Scenario: You can travel to any year since the 1950's

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

71 options, folks.

1987, please. MTV was still playing what it was supposed to, gothic rock and shoegaze were at or nearing their peak, Nirvana was just starting out, movies were better, SNL was funny, a college eduation was cheaper.

[T'Chenka]

(Late) 1986. Early 1987 would be okay too.

[Former President tack50]

1994. I finish my education in like 2 years just in time to get to the best job market in Spanish history or at least since the end of fascism.

With hindsight I am able to avoid the housing bubble (or alternatively profit from it). Bad part is of course dealing with the Great Recession in my late 30s/early 40s which would suck a ton

In purely economic terms (and especially having what at the time was a very rare college education) the 60s might be a better time but you know, fascism disqualifies any date before 1977 or so for me.

[GeorgiaModerate]

For those interested in this kind of question: you might like Ken Grimwood's novel Replay.  The protagonist dies of a sudden heart attack at age 43 in 1988 and wakes up as his 18-year old self in 1963 -- with all the memories of his full life.  He makes different choices based on that knowledge...and then dies again at the same time as before.  He wakes up at age 18 again, but at a slightly later point this time, makes other choices...and dies again at the same time.  The cycle continues at progressively later points until (spoiler).  Very much worth reading.

[Progressive Pessimist]

1987 as well, when my parents first start dating, so I could inform them that their married life eventually turns into divorce and what a failure their first born son is going to be and whether they want to do anything about changing those things or not.

There are so many things I would change about my life in the past, but this is the most all-encompassing way to accommodate that, even if it ends up with me not being born at all.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

2021, of course. The future is much more exciting.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

For those interested in this kind of question: you might like Ken Grimwood's novel Replay.  The protagonist dies of a sudden heart attack at age 43 in 1988 and wakes up as his 18-year old self in 1963 -- with all the memories of his full life.  He makes different choices based on that knowledge...and then dies again at the same time as before.  He wakes up at age 18 again, but at a slightly later point this time, makes other choices...and dies again at the same time.  The cycle continues at progressively later points until (spoiler).  Very much worth reading.

Huh, so it's kind of like Groundhog Day?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

For those interested in this kind of question: you might like Ken Grimwood's novel Replay.  The protagonist dies of a sudden heart attack at age 43 in 1988 and wakes up as his 18-year old self in 1963 -- with all the memories of his full life.  He makes different choices based on that knowledge...and then dies again at the same time as before.  He wakes up at age 18 again, but at a slightly later point this time, makes other choices...and dies again at the same time.  The cycle continues at progressively later points until (spoiler).  Very much worth reading.

Huh, so it's kind of like Groundhog Day?

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

For those interested in this kind of question: you might like Ken Grimwood's novel Replay.  The protagonist dies of a sudden heart attack at age 43 in 1988 and wakes up as his 18-year old self in 1963 -- with all the memories of his full life.  He makes different choices based on that knowledge...and then dies again at the same time as before.  He wakes up at age 18 again, but at a slightly later point this time, makes other choices...and dies again at the same time.  The cycle continues at progressively later points until (spoiler).  Very much worth reading.

Huh, so it's kind of like Groundhog Day?

[GeorgiaModerate]

For those interested in this kind of question: you might like Ken Grimwood's novel Replay.  The protagonist dies of a sudden heart attack at age 43 in 1988 and wakes up as his 18-year old self in 1963 -- with all the memories of his full life.  He makes different choices based on that knowledge...and then dies again at the same time as before.  He wakes up at age 18 again, but at a slightly later point this time, makes other choices...and dies again at the same time.  The cycle continues at progressively later points until (spoiler).  Very much worth reading.

Huh, so it's kind of like Groundhog Day?

In general theme, yes, although it predates the movie.

And yes, I saw what you did there.

[Sumner 1868]

Would rather visit the 19th century than any of these honestly. Voted 1951 because if one is time traveling they ought to go as far back as possible.

[Alben Barkley]

I’d live through the whole 90s. Decade was great, and I would invest early in stocks like Amazon to become mega-rich by now.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

For those interested in this kind of question: you might like Ken Grimwood's novel Replay.  The protagonist dies of a sudden heart attack at age 43 in 1988 and wakes up as his 18-year old self in 1963 -- with all the memories of his full life.  He makes different choices based on that knowledge...and then dies again at the same time as before.  He wakes up at age 18 again, but at a slightly later point this time, makes other choices...and dies again at the same time.  The cycle continues at progressively later points until (spoiler).  Very much worth reading.

Huh. I came up with a sort of Groundhog Day-style plot similar to that once that I thought would be a good novel if I wrote it.

Basically a college student is sitting in class listening to a lecture and then finds himself listening to the beginning of the lecture and realizes class has restart. He's confused but class finishes again...only to reset again an hour later. And then it takes about four hours before a reset, and eventually resets occur after several days. He thinks he's going insane, until he finds a blog from some former Physics professor at his university and seeks him out and claims that he thinks the professor's theories on time travel are true because of his experiences and proves it by making several accurate predictions for the next couple days. The professor explains his theory, that some scientific babble about sun patterns mean there's a one in seven billion chance someone could caught in such a loop and that he likely did because of an operation he had as a kid to cure some very rare condition he had or something. The loops destabilize and thus become twice as long until it eventually collapses, but that'll likely take over a hundred years, aka longer than his natural lifespan. So the student decides there's nothing he can do to control it and will just live his resetting life the best he can. He uses his knowledge to invest in stocks and bet on sports, and becomes a wealthy man living into middle age but also detached and hiring sex workers...and then is reset again.

He's distraught but thinks this might be the last one. So he drops out of school and invests again and becomes wealthy, and eventually meets a future wife asking her when he meets her as a waitress at a fancy restaurant. He impresses her, and marries her, they have a family and grow into retirement age together. He never tells her his secret and kind of forgets about it. Until one day when he's a somewhat old man and just went to see one of his grandchildren after being born, and does some math and realizes this is his last night before a reset. He freaks out and tells his wife how much he loves and hugs her and and tells her his secret. She doesn't believe him of course, but obliges in giving him all the info about how they met and he memorizes the exact date and time. And the next morning...he resets again and is a college student. He grows depressed and suicidal, but recovers in time and invests as normal. And then memorizes the restaurant he met his wife at and the date. Well years later as a wealthy young man he goes to the restaurant hoping to see her and sits down nervously...and then sees his old wife as a young woman waitressing in the restaurant, and realizes that he may finally get to live a full life with her finally after all...and it ends.

[Ancestral Republican]

1978 so I could see Bruce Springsteen's legendary concert in Passaic NJ.

And spend time with my now-deceased relatives. And tell my family to invest in Apple and educate my aunt about the wonders of birth control. Also, warn America against the actor who was going to ruin everything in a few years.

[Ferguson97]

2019. I'd want to relive my senior year of college and go to a lot more parties and travel since I know I won't be able to do it for a while.

[muon2]

That would be an interesting challenge if I read the setup correctly. There are a lot of difficulties for a healthy 62-year-old to face dropping back to a past decade. For instance, should I plan for only 20 years of good health (or less in some earlier decades) to experience the past? Should I plan to be working or would I be retired as I am today?

[Santander]

November 8, 2016. I want to relive it.

[vitoNova]

1968. 

The counterculture of the late 60s was the most fascinating era of the latter half of 20th century America. 

[Santander]

1968. 

The counterculture of the late 60s was the most fascinating era of the latter half of 20th century America. 

How could you live without listening to Rites of Spring or Mineral?

[Crumpets]

I'd love to go back to 1989 and see at least one of the anti-communist revolutions firsthand. Maybe watch some low-budget movies on VHS and catch some Seattle grunge bands while they're still local.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

1978 so I could see Bruce Springsteen's legendary concert in Passaic NJ.

And spend time with my now-deceased relatives. And tell my family to invest in Apple and educate my aunt about the wonders of birth control. Also, warn America against the actor who was going to ruin everything in a few years.

Should've added that you can't actually change anything, prevent stuff you don't like, or play the stock market - merely be present to experience the culture scene. But I guess you found a good loophole.

[Bleach Blonde Bad Built Butch Bodies for Biden]

Also, please don't have sex with your parents.

[brucejoel99]

1978 so I could see Bruce Springsteen's legendary concert in Passaic NJ.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=eUhsV0HxC6E

Yo holy sh*t, how dare you just read my mind like that!?

(Okay, my answer was actually '76 so I could experience Bruce with my dad at the same age he was when he did, but the same principle applies!)

[Battista Minola 1616]

If I go back to a year that's after my birth, what happens to me? Do I coexist with a younger copy of myself? Does that copy suddenly get erased the moment I join? Or do I simply move to a timeline where I had never existed in the first place?

[dead0man]

Should've added that you can't actually change anything, prevent stuff you don't like, or play the stock market - merely be present to experience the culture scene. But I guess you found a good loophole.

damn it, that was 90% of my plan.  Just bet on things I know the outcome of, get some stocks in things I know will do well and only go back 5 or 6 years.  I'm staying here if those are the rules.