People from r/TrueOffMyChest, especially those in the mid 20s+, why/how did you watch anime?

I am someone from a third world country, from a family that couldn't/didn't want to afford a computer/gaming console, and the internet connection was shit. I remember using dial up from 2000/2001 until 2008, and we had a dial up that couldn't be used while the land line was connected to the internet, and vice versa.<br><br>We did have a small TV, but where I live the only two channels that aired anime were on cable TV, which we didn't have until 2006. And even then, it was a small package that included maybe 20-30 channels, and we'd get maybe 3-4 channels that showed anime, for 3 hours a day or so, where it was mostly the same anime that they'd repeat on and off for years like Dragon Ball Z, Pokemon etc.<br><br>I remember that there was one channel that showed Gunslinger Girls, but only for a few weeks, then ended it, and then didn't continue it for a long time.<br><br>For the longest time, I had no idea how anime really worked. I thought it was more like Disney, where they had their own studios, and they just produced tons of shows.<br><br>I got my first cell phone that could access the internet in 2007/8, but it was slow as fuck.<br><br>I only really got to watch anime, do research, etc. when I first moved to the US in 2014/5.<br><br>I am really curious, where did people who are in their mid 20s+ especially get access to anime in the mid 2000s and onwards. Did you watch it on VHS? DVD? When did it become more accessible in terms of purchasing merchandise like manga, figures, etc. where it wasn't something that you had to import yourself?<br><br>I am really curious to know what was it like in other places, especially in the US/EU, and how did people access it, especially since I feel like it is something that is really under talked about, if not completely ignored, that anime was nowhere near as accessible as it is now.