Did they perhaps get married/have kids earlier? Or could afford a house earlier/later in their career? Did they go on holidays abroad? Did they cook more/less homemade food?

I am curious what changed/stayed same within one generation in your country.

50 comments

  1. Denmark, Copenhagen, I’m 19:

    They ate out and went to cafes waaaay less, less of such cultural activities and material goods like clothes in general. Also traveled way less. All of that was just way more expensive. My boyfriend’s mom constantly say stuff like “wow, I can’t believe two teenagers are going out on a sit down restaurant!”.

    They had a much harder time breaking into the job market, our unemployment rate is historically low and back then it was very high among youth.

    On the negative side, they moved out maybe a year earlier (17-18-19 ish) and much less of their monthly government money went to rent. Housing was more affordable for sure.

  2. My mum had had her first child, my sister, but other than that, I think, our lifestyles are quite similar; somewhat punk and alternative, far left, working class, with interests for literature and culture.

    I think one of the largest differences, at least according to my mum, is that she believes the youth of today has less freedom. While nominally our freedom and opportunities have improved, it hasn’t translated into practice, because of rising costs of living, more restrictive rules regarding education, an undermined welfare state and so-on. So while there might be the appearance of improvement on the surface, actually, in reality, the situation has stagnated.

  3. Nice question!

    I am older than most posters on here I suppose.

    There are a large number of differences.

    My parents married young, and my mother had 3 children before she was 30.

    They also bought their own house pretty young

    They traveled far,far less than me! Though they made up for it a little, when we three children were grown up and had left home.

    Neither of them went to university, they left formal education young (my father didn’t even finish secondary school) and started working.

  4. My parents were given a 110% mortgage. Yes, no deposit required and it included a loan of improvements. Nowadays, thankfully a home owner but only after years of saving for a deposit and for a much smaller home than they were able to afford. Also, much greater social mobility in those days. Both my parents came from working class backgrounds and were the first in their families to go to uni.

  5. >Did they perhaps get married/have kids earlier?

    Yes, but the main reason is that very few people went to university back then. So, in 25 they already had several years working and not just finishing their degree like todays.

    >Or could afford a house earlier/later in their career? Did they go on holidays abroad?

    Not necessarily earlier in their career. But housing is expensive because lack of construction, you rarely see new appatment blocks nowadays.

    >Did they go on holidays abroad?

    Nope, they didn’t go for holidays abroad. Not even when I was a kid, which felt quite weird to me that I have never the sea in childhood. But actually we could afford one-week holiday every year in Czechia, when other families went to south Europe usually like once every 2-5 years.

  6. My mom in my current age was at home with my second brother while I was ten, with now (and pretty much even then) obsolete low education, in front of TV very often, not really any activities with her. All of that more or less her choice as the rest of her family lived differently even education-wise (I was most upset about holidays because we did have money for some week somewhere albeit no far), but I realized during the years she just isn’t interested in anything and has zero hobbies exept perhaps working in the garden. Dad did what he still does, driving a truck, working on the house and watching TV. I live very differently. But yeah, they could afford a house easily in their early 20s because my dad’s grandmother had one and his parents and siblings lived in different towns so they didn’t want it.

    But that’s just near-the-border-village experience which is pretty specific place even today.

  7. My parents got married when my mother was already almost 5 months pregnant(me). She was 23 and my father 30. For women it was regular age to have kids(early 20’s), many had kids even earlier(late teens). For men 30 was very late, most got married during mid 20’s. Difference : I am still single and I never want to get married or have kids.

    Since it was still previous era(well pretty much the end of it) everyone has to have a job, or you went to prison. Both had decent middle-class jobs(cop and nurse). Difference : I had several different jobs and was unemployed a lot after University.

    We lived at my grandma’s house till I was 18 and my sister 17. It was very hard to find a house nearby(we wanted house, not apartment), we eventually found one, but had to pay 3x as much as was the basic price. Still compared to nowadays prices it was still very cheap(this was 16 years ago btw, so yeah wages were a lot lower too). Difference : with my wage I can’t even afford to rent small apartment, buying a house is a fantasy.

    Holidays abroad? Nope never. I will be 34 and never saw a sea.

    Yes. Cooking homemade food is still a big thing(and most common), but it’s slowly dying, since many young women under 30 can’t cook. I can cook too.

  8. Hum I think there are not that many differences when it comes to everyday life.

    However: When my parents were 34, they had built a house and their second child was underway.

    I’m making more money than they did back then (corrected for inflation) an I cannot even afford to buy a small flat, let alone build a house.

    I go to pubs and restaurants about as often as they did (once or twice a month?).

    Obviously, they didn’t have internet and mobiles. They had more time for other stuff, including leisure time. I’m more or less working 12-16 hours during the week, and often at weekends, too. That would have been unthinkable for my parents.

  9. My parents were considerably better off. My dad married when he was only a year older than me, they had very stable middle-class incomes and at much more advanced stages of their personal careers, and they were travelling the world (not just Europe). I’m pretty sure they had property as well.

    On the other hand, neither of them insisted on doing a PhD and then staying in academia, plus they didn’t live through a pandemic.

  10. My mom was already married at my age, however she’s a woman and I am a man and my dad is 6 years older than her, so I guess getting married 6 years from now is not that much of a stretch for me

  11. I’m 27F and my parents were born in the 40’s & 50’s – my mum is 67 & my dad passed away last year but would he 73 just now. My mother was just marrying my dad when she was my age. They both had good full time jobs. Dad lived with his parents until he married my mum though. Lived in my mums rented flat for a short while before they bought their first home for about £20k in the 80s. My mum was 38 & dad was 45 when I was born. I’m 27, my partner is 29, we rent & we’re saving up for a mortgage, good jobs & childless. My parents and mines adulthood are pretty similar so far. House prices is the only change…

  12. They had several kids and a large house and they’d be able to go out drinking with friends most weekends.

    Meanwhile I’m struggling to pay for a tiny, one bedroom flat and having to go hungry in order to feed my fiancé who wants children one day but at this rate we’ll be too old before we can afford to give them a proper life.

    When they were my age, my parents were able to live comfortably and were able to afford a family, social life and the occasional holiday. I, by contrast, am not.

  13. I’m 27, single, no kids (also don’t want any though) and have worked full-time for a couple of years, but am back at university now. By that age my mum had been out of school and working for over 10 years already, had been married to my dad for 3 years and was about to give birth to me. My dad (a lot older than my mum) also left school at 15 and has worked since. At 27 he had no kids, but no idea if he was in a relationship at the time.

    I rent an apartment. My parents never had to buy a house. My dad only ever lived in his/my childhood home and my mum moved in with him when they were still dating.

    They did take vacations abroad, but less often than me and only ever in Europe. They went once every two years, I (pre-pandemic at least) a couple times a year.

    They probably ate homemade food less often than me. That’s how it still is now and at least from what I can remember their cooking habits have never changes, so I’m assuming it also wasn’t different before I was born.

  14. In their mid 30s my parents were married with 2 kids (me being a toddler and my sibling a baby). I’m in a long time relationship though not married and no kids. It’s not that long ago that I started to feel financially stable to actually start thinking of starting my own family.

  15. I’m 41. Around that age my parents had two children in their late teens, they had a big detached house in a small village, they did go in holidays abroad at least once a year and they ate homemade food almost everyday

    I have no children, I have an apartment in a medium sized city, I go on holidays abroad at least once a year and I cook my food almost everyday.

  16. Well, I’m 28. At my age, my mom gave birth to me. They already bought an apartment when I was born.

    My mom cooks but it’s not like they can’t afford to go outside to eat.

    I, on the other hand, can barely afford any luxuries. I have to budget for rent, utilities and I have to cut here and there so I can eat normal food. I sold my car and travel with public transport to save money. So, overall, life during their time was ok but compared to mine, it’s a fairy tale. Also, I’m single and not the biggest fan of having kids. Maybe later in life I’ll change my mind but right now – absurd!

  17. 🇪🇸. At my mum’s 42 I was 18. She had me young by accident. Uni, working since 22,married, house bought under a very high interest rate at 28. (My dad is 4y older)

    So by 42 they were middle class, and the house was almost paid in full. They travelled each summer through Europe and were confortable.

