If you could live in any historical time period, which would it be?

[Dasquian Belargic]

It feels like, as a society, we are obsessed with times and places other than the here and now. It seems to me that we are often more interested in looking to the frequently romanticized past rather than the future, with its apparently limitless possibilities.

So, my question is this: Is there any historical period or place that you would like to have lived in?

Ancient Rome or Egypt, Revolutionary France, Victorian England...?

[Charley]

Take a wild guess :)

[Dasquian Belargic]

Take a wild guess :)

Hmm, I wonder... :lol

Would you want to be part of the Legion?

[Miranda Tarkin]

Personally, I love the past because there were times when the world held endless possibilities and we didn't know almost every inch of this Earth. We struggle in different ways today, but with everything so fast paced and the difficulty of keeping up with ... well everything, especially information and the worries that the future holds, we look to the past for some comfort because we know how it turned out and what to expect.

Of course, back then, they probably said the same thing :p The familiarity is comforting.

With that said, Charley wants to live in the Era of The Romans ;)

Me? Medieval England. I swear I was a Knight in a former life.

[Charley]

Hmm, I wonder... :lol

Would you want to be part of the Legion?

It has pro's and cons. It all depends on what sort of family I'm born into. If I'm some pleb nobody without a name or land to fall back on, then yes. If I have a shot at some other respectable profession, then no.

Then again, I'm assuming we're talking about the post-Marius legion, and not earlier Republican models.

You could get pretty good pay from the annual dole as well as from captured spoils, but the discipline was fairly harsh. Also, getting married is troublesome for legionaires until well on into the Imperial era.

[Dasquian Belargic]

when the world held endless possibilities

What about the possiblities of technology, though? And space-exploration? I do agree with you, though, that a lot of it probably comes from being nostalgic for a "simpler" time. Technology has taken a lot of romance out of the world, if nothing else.

I'd like to have lived in either the Regency period or the Victorian era, when we were kind of on the cusp of becoming the society we are today - but still ignorant enough that there was some mystery to the world. Ideally I would be born into a wealthy family too, so I wouldn't have to work in a factory/as a prostitute (and get knifed by Jack the Ripper) :D

[Miranda Tarkin]

Yes technology does give us endless possibilities of space, but that can equate to fear for the future too. But there's something just exhilarating of understanding the lands you come from and that mystery is practically gone now.

I know we strive for understanding, our planet and the universe around us, but I guess with that knowledge comes with the penance of demystification :p

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Jane Austen's England. OR New England right after the civil war. I just rewatched Little Women, what can I say :love

[Dasquian Belargic]

Jane Austen's England:love

sup Regency period buddy :cool: we can hang out with Austen, Byron, Shelley and Keats... in a fancy manor house! with lots of opium!

:love the Romantic Age

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I could just swoon at the thought :D

[Dasquian Belargic]

*fans self* :o

[Peter McCoy]

I believe I've been born into this world too early. My biggest hope after having a great family life with my girlfriend is that I get to live long enough to see the first man on Mars! If it were at all possible I'd love to be that person!

Just the thought of Mankind settling on another world fills me with excitement and wonder, not to mention a plethora of ideas for my own science fiction writing. Apparently, Gliese 581 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliese_581) is the nearest suspected planet that astronomers believe is capable of sustaining life as we know it. Despite that proximity, it's still just under 1.3 million times the distance from Earth to the Sun. It took Phoenix just under 10 months to reach Mars. That same craft would take 235,013 years to reach Gliese 581. I doubt I'll be here to see that (but you never know, after all - I am Christmas) unless there are some radical advances in technology. But just the idea of such exploration it...ooooh it gives me goosepimples. It's just not fair! :p

[Razielle Alastor]

It would be a very hard decision for me to choose, but I'd say either ancient Greece, or Regency England.. :rolleyes Depends on what day you catch me. :p

[Wyl Staedtler]

... when I was little I used to pretend I was Emma, and my dream was to travel back in time and meet Mr. Knightley. ^_^;

So, easy choice there.

Although I also sometimes think that I wouldn't have minded being a cliched 50's housewife, but that's only when I'm really tired and really stressed about the intricacies of life and wish (for about two seconds) that my biggest decision during the week was whether to make a pot roast or baked chicken for dinner.

[Nya Halcyon]

Edwardian England....

... or Ireland about 1000 years ago.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Ireland 1000 years ago... when the Normans invaded? :o or just before that when the Vikings were about?

[Captain Untouchable]

I was gonna say that I wouldn't want to live in a lot of time periods because of the hygene / sanitation thing, but I spent last year living in a house full of student guys with a broken shower, so I'm not sure it would bother me anymore! >_<

I'd say Medieval England would be my first choice; even if you aren't a Knight and have no status at all, you still get trained as an Archer after church every Sunday, which would be awesome. Or maybe Rome, provided I had a wee bit of status: maybe as a Senator or something?

[Tri'ahna Zylary]

Ireland 1000 years ago... when the Normans invaded? :o or just before that when the Vikings were about?

Eh... between the Vikings and the Normans... although I wouldn't mind the time before its christianisation either, right around 300 b.C..

