Remember those early days of the pandemic when the world came screeching to a halt? Suddenly, our calendars were cleared, and we had all the time in the world — as if, out of nowhere, a superior entity decided to press “pause” without bothering to tell us. In a matter of weeks, we became masters of sourdough bread, took up the most random hobbies, and became way too obsessed with The Office. But amidst all the Netflix binges and loungewear, we also found ourselves appreciating the commute-free life, working from home, spending more time with our dear ones, and loving not feeling forced to hang out when we didn’t feel up to it. In a certain way, lockdown let us taste a different kind of freedom, made of simpler things and the joys of home sweet home.
But now, as the world has returned to its pre-pandemic ways, it’s hard not to feel a bit nostalgic for the slower pace of quarantine life. If you’re also missing lockdown, fear not, for you’re not alone in your longing!
We happen to have a soft spot for Reddit’s fascinating insights and stumbled upon a thread where folks spilled the beans on what they miss the most from the Covid lockdown days. Whether it was the chance to finally tackle that pile of unread books, gasoline’s ridiculously low prices, or not feeling guilty for never leaving home, the things people pointed out are pretty darn relatable. With almost 15,000 comments, it’s clear that many miss the little things that the pandemic lockdown brought. We picked the top replies and have shared them with you down below!
Looking back, we can appreciate the joy of a quiet afternoon, the beauty of working from home, or the simple pleasure of a phone call with a friend. We’re not saying we should all get locked back in our homes as before, but maybe we can take a breath and remember the things we enjoyed about the quarantine. And hey, if that means keeping the sweatpants trend going for a little while longer, then so be it. Share your experiences in the comments below, and let us know what you miss most from lockdown!
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Consistent-Finger-18 said:
"Having the excuse to not go anywhere."
mikhela replied:
"We lived in an introvert's world for a blissful year."
"It was the rare break from the spinning hamster wheel we might never get again."
TiredLumberJack88 said:
"The empty roads. MY GOD THE EMPTY ROADS."
Unknown replied:
"Don’t forget the cheap gas. Driving was the best during the lockdown."
Juswantedtono replied:
"It was the best month to be an Uber eats driver. Empty streets, cheap gas, tons of orders at every restaurant, generous tips, and people started requesting us to drop off their food at the door rather than wait for them to answer. Think I averaged $40/hour that month."
witdim said:
"Social distancing."
hellobeau replied:
"You would love Finland. There’s a joke that goes, Now that the mandatory 6-feet distancing has been lifted, Finns can go back to being 16 feet apart from each other."
HertogJanVanBrabant said:
"The silence, especially in the first days when the lockdown started. The whole world around me got silent. No more cars, no machines in the distance, no airplanes flying above. Just the sound of nature and a gentle breeze. I loved it."
TimReavesPhotography replied:
"In July 2020, it dawned on me that there were practically no airplanes in the sky. I ventured out to get a night-sky shot I’d been dreaming about."
"The animals coming back out. Makes you really think about how human activity has impacted wildlife."
"It was the healthiest I’ve ever been, it was the wealthiest I’ve ever been, it was the happiest I’ve ever been, it was the most freedom I’ve ever enjoyed.
It was much easier to do my job working from home, I saved a fortune on gas, I got ample sleep, I enjoyed hobbies, and started new ones. My social life actually improved because living in a duplex, my closest friends lived in the other unit and also worked from home, so we were free to hang out at will, never having to worry about or be disappointed by our schedules or the hassle of making arrangements. My girlfriend at the time stayed with me for lockdown, never left, and now we’re getting married.
I know many, many people had a tough time and I know I had a very privileged lockdown experience, but I feel like it is my life’s ambition to return to some form of the sweet sweet awesomeness of lockdown."
Middle_Weakness_8005 said:
"The background noises being switched off - no traffic, no planes in the sky, no horns blaring.
Also the sense of community it brought with neighbors checking in on each other and if anyone needed anything."
WredditSmark replied:
"In my town, all the restaurants literally turned into like grocery stores where you could get cooked food but also things like TP, oil, flour, raw chicken, raw burgers, etc."
The clear skies and no noise was great! We had a curfew after 9pm so there was no vehicles at all during the night.
"My german shepherd boy, Beorn. Died almost 2 years ago. Got to spend all day every day with him in 2020."
"Stores cleaning and sanitizing surfaces. Also, people not being on top of you when you check out."
I was in a line recently and the guy behind me came right up to me and I looked at him like my name was Inigo Montoya and he killed my father. Lol
"Honestly, when it all started and we were all making bread and didn't really know what was going to happen, I hate to admit it, but It was kind of exciting."