    Me, at that age, have a smaller owned home, 1 younger kid. I’ve traveled more and lived abroad, met people of different cultures more frequently. I feel & dress younger than how my mum did at that same age. More or less same middle class uni educated.

    Main difference is the number of romantic partners we each have had

  18. My parents had an easier time getting jobs. They had really good jobs early on in life because of good education, nowadays almost everybody gets higher education so it means a lot less.

    But they didn’t get married that early and they had me in their early 30’s,which is also when I had my first child.

    Also they traveled a lot less than I have.

  19. Their parents couldn’t afford to keep them study or support their interests and passions, even less without having to get a job.

    On the other hand, my grandfather was a “late starter” (he got married in his mid 30s, not that young in the times of immediate post war).

  20. My parent were married and had all three of us kids by my current age. They also lived in a house. The same house they still live in today, they bought the house when about when my oldest brother were born. I think they did holidays abroad, but it was mostly in countries close to ours, like Denmark and Germany. When it came to food, it think they mostly made homemade food.

    ​

    If I compare to me, I live in a relationship but we’re not married. No kids, and no plan on ever having any. Unless something very unexpected is happening I don’t see us being able to buy a house, ever. We rent our apartment and will probably do so in the future. We don’t travel that often, but when we do it’s mostly inside our country, I don’t mind though. Almost all of our food is homemade food, even more than what my parents used to do.

    ​

    Edit: Forgot to mention. Neither of my parent did any university studies. I have a masters degree.

  21. I will be 36 this year. At my age my parents had been married for 16 years and I was 13 years old. The had met when they were 19 and it was love at first sight. They owned the same small flat in the suburbs of a major city, that they bought when I was born (they were paying mortgage on it). They both had only trade school-level education; my mom worked in a low-skill job (she later would rise to management before going on disability from an injury), while my dad had a white collar job that he rose to by being employed there at 14 and learning on the job. We had a 10 year-old dog that was my best friend, and my parents had already given up on having any more children (they both wished to have a big family, but my mom had fertility issues). They had never been on holidays further than Spain, at a place a 2h drive away from home, and usual vacations were just a quick drive to the beach in Summer. Most of our meals were home-cooked, and by that time I was already cooking as well – although sometimes we would get takeaway for convenience. Restaurants were a rare treat, and we would go to places that cook portuguese food, just fancier.

    Me, on the other hand, have been married for a year and a half after spending most of my life not wanting to be married at all. I had never been interested in long term relationships until I met my current partner at 30. No children, and no hurry to have any, either – we have a 14 year old cat that we spoil like a little furry king, and hope our lives are stable enough to adopta dog in the future. We rent a house in the countryside that we are looking to buy within a year or two – which we can only afford because we are privileged to have double income from really, really good jobs, otherwise we would never be able to. Both my partner and I have PhDs and work highly specialised jobs, but we went trough our young-adult years working whatever gig jobs we could find to help our families and finance our studies. I have lived in 3 different countries besides my country of origin, and traveled to several more, both for work and for pleasure. We still cook at home for most of our meals, but we get takeaway or delivery much more often than what we grew up with. We go out to restaurants when we feel like having a treat, and we usually chose ethnic food places.

  22. My parents married younger, bought a house younger and had children younger- 10 years earlier than I did. All on one income (my dad).

    They both grew up working class in post war Britain but I was raised very much middle class. So I lead a much more middle class lifestyle than my parents but my parents are richer than I am. This seems fairly common among my friends.

  23. Parents had got their PHDs, married, moved to London from Scotland and got their own apartment, maybe their own house – not 100% sure when they moved – with no real mortgage, and might have been on their way to having my brother.

    I’ve got my own apartment, but also no interest in having a relationship. Having my own house would be nice, and my parents have offered to help with that, but I have very little saved up for it (not nothing though!), and have no idea what percentage of the ‘help’ my dad was suggesting. 😛

  24. My parents

    Already had a mortgage. I think were on their second or third property.

    Mum was on her second marriage. Dad first.

    Had two kids. Mum had given up work. They went to church, had a fairly active social life. Neither of them had education beyond school – Mum had O Levels, Dad had A Levels. Worked in a professional white collar job.

