What was your life like when you were 24?

[OkSoqhateo]

The title says it all. Were you living with your parents still? What was your job like? What did your social life consist of?

Graduate. Full-time professional job. Had bought a house (that we still live in). Then got married. All before age 25.

It was exactly 20 years ago.

I'd just met DH, we were probably in the early dating stages. I was living in a very grotty flat on my own and DH was living at home.

We would work, drink, rinse, repeat.

I was so so skint at the very start of my career. I remember taking cash out of my credit card to pay my credit card!

I was resolute that I didn't want kids (that changed pretty much the day I hit 30).

Actually with hindsight it was pretty dark times compared to now, thanks OP for the reminder to be very very grateful for the life I now lead.

@OkSoqhateo as pp just want to point out UK and European continent and then within continent is not all the same.
I am from the co tired and 20 years on still get occasionally surprised by the differences!
Masaive differences even betwewn neighbourhooding countries (as on any continent)

Married with one DC, working part time in a relatively junior graduate role and living in a house we owned. Social lives split between socialising with kids and all of my childless friends from earlier in life.

'On this day' when I was 24, I was pregnant with my ds (found out on Christmas day.) Married one year, we had just had an offer accepted on a house. I was working in the nhs and spent my weekends with my two best friends shopping and city breaks.

Fast forward 10 years and I'm working in education, I have 3 children and two have complex needs. I barely speak to my (then) best friends which makes me sad ....our lives are on different pages, but met some really lovely friends along the way. Life is very different!

It was my first year at university, my DS (now 36 years old) had just started school and I moved into my third rented flat (this one had a garden).

I was (am) married and had a 6 week old baby when I turned 24. After maternity leave I went part-time (3 days a week) in my job as a teaching assistant. I didn't realise but I was suffering with PND and had some physical health problems going on which my GP kept dismissing as anxiety.

Really interesting to read all of these!

I recall thinking very clearly that 24 was a GREAT age to be. I was starting to 'feel like an adult' while still having all the energy, resilience and looks of youth. Finished uni that year and was living in a cheap shared house with damp, mould, slugs on the bathroom wall (!), another couple and the boyfriend I would ill-advisedly marry. We made it our home and felt happy there despite the housing standard.

After one false start with full-time work, I had a brilliant job that led seamlessly to my career move on turning 25. Our social life was incredibly active, both personally and through work, and we travelled a lot by bus and train - the bus to Greece was an experience not to be missed nor repeated 😂

We did everything on the cheap because we were saving for our first deposit; bought our first London flat the following year. (It was a battle to get my salary included for the mortgage, we had to squat for six months, and our interest rate was 19.5%)

I do feel today's young adults often expect too much in terms of comfort and facilities: their expectations mostly seem to be of a sudden transition from student to home-owner with a car, their parents filling in the gaps. They get cross when the mortgage and car, etc, fail to magically appear for them. They're missing out on the fun and excitement of being young, adaptable, innovative, experimental.

I think your DS is thinking along the right lines, and wish him lots of adventures!

60 hour working weeks and a postgrad at night school. Lived in a horrible rented flat - bed against the wall and no room around the bed for stuff.

but my flat mate was lovely. I was exhausted all the time and she cooked dinner while I did the bulk of cleaning.

. Saving money wasn't that hard in that period because I didn't have the time or energy to spend it. However, the post grad only took a couple of years and it was in my work subject so it wasn't that difficult I suppose. It was the long hours at work that was the killer.

Totally worth it though. Things like packed lunches were a norm. Just normal economising really. No pricey clothes. No takeaways. Still don't have those.

Barely saw my folks but they understood because their life was similar in their 20s.

The cultural landscape was a lot nicer. But I wouldn't go back. I was ill a lot, but with hindsight it was probably due to overwork!

Oh lovely. What was your PhD in?

No social life, I was married and pregnant.

Both were halls/accomodation. Never done a house share.

It was 38 years ago, I had graduated 3 years previously, almost finished my professional qualifications, was engaged ( married the following year) and had just bought a house. Working in city of London, living in a lovely village in Kent. Had just had an abortion after an accidental pregnancy because I did not want a child at that age( subsequently did have them). I was very happy with my life.
Socialised occasionally with work friends in London but had made local friends where we lived and had joined in with village life, and mostly socialised with them. Parents lived 200 miles away, hadn't lived with them for 6 years since going to university( apart from university holidays).

I was back living with my parents and started my first 'real' job after graduating, travelling and casual working.
I struck up a friendship with now DH due to a common hobby but we were both involved with other people at the time, getting together just as I turned 25.

This sounds very similar to my early twenties 🤣

Living in Asia teaching and partying and travelling through all the holidays - so so so much fun!

Living my best life. Young, happy and living in the Big London. I rarely slept and would often pop into Next on my way to work in last nights clothes and emerge in a new outfit.

When I was 24 I had just got out of an incredibly abusive relationship.
I was full time employed and managed to buy my first flat!
And would travel when I want, go out when I wanted, and was rebuilding myself day by day! X

I would encourage him to move out and experience a house share. It develops a completely different skill set. My 19 year old is in his second year of Uni living in a house share with 4 others. The difference in him is night and day. He has had a few girlfriends at college but only one serious who he met at Uni and they have been together for 16 months now.

I know you want to make sure he is protected and happy but living at home maybe holding him back in life.

My DS’s chosen career means he will likely have to go wherever in the UK has openings so he has accepted he will likely have to houseware for the next 10 years! Likely with people in the same profession as they are all in the same boat.

Haha. Same at having to go to next on the way into work.

Living at home, attending local university. Reasonable social life, seems very carefree and happy compared to what came later on!

Brilliant year! Partied hard with a great group 2-3 nights every week. Really fit as was working out all the time. Lovely boyfriend. Deployed to Afghanistan for part of it. Lots of long sunday brunches. No responsibility, low bills and lots of spending money to blow on nothing. Good times!

I had the best of both worlds, I was happy with my partner, we had our first son and planning our wedding, I also had a good social life, fast forward 20 years im now divorced but do have 3 lovely children.

I had been married for a year and DH and I were having a ball working and going out with friends. It was great time in our life.

Living in London in a shared house in what was about to be a very trendy part of London with my best mate from uni. Working in the music industry, she was working in film. Not tonnes of spare money, but loads of house parties, nights out, dating diff guys. Fab group of mates- mix of the uni crowd who had moved down, and colleagues- and felt pretty bloody good about myself. Lots of travel to lovely places. 23-27 were an absolute golden age for me in lots of ways. I laughed SO much, all the time. Life was a riot.

On the other id developed an eating disorder and was exercising compulsively, would get black out drunk regularly, and was taking beta blockers for anxiety.

Having my son - an unexpected blessing- at 28, completely threw my life upside down, but also saved it. I think I was going somewhere quite dark, underneath the glitter. I look back on those years now with a mixture of nostalgia, embarrassment (I was the epitome of a hot mess) and wistfulness.