Reply to For those 45+, how good were the 1990s, actually?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Graduated in 1990 and had my first child in 2000, so the 1990s were my peak adult years.

And mostly, they were great!
--Graduated from undergrad (where I paid half of my tuition) and grad school (where I paid all of it), with very little debt.
--Was able to get my first job easily, and then slide into another with no problem.  Formed close bonds with co-workers since we were all in the office every day, with no headphones or telework to separate us.  
--Bought a house in 1997 in North Arlington on two early-career non-profit salaries.
--Had a tiny cell phone that was used mainly in emergencies.  I had to pay for each outgoing phone call.  Could only text using the keypad. It felt like enough technology. 
--Downtown DC felt safe enough to wander around alone during the day, and selected areas at night.  
--Dial-up AOL chatrooms were the main "social media."  
--More job opportunities for the middle-educated, middle-class.   Lots of librarians, journalists, accountants, travel agents etc.

But--
--People were much less open about seeking help for mental health issues.  
--Related to that, little help or understanding for special needs, unless the need was blatantly obvious.  If you had something like ADHD or dyslexia, it wasn't diagnosed in most cases and you were expected to just fall in line with no help.   
--On a less serious note, navigating to places was a hassle.  A lot of times you were trying to find a place armed only with a paper map and someone's half-remembered directions ("turn left at the third stoplight.  Sorry, fourth stoplight!  Just before BP.  Or maybe it's an Exxon?")
--Much harder to find reliable services.  You had a phonebook and your neighbor, and that was about it.  No ratings or websites to help you be an educated consumer.
[/quote]

Please tell me you’re not saying that DC was safer in the 90s than today.  That is patently untrue by virtually every measure.  All that’s happened between then and now is you’ve gotten older and feel more vulnerable. [/quote]

DC was referred to worldwide as The Murder Capitol in the 90s. Drug turf wars made it really violent.[/quote]

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