re: What was life like in the 1970s as an adult

At my high school there was a smoking area.
Crazy

I turned 18 in 1970, had graduated from high school at 17 and moved out the house to head out of state for work.

I remember when living in Jackson, MS for a couple years how much dope there was with the younger crowd. Lots of counties were dry back then, probably still today and you couldn't buy alcohol. Lots of weed, LSD, magic mushrooms, Black Mollies and Valium(mom's little helpers) on the streets to be had.

I bought my first house in 75 when back in N.O. after finding a job and missing my hometown and friends.

Someone mentioned how smoking was EVERYWHERE. So true, and when watching shows from that era and seeing people smoking in hospital rooms, courtrooms, planes, movie theaters, etc. it just reminds me how much things have changed in that respect.

A guy/gal with a pretty decent job could afford to live on their own and pay their bills. My first apartment after moving back to N.O. was on Esplanade Ave. 2 blocks off N. Rampart St. heading toward Claiborne. It was all of $100 a month for a 2nd floor open floor plan place with 1 BR., Kitchen, Living Room and Bath and a 2 sided porch you got onto by opening floor to ceiling double hung windows. Bet that same place could go for $1,500 a month now.

Clothes and music were total shite though. Leisure suits, platform shoes, polyester crap, and enough disco music to make you want to gag.

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What was life like in the 1970s as an adult

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SEX - you had the pill and STD's could be cured with a shot

DRUGS - All kinds and everybody shared

ROCK & ROLL - Age of the mega bands and concerts galore (reasonably priced)

vs today

sex = STD's that kill without cure

drugs = more about the money and violence

rock = what corporate America tells us is good to sell us crap

Although I was too young to partake at the time, everyone I know who was a 'head' at the time says that the drugs were the best they ever were.

Some cars were very cool, while some sucked arse.

Lots of great music (even some of the disco), and many epic movies were made.

Style, whether decor or clothing, was really bad.

There were a lot less rules in daily life. Things were still in transition in a lot of areas.

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A guy/gal with a pretty decent job could afford to live on their own and pay their bills

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In the early 70's when I was a baby, my dad had a job at a factory making $7.50 an hour (a huge wage back then) and my mom worked part time at a retail store making $1.75 an hour (which was a hair above minimum wage) and worked about 20 hours a week.

Considering their wages and hours worked per week, that is an annual income of only $17,500 before taxes, and we lived very comfortably.

My mom told me that she would buy groceries once a week for our family of 3 and spend about $35-40 dollars. Gas was around 50 cents per gallon.

So while the country seemed to be in turmoil economically, it was possible to carve out a decent middle class existence.

Gas went over 80 cents in 1978.

I was on the road in Iowa.

I was born in the 80s. But from my perspective, it seems like a time where you actually had to interface with people. Have real conversations. Now, the fricking losers can hide behind a screen and not be responsible for their words.

A 4 finger bag of Columbian was 10-15$, biggest supplier was the norc’s. Cassette decks were the greatest at the time. Schlitz and Jax and Falstaff beer. Concerts galore, and this was just in BR.

Besides this, it was terrible....

Purchased all my guns from Howard Bros.