Really, it’s the last 10 years where everything has changed... I got my first “real” mountain bike in 2011, a Raleigh hardtail. Putting your butt back was still common practice, bar ends and toe clips were towards the end of their era but still around, dropper post were pretty much unheard of, and bikes almost all had front derailers. Bike geometry has changed a lot since then, plus dropper posts were added to the picture, not to mention the added price tag that came along with these upgrades. I remember my husband getting a dropper in 2015-ish. I thought it was sweet and could see the upside to having it, but considered it SO excessive. We took a trip to Moab in 2016 and my rental bike had a dropper…my MTB world changed, there was no going back.
If you are looking to get into biking regularly again, I would look at upgrades. Maybe rent a newer bike for a day, see how everything has changed and test drive if it’s something you want to spend the money on.
Juliana/Santa Cruz makes a pretty amazing rig (I own a SC Bronson and looooove it). Just so you know what to expect, it’s a tough market for new bikes these days. SC/Juliana are a small company in comparison to the major players (Trek, Specialized, Giant/Liv, so on), and they are going thru growing pains of the growing sport. They were also greatly affected by the SC fires last year, and added Covid supply chain issues with the bike industry…they a tough bike to come by unless you’re lucky enough to find a shop with one in your size. With that being said, they’re probably a lot more prevalent where you are (it’s where they’re from of course) so it might be a bit easier. Happy riding