    Relationship not going great for them. They would divorce in three years’ time.

    Always had homemade food – meat and two veg kind of thing. Packaged/powdered baby foods.

    They had two cats. Typically went on holiday within the country, or to visit their parents.

    Us:

    Still renting. Unlikely to be in a position to buy for at least another 3-5 years.

    First marriage (hopefully only!) married 8 years. Our marriage is happy.

    We have three children, one is mine from a previous relationship.

    We often eat convenience food, but I make real food for the baby (weird reversal!)

    Both husband and I started uni, but dropped out. Husband works in a middle management position, I drift (currently on maternity leave anyway). I expect/plan to go back to work full time.

    We don’t have any pets. We are allowed, but we wanted to wait until the kids are older. That wasn’t really seen as a thing for our parents.

    We don’t really go on holiday. We moved abroad so most of our travel is visiting home/family.

    We are not religious and don’t go to church but I am active in an English-speakers community group which fulfils some of the community functions of a church.

  25. When my parents were my age (38) they just got settled for the second time. It was 1997 and they finally had a job that started paying. The past 7 years we lived in poverty and we would continue to do so for two more years. The reunion hit them hard, like it did for many east German people. They were robbed of their existence, principals and believes. It was very hard. Not so much for my mom, who doubded the system (but was too afraid to say anything) but a lot for my dad who believed in the system. So whilst many Germans here day their parents had a house and whatnot, I can say that I’m way better off in my 30s than my parents have been in theirs. I would even say that my teen years (despite poverty) until now have been better.

    My daughter is 6,5 and I was the oldest 13 years old when they were my age. So they have been married for longer than I have and had children at 25. They had lots of friends and we were often with them, or they at our place and there were a lot of parties. I think they didn’t need to plan as much as we do. They just had kids, sent them to school and daycare but didn’t think much of the outcome as long as they behaved well and respected others. They just did things without researching much. Even though it’s easier to communicate with all the gadgets and devices, I think back then people were better at it.

  26. When my parents were 35, they had my brother (17) and me (7). I´´ m child free.
    They were not married, I´ got married when I was 26.
    They lived in a small house in a small town, I live in a small house in a tiny village on the countryside.
    We both have Volvos and work with the same thing.

    They worked all the time, so we didn´t have time travel. I don´t travel because I cant afford that.

  27. mostly, mom had finished her trade school as a goldsmith, and dad worked in a greenhouse. they had a 4 year old kid (me!) and a house to live in.

    in comparison, I am alone, in student housing, scrambling for a degree and unable to find a job

  28. At 30, my parents had been married for four years, I was two years old and they had just bought a house that is now valued at 700k (i.e. out of reach of their kids despite their kids making more than double what they were at 30). My parents both don’t have a ton of education and my mother wasn’t even working at all and they financed the house just on my father’s income. We regularly went on holidays abroad, my father especially has seen a lot of the world because his parents travelled extensively when he was young (he was an oops-kid so they just took him with them). I don’t travel as much but that’s mostly due to the pandemic.

    I think we eat similarly (i.e. homemade food every day).

  29. Much more money among the middle class today. Parent generation where more of the types who saved money for things they wanted/needed and always lived a little bit like hand to mouth. It was quite normal in that era with f.ex the companies one worked for offering 1 month salary in advance. Typically a thing that would fit if your fridge or anything expensive got broken.. A lot more of “fixing of things”. There were many more people who were into practical things and could fix the things people normaly pay others to do today. Also a lot of companies doing repears.. haven’t heard of people repairing their tvs today.. they just buy a new if the olds broken. Typically the thing one hear for the generation above being horrored to recognize that their son or daughter pay someone to shift the tires (summer/winter)… eventhough a lot of the “elders” has turned that way too.

    Eventhough being a oil-nation since the 70ies..think it was until the late 90ies/early 00s that people here really got the feeling they were rich/a rich nation. It was in that era salaries increased much compared to earlier years. Making people “lazy” turning into “we-pay-someone-to-do-it-for-us-rather-than-doing-it-self”. Funny also since its a bit against the spirit of the nation/the one we like to portray our self as. “Hardworking people”.. it’s also the classical “generational dispute”.