[Rossos Atrapes]

Me? I believe that I would fit in greatly with the Irish wandering poet/bards of about any era, though most any post-christianisation period seems to be the most comfortable setting; this is mostly for the fact that I really have no ambition and a bit of musical talent (and I'd love to be able to just travel around and have people give me food and money to tell stories or play songs :p, that and the fact that status really didn't matter to the luckier bards, as long as you could boast well enough and have the skill to back it up, or the cunning to not need to do so). Most likely, I'd end up like poor old Art O'Leary (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_%C3%93_Laoghaire).

Pre-Christianisation Ireland doesn't sit so well with me (though its literature does!), as I would be one of the unlucky sods that would be captured in a battle and shoved into a barn and burned to appease the celtic deities. :|

[Daiquiri]

1800's to 1900, providing that I wouldnt have to live according to that times' female code. I wouldnt be tending some house or have supper ready for a man when he came in - I'd be doing the hunting, riding, etc. Still cant decide if I'd want to be an Oglala Lakota with a brave who looks like Wind-In-His-Hair riding with me (:love!!) or if I would outdo Annie Oakley :)

[Morgan Evanar]

1965-1973, or be 12 years older than I am now.

[Hartus Kenobi]

20 years ago. I'd play the stock market like crazy.

[Khendon Sevon]

Uh... I like where I am.

I wouldn't want to be part of any of the above mentioned time periods.

As stated in the first post, we romanticize the past. Those that are students of history should be able to cite reasons to be frightened of any period in history.

Egypt - Large slave populations, horrible treatment of poor and workers.

Greece - Constant war, plague, tyrants, slavery.

Rome - Constant war, plague, religious intolerance towards Jews and Christians, barbarians at the gates, insane rulers, slavery.

Medieval - Horrible food quality (raw meat, few methods of preservation, fond of blood-pudding and blood-sausage), serfdom, strife, back-stabbing, first born son has everything, religious persecution and schisms (in Europe) as well as religious war. Doctors? You're kidding me, right? They're more likely to kill you than help.

Crusades - Dear. God. No. All of the above.

The Rest of European History - Intolerance, war, fires, famine, plague, etc.

Conquest of the New World - You're kidding me, right? Insanely hard life, plague, famine, exposure to elements, disconnect from homeland.

American Revolutionary War - War. Plague. Famine. Fear. Insane hardships.

Post-Revolution US - Hah. It's the same. There's more war, more fear, more poor doctors, more hardships.

Post WWI - Still scary. Healthcare is still barbaric.

Post WWII - Getting better. We have some medicine, and understanding of biology to a degree, and we're beginning to see a lot of wonderful advances.

The Rest of History - It's okay; but, present day medical care just can't be beaten.

So, I'm very happy where I am, thank you very much :)

[Razielle Alastor]

^ ban him for being no fun, k?

:lol:p

[Park Kraken]

I would love to have lived in Japan during the height of the Meiji period, say being born around 1870 or so. If not born of nobility, then I would head straight into the navy.

[Liam Jinn]

Uh... I like where I am.

I wouldn't want to be part of any of the above mentioned time periods.

As stated in the first post, we romanticize the past. Those that are students of history should be able to cite reasons to be frightened of any period in history.

Egypt - Large slave populations, horrible treatment of poor and workers.

Greece - Constant war, plague, tyrants, slavery.

Rome - Constant war, plague, religious intolerance towards Jews and Christians, barbarians at the gates, insane rulers, slavery.

Medieval - Horrible food quality (raw meat, few methods of preservation, fond of blood-pudding and blood-sausage), serfdom, strife, back-stabbing, first born son has everything, religious persecution and schisms (in Europe) as well as religious war. Doctors? You're kidding me, right? They're more likely to kill you than help.

Crusades - Dear. God. No. All of the above.

The Rest of European History - Intolerance, war, fires, famine, plague, etc.

Conquest of the New World - You're kidding me, right? Insanely hard life, plague, famine, exposure to elements, disconnect from homeland.

American Revolutionary War - War. Plague. Famine. Fear. Insane hardships.

Post-Revolution US - Hah. It's the same. There's more war, more fear, more poor doctors, more hardships.

Post WWI - Still scary. Healthcare is still barbaric.

Post WWII - Getting better. We have some medicine, and understanding of biology to a degree, and we're beginning to see a lot of wonderful advances.

The Rest of History - It's okay; but, present day medical care just can't be beaten.

So, I'm very happy where I am, thank you very much :)

:cry Awww... It's weird how no one survived any of those time periods... Oh wait. :p

Is there some sort of a war going on now? I think so... I could be wrong though....

[Dasquian Belargic]

The Rest of All History EVER - Intolerance, war, fires, famine, plague, etc.

fixed.

I stand by my choices :mneh

[Razielle Alastor]

Me too!

Now.. let's go to some snotty soiree...

[Khendon Sevon]

:cry Awww... It's weird how no one survived any of those time periods... Oh wait. :p

Is there some sort of a war going on now? I think so... I could be wrong though....

Run the numbers in terms of population and expected life-span and quality of living :) Technically, no one did survive ;) They're all in their graves!

[Daiquiri]

^
^
*races around thier Victorian/Elizabethian (whatever) mansions whooping wildly while throwing tomahawks and shooting off her 6-guns...and bows and arrows and repeating rifles*

Yeah, you guessed it. Im still undecided :p