I lived in Southern California in the early nineties on very little money. The only real "hardship" was that I needed a co-signer to rent an apartment until I was about twenty five.

Other than that, it's not like I was living in luxury, and I certainly could not have bought a house, but it was comfortably doable on slightly more than minimum wage. (And several of my classmates did buy houses in southern California on starting salaries while still in their twenties)

I make roughly seven times more money now, and feel like I wouldn't be able to afford a two bedroom apartment anywhere in California.

It wasn't harder then. At least not for me.

But we did have a way better music environment. Like a lot better. I can say this because I spent the 2010s taking my daughter to hundreds of shows at every size and style of venue imaginable. It was a lot of fun. It was our thing. But it didn't compare to the vibe back in my time. Everything got gentrified. Even the "dive" venues felt suburban.

Entertainment in general has gotten a whole lot greedier while providing a whole lot less.