  30. When they married my dad was 30 and my mom was 27. A year later they got me.

    Now im 24 and im finishing my degree.

    My grandpa died young and my dad was the only male child so he had to work abroad very young. Yugoslavia had good reations with Gadafi Libya and Saddam Iraq. He’s been to many places working in quite bad conditions, bad food, medicine etc and that left a mark on his health(he still has stomach issues and the most deadly farts you can imagine).

    Later the war broke out so he joined the army ,my town saw combat but the opposing army never broke our line of defence so thankfully we dont have those”4000 massacred,200 raped cases”.But war is war and that does leave a mark on mental health.Him working in Iraq and Libya has had some positive things too. He lost the habit of drinking a lot(its what my grandpa did and he died young) ,only drinks a beer ocasionally. Meanwhile the other men who are currently 40-70 are mostly raging drunks because of PTSD. You literally see them waiting for bars to open at 5am.

    As the war was nearing its end he god a chance to go and work in Libya ,he left , came back a year later and married.

    ———-

    My mom was an excellent student and she wanted to go to college to study literature. The school forced her to pursue electrical engineering (because everyone who is not an engineer is obviously stupid DUHHHHHHHH)even though she hated it so she dropped out and worked in a restaurant.

    When the war broke out her house was shelled and she left for Germany in 93. She spent 3 years in Ulm as a refugee working in a kitchen and in 96 she returned and married my dad(they met a lot earlier, but my dad had to go abroad to work,later joined the army and mom became a refugee so they didnt see each other for years.Thankfully they both waited for each other.

    This comment turned out to be quite longer than I expected

  31. When my dad was my age (23) he was already married, divorced and met my mom, he had been working on his farm for 5 years, drove motorcycles (and got into a big accident a couple years later), raced dirt ovals, only wore brand clothes and liked travelling.

    Now he’s the complete opposite of all that.

    I’m now a teacher who’s still studying, who’s into racing as well (but I don’t have the money for it). I do like fashion, but I don’t feel like I have to spend big money on it. I’m not a big fan of travelling and I’m slowly starting to think about marrying my girlfriend.

  32. My parents were married at 20, had their first child at 25, second at 28 and third a bit older than I am now. They bought their first flat at 20, a house at around 23/24, then their current house at 28. They did go on holidays abroad by this age, mostly Spanish islands/coastal resorts and ate more home made food. This was whilst my dad was a miner and my mum was an office worker.

    For comparison’s sake I’m in my early thirties. Un-married (but in a long term relationship, I’m just not that fussed about actually getting married). Currently childless (but that’s likely to change in the next couple of years). I bought my first house at 23 (by myself) and current house at 28 (with my partner), both houses being broadly equivalent to the houses my parents live(d) in. I’ve been on more holidays abroad than my parents, and to a wider variety of places, but that’s partially down to not having childcare issues. To do all of this and afford it my partner and I have had to earn a lot more than my parents, with me having a trade/technical job in a relatively well paying industry and she’s in a degree-level job.

  33. My parents at my age (32) were travelling a lot, had en rented apartment, no kids and were not married (they never actually got married). I am married, pregnant with my first and bought a house 4 years ago. We do go on holidays abroad once or twice a year. I don’t think we are a classic example.

  34. Im 38, childfree and have a good income, so I’m financially better off at this age than my parents probably was. The were 28 and 30 when they had their first child, in comparison my brother and his wife were both 28 when they had their first, so similar. My parents bought their first house in their mid 20s, but it was a tiny and rundown house. My brother and his wife brought their first at 30, but a huge six bedroom house, but my sister in law is a doctor so their much better of financially.

    At 38 my parents were busy raising kids and working, we would go on a lot of camping trips around europe in my dad’s Lada stationwagon:) I’ve travelled load, but thats with my job so a bit different. My brother and his wife don’t travel much.

    Before having kids my parents would also travel, my mum spend a lot time in a kibbutz in Isreal. My dad bought an old van with four other friends and drove to Nordkapp.

