If you grew up in the 80s/90s, what was life like for you?

[Grabacoffeeandcake]

What things do you miss? What was worse?

I miss how simple life seemed back then. I’d get up, go to school, then after school watch TV until the o'clock news came on. I loved reading, a habit I’ve lost since bloomin smartphones.

There were far less supermarkets where I lived so a fortnightly trip to the big supermarket felt quite exciting. My mum shopped locally mainly and went to the butchers, greengrocers, bakery, those shops have long gone and been replaced by a massive Select and Save.

Going to the cinema or renting a video on a Saturday night was peak weekend.

As a teenager I’d walk for miles with friends just chatting and being silly.

Sundays were always really boring, absolutely hated when the antiques roadshow came on, but we did have a lovely roast.

I can remember shops closing half day on a Wednesday, anyone remember that?

I had so much freedom- I used to play down a field a mile from home with friends and no one thought anything of it. Also used to play in unused garages around the housing estate. My parents trusted I'd be home at agreed time.

After school I watched Home and Away and then played outside as above or I read books in my bedroom. I was bullied at school and it was a relief to switch off at home. I had a bike and a skateboard and used to play on the roads on the housing estate as there were far fewer cars. In fact a car coming down was seen as a pretty cool event.

It was a far simpler life. I didn't have the greatest family life but I miss the pre- Internet era.

Lonely. Boring.

that sums it up tbh! We lived rurally and my parents were always working so I was a ‘latch key kid’. Being an only child meant I was on my own a lot. Bus dropped me off from school on the main road then I’d walk home and get the tea on for my mum who would come in a couple of hours later. School holidays were the worst because I was on my own all day and always felt nervous in the countryside. It was a real dormitory village with just a post box and nothing else.

I loved to London as soon as I could and never left!

I was bullied, so it wasn't all great. But at least I could switch off at home. Life was simpler. They couldn't pay me enough to be young today. At least I could afford to move away and have my own life. And you weren't expected to be contactable constantly. I'd give the Internet back in a heartbeat.

Yeah I really resonate with Sundays being boring and hating the Antiques Roadshow. It meant the weekend was nearly over.

I used to have really long telephone calls as a teenager in the 90s/00s. I never have a phone call that lasts longer than 20 minutes these days.

My childhood was really easy. I didn’t know my parents struggled financially (I didn’t find out until I was an adult) and they got on really well so home was always happy. My friends used to come round all the time as did extended family. We went on holiday once a year and at home I was either reading or on my bike. It was safe and comfortable. I realise how lucky I am. Adulthood has not proved as easy or enjoyable!

Similar to you op, Sundays were awful, hardly any shops open, crap TV, the dread of going into school on Monday.
Friday was shopping day, I'd get to choose some junk from the supermarket, usually a Sainsbury's chocolate cornflake round and a packet of curry super noodles.
I went to the library and we also had a mobile library that came round monthly.

£1-2 would keep me out the house most of Saturday, meet friends in the park in the morning, bag of chips and a blue lemonade was 70p, the rest went on penny sweets.
As a teenager I used to hang out at friends or in the park, go ice skating, roller skating, cinema where we'd have to sneak in snacks.
I do remember being bored quite a bit though.

I was born in 1980. I do think most things have improved for the better tbh, although I understand why some don’t think so.

Schools were bloody awful. I spent seven years at primary school working out of maths textbooks and asking the teacher for help if I needed it. That was the ‘teaching.’ We had a random rotation of subjects that made little sense and was haphazard; have vague memories of doing the aztecs one year and then the victorians. Bullying was rife and nasty.

The heroin chic thing was around in force in the 90s, and it wasn’t a good time to be any bigger than a size 10. I thought I was enormous all the way through secondary school (I wasn’t.)

We had so many teen pregnancies … that’s another thing that’s all but vanished.

I was a latchkey kid (wraparound didn’t exist) and hated it tbh.

I was a teenager in the early 80s and it was an exciting time to be alive, apart from the threats of nuclear war, and AIDs. The music and fashion were exuberant, we'd go out in big groups, lots of snogging but little sex (see above...), videos round somebody's house were a good way to spend an evening, with sneaky cider bought by whoever looked oldest. I'm not being overly nostalgic but there was a lot less drug availability than now (my kids' generation may not drink, but they do way more drugs than we ever did).

