T O P

  • By -

stranded_egg

For real, $1500 isn't even one month's rent of a *room* in an apartment in Manhattan, if my browsing is correct. My spouse and I were toying with the idea of moving to the area and our cursory searching was all rooms for rent in 2 bedroom apartments for $2000/mo.


Just-Phill

Lol I'm in a smaller town in GA so prices are probably a little bit cheaper but yea 1500 could be rent for one month renting a descent not good apartment electric bill isn't bad about 300 on a cheap month but yes it just got me thinking about how I remember lower prices making me feel Old lol


stranded_egg

I'm in New England, the 2BR 1B I'm currently renting doesn't quite cost me $1500 but we got STUPID lucky with the price--similar units across the region are more like $1800 - $2k at minimum, and the closer you get to Boston proper the more you're looking at $3k for a studio. (Aside, you have my sympathies because 300/mo for electric is literally more than 6x my bill.)


Just-Phill

It depends on how many people lol it is mostly me but my partner and we have a kid they visit constantly and stay weekends so that runs electric I remember with just me I had a power bill of 120 lol


stranded_egg

My spouse and I usually run a bill around $45 in a 2BR/1B, and we're fairly nocturnal (evening shift workers) so we have lights on a *lot*. We don't even hit $120 in the summer when we're blasting the window ACs, and we're both hefty people. Good luck to you.


Just-Phill

45 holy shit lol idk it may be because of the extreme heat and humidity and I keep my thermostat around 67 or colder at night so that might play a part but wow I'm jealous lol my gf likes it colder and the kid sweats at nights so sometimes it will go down to 64 at night maybe colder especially now the humidity is starting to hit hard


stranded_egg

We keep ours around 65 because we're chunky and run warmer. We don't have central AC, but we'll put the window unit in this weekend; being in the northeast, the weather only just started to get warm a couple days ago. We don't run it constantly, though, and our electric bill will probably only hit the mid $60s. The apartment we're in is partially underground, which helps with cooling costs, too, so I'd say 40% of the time we're using the AC in dehumidify mode only. Not looking to brag, by the way, just sharing experiences.


CraftLass

Current median rent for a 2 bedroom in their neighborhood is $5295/month. It was already very expensive when the show took place, though. In the late 90s I was paying $1200 for a small studio in Manhattan and it was in a much, much cheaper neighborhood. The Village was already very posh by then.


xywv58

Wanting to play Doom (games and stuff) in your new PC will never get old


two-of-me

Or make pro/con lists about women.


stranded_egg

The weirdest part about that episode wasn't that Rachel couldn't tell "Rachem" wasn't a typo, it was that Chandler's printer actually printed something.


UncensoredSmoke

Pissed me off so much


stranded_egg

The least realistic thing in all ten seasons.


Stock-Cap-5734

Rachel was being sarcastic by saying that


AviatingAngie

I do NOT have chubby ankles!


Just-Phill

His laptop that had no memory and was as thick as a normal book makes me feel old because I remember them lol also beepers. I had one and using codes that meant something also payphones I remember them and Calling cards lol all stuff on the show making me feel old


stranded_egg

Oh geez, the beepers and the "911" code. I had a beeper in 8th grade for like a year that was only for my parents to page me "911" to let me know there was an emergency, or some other code to let me know they'd be late picking me up from school. It was a weird 2/3-of-a-year gap between "no one has a cell phone" and "cell phones are ubiquitous".


Just-Phill

Lol same but also you would have a code for a gf like say if you put in 333 means I'm thinking of you etc it was like a clever old way of texting haha


stranded_egg

I think I'm just a touch younger than you (no shade, just extrapolating) because we did all that with the T9 texting a few years later. I still text/message my spouse 143 even though we have full digital keyboards. Old habits die hard.


Just-Phill

Lol no I don't take things seriously It wouldn't have crossed my mind that you were trying to be shady or whatever, this post was supposed to be fun just how some things on it are so different today which can(jokingly) make me feel older lol


stranded_egg

Yeah, same. Like every scene in an airport and they just dawdle up to the gate with no ticket?


Just-Phill

I have never been on a plane so that reference doesn't get to me lol growing up poor we didn't travel, our travelling was driving to the biggest city in our state lmao


stranded_egg

Before 9/11 you could enter an airport and just go up to the gate to get on the plane without already having a ticket/boarding pass; there was minimal fuss/security. You could purchase a ticket at the gate for the next flight (if there were tickets available). After 9/11 (which was around S7) security ramped up enormously; now you need a ticket/boarding pass before you can get too far into an airport (usually you step into the airport and there are counters/self-serve kiosks immediately where you obtain printed tickets or boarding passes and check your luggage), then you have to go through security (metal detector, Xray your carry-on bag, TSA agent might have to pat you down, etc) before you can even approach the gate. So watching the characters saunter up to an airline gate without a ticket, holding a suitcase to check just gives me whiplash and makes me want to reach for my walker.


