If you could choose your time to live, which century/era would you choose?

clixpix

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Is there some other time in history you feel would have been a better fit? Why?

I think I'm happy right here.
Some of the other time periods sound interesting, but probably romanticized.
 

weldrwomn

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I would have liked to live in a west coast Native American villiage...probably like 17th century. But sometimes I am not so sure.
 

dragoriana

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I LOVE the regency era, and also the time of Arthur. Probably because every movie i see or book i read paint such vivid and romantic pictures. That and er..i'd like to see Mr Darcy coming out of the lake in his wet shirt
 

valanhb

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If I could put some conditions on it...

I would love to live in the Antebellum South as a wealthy lady married to a kind man (who may have slaves because it's the only way to run a plantation, but still treats them fairly as human beings). Like Susan said for her reason, I love the dresses of that era! And just the whole romanticism of the whole era. Love it!

http://www.vintagefashionlibrary.com/antebellum_1850s
 

natalie_ca

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I often feel that I was born into the wrong era and culture.

I feel more in tune with the 1920's to 40's so far as style and music goes.

I have a great love for Victorian fashion and decor.

I adore traditional Japanese clothing, their art, food and culture.

However, I'm spoiled with electricity and running water. So that pretty much puts a damper on living in the Victorian era.
 

kiwideus

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As a teenager, I was obsessed with Alexander the Great, I read so much about him - while other teens were fantasising about rock stars or actors, Alexander was my man. So I think I would love to be one of his generals or even one of his wives.
 

cats4sky

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i wish i would have been born a couple years earlier so i could have been old enough to experience when the club kid scene was at its peak in NYC at the limelight.....dont ask lol
 

tierre0

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I think now is certainly the best time for me. I am very independent, and have a tendency to say what I think and that certainly would have been a hindrance considering the roles women played down though the centuries.
 

margecat

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Originally Posted by Rosiemac

Victorian, but only because of the gorgeous dresses


http://www.1860garmentsbyglenda.com/ballback1.jpg
Ya ever worn an 1860's corset, sweetie???
Don't be so eager to step back in time! I was a (American) Civil War reenactor for about 7 years; did it nearly every weekend from April-November. I actually dressed like that, in 100+F degree heat for 3 days at a shot! You wear:

1. A chemise
2. Drawers
3.Corset
4.Hoop/crinoline
5.Stockings.
6.Under-petticoat (under the hoop)
7.Over-the-hoop petticoat
8.Sometimes, ANOTHER #7
9.A dress, which has about 8 yards of fabric in it
10.A shawl
11.Gloves (both #'s 10 & 11 even in hot weather)
12.A bonnet

As I didn't camp out, I had to drive to events fully dressed, sans the bonnet, gloves & shawl, of course; sometimes 200 miles. You get some mighty funny looks at the Turnpike toll booths, I can tell you!


Seriously, it wasn't all that bad; my corset was a lightweight, comfy model that I made myself. However, I am glad I don't have to wear all that gear daily! When I would get undressed after a reenactment, I literally had to peel the chemise folds out of my flesh (your corset compresses the excess chemise fabric into your skin, and then you sweat). It's like removing the biggest Band-Aid in the world from your skin! Oh, and the X-marks from where the corset laces left their imprint on your spine...such fun! And when the stays start poking through the top or bottom of the corset, and scratch you all day long. Give me sweatpants and t-shirts any day!

Also, people didn't not bathe nor wash their hair as much as we do; look at period pics of women's hair. Know why it's so shiny? NATURAL oils--get it? Yep! They also had no deodorant, nor did they change outer clothing much (you had much more underwear, which you would change and launder, but dress fabrics were usually wool or silk or a mix).

Despite all that, I felt very pretty in my dresses.

Now, DH and I are doing 1776 reenacting (as Continentals, not British or Loyalists--don't tell my British mother, please!
). We must be crazy--we're hand-sewing all our clothing to be authentic--the sewing machine was not invented until the 1840's. Thankfully, women's clothing is simpler in construction, and I think, much prettier than 1860's (you still need a corset, called "stays" then, which is worse than the 1860's model. It's meant to make your torso into an inverted triangle, and push up your "girls", not indent your waistline).

Despite my love of history, and love of reenacting it, I'm a 21st C. girl. Life is far, far better for us now than in any other time period. The "good old days" were not they were cracked up to be. Food is a good example. We take it for granted that we have fresh veggies and fruit year-round. Not back then. You could go for months basically living on starch, with perhaps a tiny bit of nasty meat once in awhile. Scurvy was rampant, due to lack of Vitamin C.

I won't even talk about the lack of dental hygiene...
 

hopehacker

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I'm kind of torn between wanting to live in 3 different era's. I kind of like living in the present era, because Paul Stanley is in this era. However he is the only reason I would like to live in the present.

All my life I've felt a kinship to the roaring 20's, and I would have loved to live during those times. The music, the styles, and just everything from that time, make me feel so good and even peaceful inside, and they give me a sort of de ja vue feeling, like I was actually there during those days. To some degree I do feel like I might h qave lived in the 20's in another life.

I would also love to live in the not too distant future, like the Jetson Days. I think it would be awesome to live when cars fly instead of travel on the streets. So, I guess I'd need a time machine, so I could travel back and forth between all of those eras
 

butzie

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I love the absolute rapid changes in technology that we have recently seen. I doubt that now, having the internet, I could live without it. After all, TCS is there! I wish that I had been born just a little later so that when I started my education and career I would not have had so many problems being a professional woman.

That being said, I would have loved to live in the 1920's. There were a number of innovations, there was indoor plumbing and it was an exciting time. Besides, I like short skirts! Flapper, yes sir, one of those.
It would be exciting to live in the 20's after WWI and transport back to now before the Depression.
 

mschauer

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Something around the 23rd century maybe.


Social progress over the last hundred or so years has been way too slow to suit me. Assuming social progress continues forward, I think I would be more comfortable in a few hundreds years!
 

karmasmom

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Both DH and I would have liked to have lived in the late 40s to mid 50s, right after WWII, you know the Leave it to Beaver era. Life was pretty good then. People were happy and courtious to one anouther. You could work a simple job and still own a house and a car. Things were well built then too. We were making huge advancements in science and tecnology at that time as well. The music was wonderful. The clothing was simple but elegant. Sure women still did not have many rights but they were still happy. Children were well behaved and remained kids untill they were ready to grow up. The cost of living matched the pay scale. Life still seemed positive. Everyone was able to find work and live well.
It just seems like the best time to live.
 

pushylady

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I would want to go into the future. Maybe a couple of centuries from now. I can't even imagine how it will be. Maybe they'll be routinely travelling in space, have discovered alien life, colonized the moon...exciting. Of course, humans could be virtually wiped out by famine, war and diasters brought on by overpopulation and climate damage by then.
 
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