We played outside a lot in comparison to today. I don't think things were necessarily safer, but we were given far more independence, far earlier. No computers (as such) so nerds like me read everything in sight. Other friends were really into music. Crafting wasn't a thing as such but anguished art was, and a lot of my friends made clothes (ra-ra skirts anybody?) Very few of us got tattoos in our older teen years - they were still seen as subversive and shocking.

Wouldn't change it for the world. I think we grew up faster.

We lived rurally so brother and I would play out during the day, never too far from home but not supervised either. Often bike rides or running about in the garden/fields/woods. I read all the time - up trees, walking to school, in bed. I still read a lot and luckily DD does too.

Particularly i notice I got a school bus to school at primary and the public bus from age 11. Kids now all seem to be taxied by parents and they wouldn't think of sending their kid on a school bus. I think it gave me a lot of independence.

I am kinda sad I didn't grow up with lots of neighbour kids to be friends with - my DH is still best friends with his next door neighbour and they're 40s now. But then I didn't have the lure of drinking in the park, hanging out with bad crowds and growing up fast this seems to bring.

BTW born 81 so child in 80s, teen in 90s.

I miss
Video Rental
long phone calls
making mix tapes
taping music off the radio
comics and magazines

dont miss the rubbish and limited food

It was great. Much less choice but actually that's not a bad thing.

Houses were colder
Food was expensive compared to wages.
Mortgages were expensive

But houses were cheaper so one parent usually
Mum didn't have to work. Most of
My friends mums stayed home or at least Minimal Hours

We walked everywhere. One family car was the normal in my town or cycle or bus.

Roads were quiet so we could go out on bikes all day with a bottle of of squash and a squashed sarnie.

Dinner was 3 meals a day. Snacks were rare I remember starving on a Sunday waiting for roast to cook

No shops on Sundays so we did family stuff or hung out with neighbours kids.

Dads mended there own cars

Hotter dryer summers colder winters

Sweets once a week on Sat morning.

Kids tv was 2 hours a day or a sat morning. Rest of the time we made our own games.

Very little parental input on games. I swam lessons once a week and did ballet but no other parental involvement.

It was a time of freedom and mostly safety. Less anxiety in kids less pressure. My school didn't give a shit what we did If we passed exams or went to uni. They just ruled by fear and that was that. I
Like school tho. We had fun and were allowed to throw snowballs and so on.

Happy memories.

I was born 1971.

Ahhhh this was a lovely read. Took me right back.

OMG, chocolate cornflake cake! And proper, thick chocolate hobnobs.
And bright orange Findus Crispy Pancakes.
And Vesta curry.
Scented pencils! Purple Ronnie! Garfield before he was made cute...

And K cider that would stun a horse. And Mad Dog 20 20.

Also part time jobs were plentyfull

Most of my mates worked at 15 as did my dhs mates Our own money to spend. Wonderful.

Lost a job would have a new one by week after or even the
Same day.

Drugs. I never had any access or knew about anyone that did. The worst was glue sniffing
In my area. . However smoking was much more common as was Under age drinking

The freedom. I try and let my kids have as much as possible.
Out for hours aged 8 plus in the town, in the fields, climbing trees, getting into factory yards, swimming in the river, playing out in the street for hours of forty forty and hide and seek.
Watched TV and had a zx spectrum that took 5000 hours to loudly load.

As a teen it was raving and parties. Going to the pub from aged 13, clubs from.15, free parties and raves in the countryside. As an older teen hitch hiking, going to festivals. Worked feom aged 11 (newspaper round and cleaning boats) 12 (12 hour.shifts for a catering company) then many more shite jobs but meant could go out loads.

Worked hard at school too!
Uni I got a grant that covered my rent and I worked to eat/live, but could afford to do that and go on holiday in the summer, with my friends with absolutely no help for my parents.

My 20s were in the mid to late 90s, despite having really badly paid jobs, I could afford to move around all the time and lived in three different cities in the uk, traveled across the world, and again had absolutely no help from my parents.

In 2000 I bought a house for £68k on a single wage of £18k with a 2k deposit.

I feel so sorry for my kids.

