What year should I set my dystopian/war story in?

I'm currently writing a novel that takes place during WW3. I was thinking about having it take place in 2090 because that seems like a reasonable time period to have a major worldwide war. However, if my characters live in 2090, that also means all technology has advanced so I can't have my characters pulling out their iphones or driving in today's cars. But, since it's a worldwide war, the countries and characters won't have a lot of money so advanced technology wouldn't be affordable.

What year do you guys think WW3 will start, and why? Or instead of going in depth with the new technology, should I just not tell the readers what year it is and leave it a mystery?

It's probably easier to leave the time frame a mystery.

As you said, nobody knows what the world will be like in 2090. Something closer to 2025 or 2030 would make more sense, but then you'd be dating the book (as in "1984").

One thing you could do is to use another planet (or an interstellar space ship) as the setting. That would free you from a lot of strictures you'd have if you placed it here on Earth.

Regardless, even a decade from now technology will be extremely different than it is now, so you're going to have to postulate SOME of the changes in society based on some educated guesses.

We're actually on the brink of world war 3 right now, so you should use the year 2020

Don't name a year. If you name a year: 1) it's harder to take into concideration what technological advances will or will not happen. I was thinking of setting a work specifically in 2391 but then I realized that in another four hundred years we'd have medical tech way better than I wanted for my setting, so I just left it vague 2) If you name a year, you date the book. 1984.

Oh, and I don't believe that there will be a third world war because I believe that space travel will progress to the point where if you don't like the conditions of your current existence you can just /leave/ and there will be resources enough for everyone before anyone UNBELIEVABLY STUPID enough to begin a nuclear exchange is ever given the shiny red button.