    I guess financially they weren’t as well of as my brother and me, but their lifestyles were pretty comparable to my brother’s, with being busy with kids and not going out often for dinners etc. Im the opposite, but its just that I’ve chosen a different life.

  35. My mom was married with a 2,5 year old moving from Turkey to Austria, having tons of debt and trying to adapt in a new country.

    I‘m single still living at home, working full time and having probably as much money as my parents owed at that time.

  36. They lived in flats that had to be shared with other people and there wasn’t much hope for improvement at the time, while I can live very comfortably while saving a significant amount of money.

    Also I travel as much as I want and they didn’t travel much.

    Basically my life is better in pretty much every way. It would be if I still lived in Lithuania, too, just not quite as good as it is now.

  37. Well my parents lived in the east of Germany, so totally different government. They then fled together to the west and embarked on travels through the Mediterranean Sea and my father once to the jungle of peru. They never married and my mother tells me the disco in the past was better. I’d say just the government, the systems in place and historical moments are very different. Im just 21 tho so I don’t know what’s yet to come. They had me pretty late

  38. I am in my late 20s. My parents at that age were starting a family, which I plan an doing as well. They had no property and were not married, unlike me. I think my Dad was still studying, he started later as there is something like a stipend for people who have worked before studying. I don’t think they had left Europe at the age, but they traveled like once a year.

    I don’t think their lives were too different. I guess I am a bit better off then they were though, mostly because they supported me a lot in getting my education.

  39. As an American it’s a little different to me how much later you guys seem do those big life events now vs how it happens in my family lol.

    I’m 30, 5 boys & married since I was 23. We have a house and I work in plumbing and my wife a nurse. We’re able to afford the boys playing hockey, soccer, baseball, etc and have 2 cars. We don’t go on many far away vacations though, because flights for 7 people is insane lol so we drive to them.

    When my parents were my age my dad worked as a garbage man (and still does) and my ma stayed at home with me and 2 of my younger brothers, she had my youngest brother at 32. We never went on any vacations because we were more so just getting by a lot of the time, but we didn’t go without anything that we needed.

  40. Pros:

    – Bought their apartment with cash after saving for only one year

    – Got good jobs straight out of high school with minimal relevant education and no experience

    Cons:

    – Food was pretty bad but no one cared – frozen meals filled with preservatives, artificial everything, processed meats, fried stuff, heaps of white flour and sugar. They still call healthier alternatives to white rice and bread like quinoa, barley, brown rice, etc – “not real food” and claim it gives them stomach pain and is less nutritious.

    – People back then believed in intuition far more than science. Doesn’t matter how many medical journals I show them, I can’t convince them that you can’t catch a “cold’ from an air conditioner. In their mind, science is wrong if it conflicts with their personal beliefs and folklore.

  41. My father had me when he was 21. I am 38, single, planning to be child free. I can’t imagine having a teenager, let alone a baby.

    We are both engineers. He had a more classic career. Joined a company, worked hard, got promoted several times, did some management. I hate corporate environment and work as a freelancer.

    He is a family man. My parents started with nothing and built a middle class lifestyle after emigrating from a communist country. I am living alone in a tiny apartment, happily alone.

  42. Very nice question! As an living example of social mobility quite a lot:

    * Work: Not starting to work at 17, but rather going to university as first in family at 18. Starting full-time-work at 21 (2y between Bachelor and Master) and then at 25 again. Have this idea that I “need to work” instilled more, compared to peers.
    * Income: Earned more directly after my Master’s than my father & mother do currently, combined.
    * Travel: Biggest difference I’ve seen. While I visited 30 countries so far, only maybe 3 of them with my parents before I turned 18. They never went on spontaneous trips, or further trips abroad. Holidays via car, not via plane.
    * Center of life: Parents stayed in the same area (within 10km) for decades, I stopped counting the amount of places I’ve lived at (10+ on 3 continents).
    * Housing: Parents started building a house around 30, I won’t do this for the foreseeable future (don’t want to commit + won’t be able to afford same standard of living probably, despite my income).

    Interesting to reflect upon.

  43. My parents had me and married young. They were VERY frugal and I remember nearly every meal being either fish w. potatoes or minke-whale goulash (the meat is edible if you soak it in milk for a couple of days to get the pungent fish oil taste out).

