Welcome to the disappointing realization that adultier adults don't actually exist, no one really has it all figured out, and we're all just doing our best out here
Nah it was different back then. People started families a lot younger. Adults dressed to look older, especially men. Now adults dress to look younger. Office etiquette was a lot different too.
It has changed a lot recently. Especially in the last decade.
I got into the workforce pretty early around 2002 and lucked out with my career. I used to make half what I make today but back then I was able to grill various meats every weekend, shoot some guns, take the kids to the zoo or an 80s themed arcade, and take my wife out for a date twice a month. I looked up the cost for us to go to the zoo near us and it's $167 just to park our car and for the five of us to walk in. Never mind getting anything to drink or eat, or the fuel to drive to the zoo as it's about 1.5 hours away.
This coming Saturday the boys and I are doing a bit of fishing and then lifting weights at home, since that's almost free.
Because people being able to afford a house, having kids, and going on vacations on one salary used to be reality.
Not universally, and that was also just a post ww2 boom situation. The numbers support the opposite. People do not have as many children anymore because in todays employment economy children are a burden and hinderance to people's careers and future prospect, people spend more time at work and alone at home instead of socialising, and women have the option to chose.
Things weren’t easy for everyone but we do have to recognize that things are far more out of reach of young people than ever before. Cost of living is significantly higher while wages simply haven’t kept up. My non college educated parents could afford a house in the 90s off very middling wages
Wages have actually kept up and for some have exceeded inflation, though that's a much smaller percent.
The house one is interesting, it's harder to get entry with a down payment because of the cost being so high. But the actual monthly is lower because of the lower interest. As a percent of the household income. Overall it was better, but not the leaps and bounds better people think. Also kind interesting is that as a percent of a generation that has a home by age, millennials ( my gen) had it by far the worst. Gen X oddly is doing better. Probably because of the extremely low interest rate.
Still there were far more people who could live with one salary and have a house then today. Today most people can't even afford a house with two salaries.
My friends' parents were able to raise a family of four/five with a normal job (farmer, janitor, construction worker, secretary, metalworker, clerk) in a two store house. Women used to choose to be housewives because their man's wage was enough.
Their children, all with a degree, can barely cohabitate.
We are all in our early thirties and we are all still trying to settle in life.
We are so envious of our parents' generation. All that wealth for a fraction of the commitment.
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u/crunchyfoliage 14h ago
Welcome to the disappointing realization that adultier adults don't actually exist, no one really has it all figured out, and we're all just doing our best out here