early 40's, so the early-mid 80's were the most fun for me. Home computers and getting online was completely new and fascinating, video arcades and home video games were so much fun. Played ball in the streets, kids playing on the block, etc.. No bills to worry about, and the music was the best!
Financially, early-mid 00's was the best for me. I was working in the field I love, living in the city I love, debt-free, VERY low mortgage, expenses, etc...
Made some turns because of family situations in the late 00's, but the 10's have been good, but not as great as the early-mid 00's.
I'm much in the same boat as you. 2002 to the present were the best times of my life financially but that's because I reached a level of educational attainment and experience that allowed me to get my best jobs.
In the late 80's and 90's I was just a struggling student or college grad struggling to pay off college debt.
I still think the 80's and 90's were better off economically for the nation as a whole though. If I had the education and experience I have now back then I think I would have been even better off than I am now.
2001 to 2010 has been the longest most depressing economic times I have ever seen this country go through. But I've weathered it well like I said due to having been able to get and keep a couple of good jobs despite it all.
Well, I'm going against what most people here are saying. Things are WAY better for me today than they were in the 80s/90s.
I make more money and have a higher standard of living now than I ever have. I telecommute. I travel much more than before. I'm also a part-time rock musician and have a sizeable following on the internet, which means that people from all over the world are listening to the music I make in my basement. These things would have been impossible for me back then.
BTW, 9/11 affected me as deeply as it did everyone else. I even witnessed that thick black cloud of smoke rising from the Pentagon on my way to work in D.C. However, I didn't let that event change my life. If anything, it made me focus more strongly on living in the here and now and not taking anything for granted. In spite of 9/11, New York City and Washington, D.C. - my 2 favorite U.S. cities - are much improved now compared to the 80s/90s.
I love living in the present and would never go back.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 05-21-2011 at 12:22 PM..
I'm much in the same boat as you. 2002 to the present were the best times of my life financially but that's because I reached a level of educational attainment and experience that allowed me to get my best jobs.
In the late 80's and 90's I was just a struggling student or college grad struggling to pay off college debt.
I still think the 80's and 90's were better off economically for the nation as a whole though. If I had the education and experience I have now back then I think I would have been even better off than I am now.
2001 to 2010 has been the longest most depressing economic times I have ever seen this country go through. But I've weathered it well like I said due to having been able to get and keep a couple of good jobs despite it all.
True. This new millenium has been the worst time in the country as a whole because of 9/11, Katrina and many other catastrophic events since the great depression. I was just blessed to not have felt it financially, but definitely did, emotionally.
I think we as a country is still in for quite a bit of hurt for at least for the rest of this decade, but if people have a financial/career game plan in place, they should come out of it pretty much OK.
I'd say 1984 through 1997 were the best years. Prior to 1984, there was a deep recession in the United States that was considered to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, at least at the time. After 1997, the problem wasn't the economy, but people and pop culture. Pop culture really began to get sleazy near the end of the 1990's, and was at its sleaziest in the first half of the 2000's. And people just seemed to be more hostile and just plain weird than before.
It seemed like life was better in the 1980's and 1990's for the country at large than it has been in the 2000's and 2010's, but I guarantee you that's not the case for the entire country. Life has certainly been better in Pittsburgh in the 2000's and 2010's than it was at any time in the 1980's or 1990's. The 1980's in particular were devastating for Pittsburgh, and the 1990's were the bottoming out. Only in the 2000's did life begin returning to normal, and now, in the 2010's, things seem to be looking up in Pittsburgh more than they are in many other cities that were hot **** in the 1980's and 1990's.
The 80s-90s seemed really great, but a lot of it was a facade. Hiding behind all the prosperity was looming debt and depression. We are now seeing what was really going on behind the scenes. Bad debt, foreclosures everywhere, states overspending, bankruptcy of large companies....I think we are better off now because we have to deal with the decline and are finding ways to cope with it. Come the next boom period we will all be in much better position and very well off.
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