    They were getting educated and saving up for a house. We travelled within Iceland and have never been abroad together. My biggest dream as a grade school kid was to own jeans. I was 16 when I managed to buy myself my first pair of Levi’s. Getting goods from abroad was a luxury. I was a teen when beer was first allowed.

    In their 30’s they lived the Icelandic dream and built their own villa, a lot of it built by my father with his own bare hands.

    They were both born around the time when modernity arrived in Iceland. The poverty before WWII is indescribable and I’ve seen Iceland change SO MUCH in my lifetime, from this corny place where foreign goods were a luxury to one of the most prosperous countries on Earth.

    Right now I feel like Iceland/Reykjavík “is someplace”, not a place where everybody is trying to get away from but instead a place where people come because we’ve got something unique and wonderful.

    Today my parents are happily divorced friends.

  44. i am very conscious that i have far more rights as a woman than she did. when my father left her with two young kids and no intention of paying child support, she was legally unable to divorce him. she was not educated past the post secondary level, college was expensive and only the boys in her family were considered worth sending. i got a degree with state support that included a stipend for accommodation/food.

    on the flip side, she was able to run a car and keep up mortgage payments with her very low waged jobs and social welfare support.
    i’m stuck living in a house share in my mid 30s with a bus pass to get around.

  45. Well my parents grow up during communism so I guess a lot has changed.

    I certainly am not stopped on the street to show proof that I work.

    More free to travel. Obviously way better technology.

    It wasn’t about affording a house. There were queues for a house. Well not a house more like a flat.

    People were getting married and had kids earlier.

    Home cooking is maybe even more than in their days but that might be just because it is my hobby.

  46. My parents were both actually *older* when they had me, than I was when I had my child, so in some ways I’m ahead of my mom in terms of settling down. There was a huge age gap between my parents, which makes it hard to compare my life to my dad’s. That would be more akin to comparing your life to your grandparents’.

    At my age, my dad had three kids with his first, teen bride, wife. On the other hand, when she was my age my mom only had toddler-me. I have an 11-year-old.

    What we all have in common is that we were all married, a parent and working fulltime at this age. We’ve all traveled about as much at this point, I think.

    My dad was in an unhappy marriage with said first wife at 38 (mainly his fault). My mom was also in an unhappy marriage at 38 (mainly my dad’s fault, again!), with my much older dad, right before their separation. I’m in a much more stable and happy relationship (so far so good!), 12 years and counting, with a partner my own age.

    My mom lived in rentals her entire adult life. We own our home.

    Edit: style! My parents dressed as fully functioning, respectable adults, lol! My dad wore a suit and a tie to the office in 1961, probably even a hat as well! My mom had big, poofy shoulder pads, mid heel pumps and a severe perm in 1986. There was no place for casual wear, except for pajamas or a house dress. I don’t think either of them ever owned a pair of jeans or sneakers, haha. I wear crop tops and short shorts on my day off. Zero fucks given.

    One major difference is that my parents still had at least one parent at my age and I don’t. It feels… unanchored…

  47. At the age of 26 my parents were married and got their first child, they were preparing for another one.

    They used to live in Djibouti because my dad was in the army, my mom was an housewife.

    They never bought an house back then and never intended to because of my dad’s work.

    At the age of 26 I am suffering of serious health issues and I can’t work. I am seeing doctors every week.

    I still live with them and it’s difficult for me be autonomous.

    I don’t really have any life goals except getting better.

  48. (For some context I’m 15)

    When my mum was my age the war in Bosnia had ended 2 years prior. The way Bosnia looked back then is different than it is now. She definitely had better social life than I do now.

    When my dad was my age he was seeking refuge in Germany with his family.

  49. My parents married earlier, had a child earlier, watched their country fuck up their livelihood earlier.

  50. I think my dad was an East German Border Guard when he was my age and I don’t have to go to the army, so there’s a big difference.

    Otherwise it’s just the standard, more freedom, more electronics and more modern everything compred to my parents.

    My mom was considered “old” when my big brother (1st of 2 children) was born. She was 23, my dad was 25. I’m currently 21 and I don’t even think about having kids.

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