Remembering 1994

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent on my 1 BR apartment (in Dallas) was $550/month.

Rent on my place in Rosslyn was $500. And wasn’t a stretch even though first job was paying $20,000 plus OT. Everything was cheaper. Cable w/internet $50. Groceries $50. Two for 1 happy hours, or even all you can drink for $5 HH. First new car $11k. Last minute weekend flights to Europe $200. Hotels when you got there $40-60 a night.

Cute well made clothes, no fast fashion, and personal grooming were my biggest expenses.

And no credit card debt. Paid in full every month.

Adjusted for inflation, that’s $1,000 a month. You can still get a nice 1 BR apartment in North Dallas for that.

And in 1994, Rosslyn was a dump. There was nothing other than offices there and it completely shut down at 5:00 pm. Bread and Circus (ultimately came to be Whole Foods) was built in 1995 & for a long time, it was the only thing there. When it opened you could park in the empty lot across the street where The Crossing shopping/condo complex is now. The single family houses in the area were mostly small and unrenovated. When people compare prices for areas like Rosslyn back in those days, they completely lose sight of the fact that they are comparing apples to oranges.

[Anonymous]

You could catch a cab in Dupont to National yo catch the delta shuttle and be in New York in less than 2 hours door to door

You could wander the halls of Congress and drive past the White House - everything was wide open with no security lines

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You could catch a cab in Dupont to National yo catch the delta shuttle and be in New York in less than 2 hours door to door

You could wander the halls of Congress and drive past the White House - everything was wide open with no security lines

You can do this in about 2h15m if you hit the Holland Tunnel at the right time. Lyft from my house in Glover Park to DCA, Pre-Check or CLEAR at DCA security, United shuttle to EWR, and then a Lyft into SoHo.

I like doing this flight over lunch time on a Friday, as the Holland Tunnel usually isn't crowded. Super easy to get into NYC on a Friday if you can manage to hit the Holland Tunnel before 3pm.

[Anonymous]

My parents each made about $30k a year, and jobs were scarce in our town. The food was awful. I was perfectly happy, but it wasn’t all roses and 99cent pizza (which we couldn’t afford anyway).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In 1994 a brand new cd cost around $14.99. Now you can get Spotify for $9.99 per month.

And most CDs had only one good song on it. Way better now getting a song for $1.29. Stock trades are free now.

Good luck getting that in 1994.

Computers and TVs are way cheaper now.

It’s not all doom and gloom.

Long distance phone calls were ridiculously expensive then & are now effectively free.

Clothing was much more expensive.

Gasoline was the same price (adjusted for inflation) and cars got much worse mileage.

In addition to music media, you don’t need to buy a VCR/DVD, answering machines, watches, newspapers, alarm clocks, annual calendars, address books, pedometers, maps, encyclopedias (which were ridiculously expensive), or reference books and you don’t need to visit the bank in person, drive to stores or use travel agents — that’s all on your phone.

Another one — cameras, film and having prints made were very expensive (now free on your phone). Video was even more expensive.

But now you have to pay $1000 for your phone… Clothes were more expensive but much better quality. May I remind you of what happened to JCrew and Banana Republic? Also - everything made in Italy was cheap, beautiful and of great quality. Now that economy was destroyed by Chinese imports, aka the WTO.

I remember buying the cutest little suits when I was in Italy as a young 20 something. Not a fancy label but beautiful fabrics and cut, I wore them for years until I grew out of them. You probably still have them around here somewhere. Wouldn’t even fit over my hips now I’m afraid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rent on my 1 BR apartment (in Dallas) was $550/month.

Rent on my place in Rosslyn was $500. And wasn’t a stretch even though first job was paying $20,000 plus OT. Everything was cheaper. Cable w/internet $50. Groceries $50. Two for 1 happy hours, or even all you can drink for $5 HH. First new car $11k. Last minute weekend flights to Europe $200. Hotels when you got there $40-60 a night.

Cute well made clothes, no fast fashion, and personal grooming were my biggest expenses.

And no credit card debt. Paid in full every month.

Adjusted for inflation, that’s $1,000 a month. You can still get a nice 1 BR apartment in North Dallas for that.

And in 1994, Rosslyn was a dump. There was nothing other than offices there and it completely shut down at 5:00 pm. Bread and Circus (ultimately came to be Whole Foods) was built in 1995 & for a long time, it was the only thing there. When it opened you could park in the empty lot across the street where The Crossing shopping/condo complex is now. The single family houses in the area were mostly small and unrenovated. When people compare prices for areas like Rosslyn back in those days, they completely lose sight of the fact that they are comparing apples to oranges.

It wasn’t fancy. But that wasn’t the point I was young and free, in my first place just across the bridge from DC. I had friends who lived in group houses in DuPont, they were also dumps. But we didn’t care back then because we were young, beautiful and carefree and it was all in front of us. Oh the stories and the good times. So glad this was before cell phone videos.