Most guys here are in 30's and 40's. I'm in my early 20's, but I remember a time when you didn't had to jump through dozens of hoops like a dog in a circus to get a date.

Women have been, are and always will be hypergamous. That being said prior to social media boom in the 2000's things were more relaxed.

Let's say that you're a decent looking guy in your little town, prior to 2000's your chance of finding a partner was higher solely because women at the time didn't have access to mass pool of men same way as today. Sure there were uberhoes, but most women were either too lazy or incompetent to reach out. With the invention of social media everything exploded. Now you not only have to compete with local guys, but also with ubermensch of your city, state or even country.