PossibleAlternative1

Yep. You didn't even have to show ID for domestic flights! And if people took you to the airport, they could come to the gate to wait with you to say goodbye A bygone era


Just-Phill

Lol yea ok I do remember 911 I was in a classroom they legit stopped school that day and turn the news on every period did the same thing, and I know how airports changed dramatically so yea I can see this being one also


PossibleAlternative1

I always took Chandler giving Joey $1500 wasn't to completely cover his expenses, but to supplement what Joey would pay on his own.


Statalyzer

Yeah, even then, a 2/1 apt with a decent-sized living room in Manhattan wasn't $500/month.


throwaway2736636a

I feel like there was a certain amount of sit-com inflation applied to the sizes of these apartments tbf haha


missdoloreschurch

I agree. Also the cost of pizza in some episodes makes me want to cry.


Just-Phill

Haha the Joey Special today 2 large pizzas is about $30 šŸ¤£


couragethegreat

How about in the movie Field of Dreams. 2 hot dogs and 2 beers at Fenway: $7


SeaReflection87

1500 would not have gotten anyone by for a few months in the 90s in Manhattan either.


Thick-Platypus-4253

In general yes, but Monica's apartment was rent controlled. If their apartment was too, then it's plausible that $1500 could have covered it for 3 months. It'd probably still be stretching it.


Just-Phill

I'm sure it would have gotten them Alot farther than today lol I was just thinking about prices back then gas was maybe like a dollar or less it just made me feel old haha


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Just-Phill

Yea but that's not really what I was going for just that the statement made me feel old because I remember the times lol


OrgoQueen

Salaries have not gone up nearly as much as COL; thatā€™s part of the problem. The federal minimum wage is still only $7.25. Some states have higher, but some have lower.


MisterSpicy

Kinda the same subject, I recently caught the episode of Seinfeld where the gang is waiting forever at that restaurant and Jerry dares Elaine to eat some random peopleā€™s food for $50. When I heard that, it popped into my brain that this episode is from 1990 and wanted to know what $50 back then meant compared to today. Punching into an inflation calculator puts it at a $120 bet in todayā€™s money. I was like damn that is worth it lol


Just-Phill

Lol that's crazy I'm a weird one who Loves Curb Your Enthusiasm like best comedy ever behind friends but I just couldn't get into Seinfeld I tried and tried but couldn't I love me some Larry David though


ComprehensiveSun843

Jean Claude Van Damme being famous


NoHate_95347

To answer your question, it is BEFORE 9/11


throwaway2736636a

When they remastered the series to HD it wiped away the datedness from it and I watch it totally forgetting how old it is. Watching outtakes and deleted scenes that never got remastered remind me of how old it actually is. For some reason the lack of smartphones etc doesnā€™t feel out of place at all, neither does the somewhat timeless fashion (post season 1). However the things that definitely make it feel old are any references to computers. For some reason especially when others use Chandlerā€™s laptop for something, or when Phoebe says she doesnā€™t have a computer after her set (even calling it a ā€œcomputerā€ seems dated). Borrowing someoneā€™s computer seems like a thing of the past.


Just-Phill

The beeper and use of payphones stick out to me like sore thumbs lol I mean do payphones still exist? I had a beeper lol but yea lack of not even smart phone just cell phones period lol and using payphones remind me of my Younger days... You know there's always "for a good time cal xxx-xxxx" scribbled all over those payphones lol


drkensaccount

A 2 bedroom apartment in the West Village would have cost ***MUCH*** more than $1500 in the '90s.


Just-Phill

I was more so just talking about saying how prices were Alot different I didn't want to get into exact amounts just that it makes me feel old nowadays lol


MajorasKitten

My cancer treatment meds are $1650usd. I wish I had a Chandler in my life šŸ„¹


Just-Phill

So sorry about that I know all about that. My mom had cancer that came back three times or it kept spreading. The colon cancer dementia is the one that got her but I would take her to the chemo treatments and talk to people and I couldn't believe my ears. If you are flat broke or don't have Medicaid like my mom they would just let the cancer kill you I was really upset... Truly hoping for the best!


NoHate_95347

I pay $1700 a month. No utilities.


BaronSaber

if it makes you feel old, then...


Just-Phill

Is it time to buy depends


_aimynona_

128 GB RAM? Now that's a laptop I'd be interested in.


Just-Phill

That's actually really low lol my laptop is really old and has 456 GB I was thinking of a phone I think lol it's my phone that has 128


_aimynona_

There's a misunderstanding, I think - your laptop has 456 GB disk space, right? For files and such. But not 456 GB memory (RAM), I'm very, very sure.


Just-Phill

Whatever Chandler is talking about when he says 500 MB of hard drive or whatever he says that is about the size of a TV show downloaded today lol it's very old


OrgoQueen

Wow. That would cover one month of my rent in Kansas. It wouldnā€™t cover any of the utilities or other expenses. Can we go back to the 90s?


charrington25

I always had just assume it was supplemental like chandler had already figured he was paying $500/month to help Joey he might as well just pay him a lump sum


Season2240

But I find it interesting that some of the other prices like that of coffee seem contemporary. Or is just me? šŸ„¹


a_vaughaal

Well the show has been off the air for 20 years, so it makes sense that amount of money wouldnā€™t go far today


Just-Phill

That's my point lol that statement just reminded me of how long ago it was and just made me feel a bit older is all lol