White dog poo

I grew up in a village. We would cycle everywhere with friends, the roads were much safer than now (less busy). We spent a lot of time playing out with friends from 9am until it was dark. My mum visited a big supermarket once a month for a big shop, everything else came from the local shop, butcher and fruit and veg shop.
take aways we’re a real treat, we had a fish and chip shop in the village but nothing else. We rarely had days out with parents, my dad worked a lot and we entertained ourselves during school holidays.

My dd was shocked the other day when I told her I carried a pen knife on me at school…..mainly for carving my name into tree’s. I thought I was really cool for having a Swiss Army knife.

@HopSpringsEternal
Absolutely

My first house was 35k in the south east and I earnt 14k one wage

My own little pad at 23. Walking distance from the high street fo nights house. It was brilliant.

Kids these days are screwed it's depressing.

Child of the 80's/90's, my mum didn't work, she was a "housewife". My dad worked full-time, they could afford to buy a 3 bedroom house in a nice area, on one salary. She was given a weekly sum of cash by my dad to spend on food and other things we needed.

At the local shops there was a small supermarket, a newsagent, a bakers, a fish mongers, a butchers, greengrocers, a hair salon, a chippy. There now stands a spar, newsagents, chippy, hair salon but no butchers, bakers, greengrocers, fish mongers - they have all gone. It wasn't until the late 80's/early 90's that large out-of-town supermarkets appeared.

We had one holiday a year, usually a fortnight away to a holiday park/caravan park, sometimes Butlins etc in the summer and that was really looked forward to. When I became a teenager we started to go to Spain, Greece etc.

School was within walking distance and after school (sometimes there was a "club", which was free) we played outside with friends in the garden or in one of our houses, games, TV or looking through magazines. We did have a computer and a games console from the early 80's onwards, all very basic compared to today. We played ball outside or on bikes.

Once a week after school we would go to the library to change our books. Another evening was Brownies/Guides. Sundays we usually went for a family day out. I remember most shops being closed on Sundays, apart from B&Q and newsagents. Sometimes for a meal at a pub (when you couldn't buy alcohol in the middle of the day in pubs on Sundays, but could later on, can't remember the exact timings!)

It was well more social in those days, even for my parents. They would often go out mid-week to meet friends in their homes, or to a pub for a couple of hours to socialise, and knew most people in the area. Not anything like me, now.

I miss those days 😭

Mix tapes - taping songs off the radio. Used to do that all the time. I also had a record player and would go to the music shop on Saturdays with money I saved up❤

Things I miss:
Smash Hits magazine
Watching the soaps in the 90s
Taping music off the radio
Long phone calls with friends
Writing letters to friends
Less distraction - it was so much easier to live in the moment

Don't miss:
Homophobia
Racism
How cut off from culture I felt in a small town - it was really hard to access any media that wasn't mainstream and it didn't take me long at all to read all the YA books in the library

Very easy to find jobs and rental accommodation. I didn’t have many qualifications but I could type 80 wpm and had office experience so I literally could leave a job one week and have another to start a week or two later - a couple to choose from in fact. I moved to London in 2000, had a job on the second day - NHS medical secretarial temping, which led to permanent within a couple of months and I had an attic conversion immaculate bed sit one week after arriving.

Socially I had a massive circle of mates, could go out with an tenner, get pissed and something to eat and and a taxi home. Rarely without a date/potential boyfriend/actual boyfriend.

i had no idea how great my life was. I look at my kids now and their lives are nothing like that. The pubs are all gone, they could never afford to move out. They have jobs but they were very hard to come by and my dd’s boss is an abusive, shouty cow but my dd won’t leave as she knows she won’t get another job easily. It’s really sad. I’m not sure if this is just city life though and life might be easier if we left.

We all went to our catchment school so you usually had someone from your street to walk to school with.

We always went to the library. Books were expensive back then so were a birthday or Christmas present.

Christmas was in the shops in December, not half the year.

I can remember there only being 3 channels on the telly, then everyone getting excited because Channel 4 came out.. My grandparents lived in a cottage in a little village in the Cotswolds and couldn’t receive it, my grandfather was fuming.

People used to rent their tellys from Radio Rentals.

We had Woolworths. I still miss that.

The newsagents used to hold magazines for people. Every Wednesday, before school, I’d go down and get my Just Seventeen. My dad always got Autosport on a Thursday. You always saw kids out, early in the morning, delivering papers.

You could buy penny and two penny sweets. You didn’t have to buy a pick n mix, which is a huge con.