"Nothing. Was a Nurse. Got free McDonald's, got free Subway, and got Free Gas at times just for being in scrubs. Roads were empty, Lines in stores were dead, and everything was faster. But I spent 15+ hour shifts watching mother's Speak over Tablets to their children their final words. I saw the elderly essentially choke to death. I saw the young fall lower than dirt and never recover.
My mama bear died, and nurses around me became patients or quit. I became a victim because no maskers flooded our hospitals FOUGHT US CARING FOR THEM. Then I failed out and left so many people to die.
Nothing.... nothing will make the nightmares of this disease stop for me. I will die remembering the loss and the worst humanity has to offer."
"Having my dog around 24/7. The best time was doggo time."
Unlike cats who were just confused why you were home all day. Lol
"Those videos of skateboarders taking over freeways in LA. I don't know why but they just tingled my brain in such a satisfying way."
I remember those, it was very dystopian (or utopian, depending on your viewpoint :) )
"Not spending money and not having to please anyone's social needs. Basically embracing my hermit life."
"It was okay to be struggling mentally, now it just feels like everyone expects you to just shake it off and go on as if nothing happened. That and I miss people actually giving a s**t about sanitation and not spreading the virus. Now that the pandemic is “over” I’m seeing people who are obviously sick walking around without a mask and coughing without covering their mouths."
Right? Like, hello people, germs are still gross. If you're sick don't spread it.
"Working as a bar manager at the time, I got the whole summer off and got paid more than my normal wage. Before I hear any snark, I’ve never been unemployed so as far as I see it, I’ve been paying my taxes for 20 years, and I got to cash in on it.
I found new hobbies, got sober, spent quality time with my partner, expanded my garden, spent a lot of time in an adult-sized kiddie pool, learned to be a better cook, and thus in a post-pandemic world, save a lot of money by cooking fancy meals at home. It was honestly one of the best summers in my life."
This is great and I'm really glad for OP but not the same for everyone. A lot of people got sent home but without pay..so not so great for them trying to make ends meet.
"Just… rest, honestly. It was the first time in a lot of people’s lives that they weren’t expected to work or do anything. Just live. It was nice."
"Seeing the multiple types of birds that decided to make our garden their home due to less human traffic. They disappeared once everything started back up again."
fruska_gorica ssaid:
"I actually saved a lot of money."
Ellerich12 replied:
"I finished paying off my school debt and saved some. Unfortunately, inflation caught up and now I’m playing jump between the red and black."
"I miss when going on hikes and walks was really the only thing we could do outside of the home. We have such beautiful walking trails all around our home and when there was no distraction from other entertainment choices, just getting exercise and enjoying nature with my family was nice."
As someone who walks/hikes regulary: nature was too full with people and trash
"Time with my infant. I had just returned to work after a 10-week, unpaid maternity leave. I cried constantly, especially when pumping in the office because I missed my baby so much. I was so angry and resentful that I had to return to work that early. But then a few weeks later, Covid hit and we started teleworking.
I was home for the entire first year of my baby’s life (minus those few weeks back). I could breastfeed instead of pumping. I could hold my baby for contact naps during meetings. I could take breaks throughout the day to play with her and cuddle her. I didn’t miss any milestones. I would rather I didn’t have to work at all (certainly balancing work and childcare was stressful) but it was better than before when I barely saw her on weekdays.
I’m sad my next kid won’t get that same time with me. I feel like I got a taste of what everyone else in the world with proper family leave policies has and it made me even sadder we don’t have that here in the US."
"Masks, I felt so much cooler and less insecure with them."
"Waking up for 7 AM lectures 10 minutes before them."
Tension88 said:
"The air smelt and felt so much cleaner due to less traffic around where I live, also it was so much quieter due to less people being around."
sadsadbarista replied:
"I think about this constantly because I would go for these walks at the beginning of spring and could smell every new flower and plant. I couldn't believe it. And I knew it was new because I don't drive, so I already walk everywhere and know what it smells like."
"Unemployment gives me the ability to rest without becoming homeless. I became disabled a month before the initial lockdown, but I had been working full-time long enough to qualify for unemployment. Being able to pay rent and bills, and affordable food without having to destroy my body and mind for it was such a relief, and I'm forever angry that it isn't the standard in the US. Everyone deserves shelter, food, and dignity whether they can work or not."
"Dancing coffin guys meme."
"Micro weddings being normalized."
"People being kind and supportive to each other. It didn’t last long, but it was nice while it did."
"When my essential job actually cared enough to give employees with active, confirmed cases of COVID paid time off to recover. As of November, it changed to "choices include using PTO and taking unpaid leave to recover." They never come out and say that coming to work with COVID is an option, but it's heavily implied."
