30 Things Millennials Thought Were Normal In The 2000s That Feel Luxurious Now
The 2000s really had us treating little luxuries like everyday life. Going out to eat without checking prices, buying concert tickets without entering a digital war room, and filling a grocery cart without needing a recovery period afterward all somehow felt normal.
Millennials shared the normal 2000s things that feel strangely luxurious now, and reading through these feels like opening a time capsule from a much cheaper planet.
1.
Not having to pay for a subscription for things like… Microsoft Word? You bought it once and you had it. Everything now is in a subscription format. I hate it.
2.
Hanging out with people who aren’t glued to their phones.
3.
Calling an insurance company or doctors office or something and being greeted by a human on the other line and not a robot.
4.
Appliances lasting 30 years… refrigerator, washer/dryer….
5.
Concerts, sporting events. Used to be somewhat negligible, I was 16 and going to concerts all the time and the ticket price was never something that even factored into whether or not I would attend. Now I’m an adult with way more money than I did at 16 yet concerts are wayyyy more unaffordable for me now than they were back then.
6.
To not have an app that makes every product you buy “work”.
7.
Shopping at thrift stores.
tamborinesandtequila:
Resellers have ruined thrifting. Greed destroys everything on every level.
8.
Owning things. Your home, your music, your software, your media… nowadays you just rent/subscribe and keep paying for everything endlessly all the time without ever owning it. Total scam.
9.
Privacy. Everywhere you go these days someone is filming everything around you. Every one of us is probably on hundreds of other people’s videos, and all of those videos are somewhere in the internet for everyone else to see.
10.
Quality. Things were better made, better quality, and lasted longer. If I got a pair of Levi’s, I knew they’d last forever and I didn’t pay over $50 for them. I didn’t have to watch out for words or phrases that suggested better quality than what they are (leather was leather, hand stitched really meant hand stitched, and you got ice cream and milk chocolate instead of frozen dessert and chocolate candies).
11.
Being able to afford a home.
12.
Not being available to anyone at anytime because I wasn’t obligated to answer my phone because it’s always with me.
13.
Boxing day sales where they were genuinely trying to get rid of stock at real discount prices.
14.
Seat selection included with your regular priced airfare.
15.
Free samples. And free gifts in magazines.
16.
The internet still being locked away to your big robot box at home and not a thing that follows everyone everywhere.
17.
Single income families.
18.
Fast food. Seriously overpriced now.
19.
Affordable third places to hang out.
reddunyun:
See also: affordable first spaces.
20.
Food and rent being affordable. My first 2 bedroom was $750 and it felt like a lot. Packs of Mr. Noodles went on sale for 15 cents. I remember the first time I saw a $1.99 can of tuna in 2008. Housing. Definitely housing. My best friend’s parents bought a 5 bedroom house for $120K in 2001. It’s now up to $750K.
Culturally it was normal to just show up at your friend’s house without calling. It was normal to call your friends without texting to see if they were around first. Now if someone calls without warning it’s like, “Who’s [deceased]?!”
21.
Being able to buy a run down house in a bad area for £45k. Long gone!
22.
Man you used to buy a two year old car with 60-80k on the clock for like, 4 grand.
23.
Going to a concert or show and not staring at a sea of phones and tablets. You can still have that experience in some countries, but definitely not in the US.
Ticketmaster, in your omnipotent greed. I will pay 5x (!!!) the ticket price for a venue where phone/tablets are strictly banned from being in view and the rule is harshly enforced. I rather pay 1000-2000 bucks to see a concert properly, than 200 bucks to stare at screens the whole time.
24.
House parties – who owns a house that wants a house party like the ones we had back then!
25.
Being able to fly with as many suitcases as you wanted with no fee.
26.
Living in the moment… Not capturing it for social media clout.
27.
Haircuts. My folks took me every 6-8 weeks until I was in my teens. I can only afford to get my kids one or two cuts a year total. I haven’t paid to have my hair cut in 8 years, despite desperately wanting to, because I can’t justify the expense.
28.
Samples used to be every aisle at the grocery store.
29.
Having children?
30.
Health insurance that was almost completely covered by your employer with only a $500 deductible.