Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.
-Ecclesiastes 7:10

There is only one answer that has ever been correct to the question "when was the best time to be alive?"
The answer is and always has been "now." Good times give the opportunity for enjoyment and preparation. Bad times give the opportunity for penitence and heroism. We aren't placed in these times by accident.