"I was essential so I never experienced a lockdown. I guess You can say I missed the lockdown because the only thing that changed in my life during the pandemic was never getting a day off. Nothing was locked down for me"
"I lost my job in the travel industry right when it started but got another temp job soon after and that job, because of the lockdowns, was entirely remote. I used to sit at my desk in my "home office" and do my work quietly on my own while listening to NPR. Lol, it was so chill and I was actually super productive without the distractions of an in-person working environment. I really miss that. My coworkers and I all only met via Zoom/Teams meetings but when restrictions eased up we all got together and went out to eat a few times. It felt like we bonded over the weird situation we were in. The company also did stuff like mail hot chocolate to everyone's home addresses so we could do a company hot chocolate social together on Teams. Lol"
"The barriers between tables at restaurants. It was so quiet. Also closing way earlier every day at the grocery store I worked at. I got to spend so much more time with my fiancé. I went from a period of overnights where I barely saw her, then switching to the day shift and having the pandemic hit. Got to eat dinner with her every night and see her every day. And you could be way ruder to the customers that deserved it and get away with it."
"Everyone was just like "just get what you can done". Finished university during covid and last semester was like "f**k it, I'm passing everybody on the final, we're all dying, have a great summer.""
"Felt I was about to burn out then the lockdown happened. Managed to finally chill, probably the best few months of my life!"
I decided to quit my job as a teacher in Feb 2020, then I bought a dog. I figured she'd need food and such, so I had to work and took back my resignation. Then in Mar 2020, we went into lockdown and I didn't have to finish the school year with my terrible students. I've stuck with it and even got another dog recently.
"Quiet supermarkets due to a certain amount of people being allowed in at a time. Was nice to have space and people not getting into your personal space."
"Commuting - reduced to none, 100% WFH.
And the occasional trips to the office take 10 minutes instead of an hour. I do miss empty roads."
And when they came back on the roads the a ssholes increased 10 fold
"My husband being home. It was so nice. We went on bike rides with our daughter almost daily."
"I don't know if this will make sense but after being in lockdown for a while everything felt "fresh" the first couple of times when I finally went out."
"People being intentional with their actions. You had to get tested and plan to see people and do things. It made things more meaningful IMO."
"Time to enjoy/learn new hobbies and the massive shift in work/life balance made a lot of people reassess their working lives and pursue new/existing passions."
"I miss the very early days when we thought this virus was just gonna disrupt our society for a few weeks and then we'd get back to normal. Oh, how wrong we were."
"I was still in school at the time so I liked being able to wake up at 10, eventually eat some breakfast, relax, and watch a show and then start my school works around 1 and finish by 3 maybe even earlier. It was so nice, and I had so much free time to do whatever I’d like."
"Sitting on the porch day drinking. But also, I don't miss that as I've happily embraced sobriety."
"2020 summer. I stayed up so late every night watching movies. It was the time of my life. I had just graduated and didn’t have any responsibilities. Three years later I’m in my junior year of college and wish I could go back and enjoy it instead of being so hung up over being single."
"The online school consisted of a Google Meet, and 3 hours of work. Now it's 7 hours of school + homework + extra-curricular activities."
"Not stressing out about my landlord doubling my rent. Much easier to stress about draining my savings to pay for rent."
"I miss coming home every day to my boyfriend! He was always excited to greet me at the door and talk about my day, it was such a nice welcome-home ritual. I work in essential services and he didn’t, and having my little house hubby cleaning the house, doing dishes after I cooked, not letting me do extra chores because he wasn’t working, and leaving cute notes on the lunches I packed was about the damn best thing ever."
"Nothing, everything is delayed, can't have a proper vacation, and everything is closed. Online school is worse than normal school."
bbcaekz said:
"The rise and fall of Tiger King."
KDPer3 replied:
"That sense of shared experience was great. Reminded me of early Pokemon Go."
I enjoyed the world suddenly being more accessible. I was housebound for much of the pandemic, but I could still participate; I 'visited' museums and attended performances that I have no hope of seeing in person. The way that access has been withdrawn is cruel and painful and demoralising.
I work in IT. The lockdown initially was pure hell as we had to rush about so people COULD work remotely. It never really slowed down, as the support calls come through regardless of if I was at the office or at home.
well i didn't get locked down i was working retail(Target in US) at the time, all i got was the "run around" about getting PPE.
I enjoyed the world suddenly being more accessible. I was housebound for much of the pandemic, but I could still participate; I 'visited' museums and attended performances that I have no hope of seeing in person. The way that access has been withdrawn is cruel and painful and demoralising.
I work in IT. The lockdown initially was pure hell as we had to rush about so people COULD work remotely. It never really slowed down, as the support calls come through regardless of if I was at the office or at home.
well i didn't get locked down i was working retail(Target in US) at the time, all i got was the "run around" about getting PPE.
