10 Things You Used to Get Away With in New England

Ah, New England… where life used to be a lot less regulated. If you grew up here, you know the drill—there were a ton of things you could do back in the day that you’d probably get side-eyed (or outright arrested) for today. So, let’s take a trip down memory lane with 10 things you used to be able to do in New England that are now forbidden – or at least frowned upon.

1. Smoking Indoors at Restaurants and Malls

Ah yes, the good old days when you could enjoy a nice meal while puffing away on a cigarette. The restaurants had designated smoking sections, which was basically an invisible cloud that hovered over the entire room. The malls? You may remember they had the built in ashtrays on top of the trash cans. And airplanes? Hard to believe it was only about 30 years ago when airlines banned smoking during flights. 

2. Letting Your Dogs Run Free Through the Neighborhood

Although I get it, I truly miss the days when my dog would greet me at the bus stop when I would come home from school. There was a time in New England when your pup could roam the streets, sniffing its way through the neighborhood. No leash laws, no worries about getting fined. These days, if your dog’s not on a leash, prepare for the judgmental stares from fellow pet owners and the local animal control squad showing up at your door.

3. Kids Being Able to Buy Cigarettes for Their Parents

This one still blows my mind – back in the day, you could send your kid to the store to grab a pack of smokes for you, no questions asked. A lot of the mom-and-pop stores knew the families, and there was basically a verbal agreement—but even then, wow.

4. Parking Anywhere (and Not Getting Towed)

Remember when you could just park your car wherever you wanted and not worry about a thing? Sure, there were a few "No Parking" signs here and there, but that was just more of a suggestion, right? You could park in front of someone’s house, on the side of the street. Now, one wrong move and it’s a ticket or, even worse, the tow truck's coming for your ride. RIP to the days of parking like a true New England rebel.

5. Fireworks on the Fourth of July

Remember when the Fourth of July meant grabbing a pack of firecrackers and setting them off in your backyard? Fireworks were practically a neighborhood event, and you’d see kids lighting up the sky like it was their personal light show. Today? In some cases, you need to cross state lines or be in a permitted neighborhood – well, you’re supposed to anyway. 

6. Not Wearing a Helmet While Biking, or Skiing

If you were biking or skiing through the streets of New England, helmets were pretty optional. After all, we were invincible, right? I, along with most of my classmates, never wore helmets back in the 90s. Fast forward to today, and if you're not wearing one, you're basically considered a risk to society and likely being judged. 

7. Walking to School Alone

Remember the days when you could just hop on your bike or walk to school by yourself? No parent lurking behind you in a minivan. You’d wave goodbye, cross the street, and stroll to class like the independent little human you were. These days, the idea of a kid walking alone to school is enough to send parents into immediate panic mode.

8. Pumping Gas, Paying After

Once upon a time you could pull up to the gas pump, fill your tank, and pay after? It was a strange, carefree trust system that worked perfectly fine—most of the time. Now? Forget it. You’re paying before you even touch the pump. Trust went out the window along with this old-school convenience.

9. Drinking in Public

Back in the day, in a lot of cases, you could pretty much crack open a beer in public without anyone batting an eye—local softball game or a picnic in the park. As long as you weren't causing trouble, no one really seemed to care. Now? Good luck trying to enjoy a cold one without facing some kind of fine or being asked to leave. It’s like the fun police took over.

10. Optional Seatbelts

Yeah, these things were basically optional for a long time—hard to believe, right? Back in the day, you'd hop in the car, plant yourself in the seat (or not), and off you went. Sure, toddlers had car seats, but older kids? They were practically free-range, bouncing around in the backseat without a care. It wasn’t until the '80s and '90s that seatbelt laws really started cracking down. And even today, New Hampshire keeps it old-school—it's the only state that doesn’t require adults to wear a seatbelt, and kids only have to buckle up if they’re under 7 or shorter than 57 inches.

Times have changed, New England. And while some of these rules may seem like a buzzkill, others probably should have been in place all along.