@@user-uq6gi6yy3n overcrowded, overpriced,over policed,locked gates in places where you used to freely roam, smile at someone and they think your a creep, Division being pushed, nue Vue racism is rife, fees being charged in places that used to be free , public areas privatised, I can go on but it will get me down. The best thing I ever did was to leave that s..t hole and go north. Unfortunately heaps of dicks have now followed and want to change it to the place they left. Plenty more I could tell U.
By 1995 (the year the Internet took off but smart phones still 12 years away) things had changed quite a lot...1990 was a good year. Cheers from the Hunter Valley (ex Balmain)!!!
It was lovely. I arrived in 85, and the next decade 85 to 95 was absolutely magic. Maybe just because it was all new to me, but the music, the TV (especially the mini series), the movies, the bars and the night life, were really good. There was no shortage of good jobs, the streets were safe, things were cheap.
I was 15 and totally loved hanging out in the city back in those days. Sydney was a magical place. Buskers galore and japanese tourists that were super friendly and took polaroids with them.
I was in tenth grade. There was a much better vibe in the city in the 1990s. It's down to a few things. 1) Birth rate in the 1970s-1980s was 2.5 children per woman, instead of 1.5 today. This means a lot more young people, in bars, clubs, around the city, having fun. Growth in Australia is being driven by immigration not by the birth rate. 2) Music was communal heard from the radio and MTV, instead of individual affair it is today, if a good song came on the radio, everyone heard it. Australian music was at its peak in 1970s-1990s, so plenty of songs were on the radio which solidified the Aussie identity. 3) Cheap to live in Sydney, and people weren't as driven to make a lot of money. 4) Because there was no online shopping everyone went to the stores, so it filled the shopping centres and with it restaurants, and other social venues. This is why in small towns, a lot of mains streets have died because lots can be ordered online. 5) The nightlife was amazing. All those young people due to the brith rate being high, there ware a lot more vibrant pubs and clubs and in places you wouldn't think of now has being good night spots. I didn't like night clubs so much, they seem too sleazy, and I'm male by the way, but hanging out at restaurants around town with my friends or going on picnic dates was just awesome. Yes I miss the 90s.
It felt like things were getting better in the nineties. Sure there were still problems but the majority of people were good people who didn't really give a shit if you were gay, straight, black ,yellow etc. If you saw someone with died hair etc you thought, thats cool and had a chat with them, now? We laughed at ourselves and everone else. It felt like we were coming together. The media and politicians weren't pushing division and hatred simply because you had a difference of opinion. What happened?
I think the same thing. My opinion is that division was cultivated by political interest/activist groups who were losing power due to social advancements being made. The fact we were starting to get along and "live and let live" meant there were fewer agendas to push, and all that sweet NGO money started having fewer places to go. So inflammation became necessary. Also, politics only benefits from division and 'us against them' narratives. And everything got compounded and intensified via the internet and social media, and media conglomerates who lost their monopoly on information. I was a teen in the 90s and I distinctly remember the prevailing social outlook was about celebrating common humanity, looking outward, and getting over yourself and trying to do your best. Now it's about aggressively insisting on difference, fixedly looking inward and making identity sacrosanct, and holding society accountable for your failures. Whatever the reasons are for the culture shift, I hate it.
