Supply and demand...the U.S. birthrate fell by roughly 25% between 1965 and 1975, plus there was tons of speculative suburban construction, meaning there were tons of cheap apartments in cities for young adults in the 1990s.
One thing you see over and over again in these photos is the use of the same lead white paint on the walls and window trim. That paint was made illegal in the 1970s but it was still everywhere in the 1990s, along with lead pipes. The non-lead oil paint from the 1980s stunk for days, didn't cover in less than three coats (primer + two coats), and didn't look very good even when done well. Latex paint technology has now gotten so good that you don't need primer, it dries fast, and it doesn't stink. The ease of painting is part of what has motivated all of the repainting of these places.
Most of these photos are from Providence, RI, Boston, MA, and New York City.
It's crazy seeing semi-trashed college apartments in what are now, undoubtedly, unaffordable HGTV/Instagrammable yuppie apartments and airbnbs.
Somebody living in a garage or basement:
This is before anyone had heard of granite countertops or "upgrading" a kitchen:
Before Starbuck's and chain restaurants infiltrated college campuses:
Every city had a lot of improvised music/dance venues:
Again, before anyone had heard of granite countertops:
big-time wrestling:
Another unimproved kitchen:
You used to see the two-TV combo like this because they'd have a gaming system hooked up to one TV permanently so that they wouldn't have to keep switching the chords back and forth: