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I'll try to give some pluses and minuses of every place I can think of/like.
Chicago and New Orleans are the easiest cities to have fun in. Chicago, IMO, is the best city to live in for someone who wants a really good party scene on weekends, while managing to be very professional during the week. It's one of the many reasons I love it.
LA is not as fun as people think it will be. I've met people from all over who were a bit disappointed because they thought LA was some party nightlife Mecca due to the entertainment industry and beach and weather. Hollywood is extremely overrated and locals rarely go there. Sometimes a good DJ is playing there which will drag us out there, but it's a hassle to go out there. Outside of Hollywood, there are some pockets of nightlife, but nothing amazing. Exchange LA in Downtown LA is probably one of my favorite clubs in the country, though. But last call is 2am in LA and since it's so big and spread out, it's not easy to bar hop or experience different neighborhoods. Main Street Santa Monica and Hermosa Beach are really fun IMO, but once you're there, you're there. And you either will only go out in your neighborhood, always have a DD, or be ready to pay for lots of expensive Ubers. West Hollywood is fun if you like/don't mind gay clubs. Still 2am.
SF can be fun, but is lacking in after hours options and again, as with all of CA, has a 2am last call. Unlike LA, SF does not have as many after hours clubs. Exchange, Create, Lure, and a few others in LA stay open past 2am, but don't serve alcohol. Exchange is open till 6am some nights. SF is good for bar hopping and taking the buses to/from clubs to save money and Polk Street is one of my favorite streets to go out on.
Chicago's last call is 4am, it's affordable to go out, it's easy to bar hop from neighborhood to neighborhood and take the L places. Some clubs are open till 5am. It's not that expensive to go out at all. If you're not down with cold weather, though, forget Chicago. I love the cold and don't mind going out to clubs in a winter coat. Coat check seems pretty common there.
NoLa obviously is NoLa. No explanation needed except to go cups are the best things ever and if you like drinking outdoors like I do, how can you go wrong with taking your drink to go and just drinking in the streets. Plus, drive through daiquiris
NYC is very expensive and I've mostly been underwhelmed when going out there. I have fun, but never enough fun to justify paying the rent to live in the city. I still love the city, but I think there are other cities that are more fun in terms of going out. And you better have tons of money ready.
Philly has Atlantic City nearby when considering a weekend getaway. It is only 1-2 hours away. It's a mini Vegas in summer. Pool parties, beach bars, headlining DJs at casino clubs. But it's much cheaper than Las Vegas and less pretentious. Bonus of having a real beach. Living in Philly there are some cool clubs. Again, 2am last call. But there are after hours clubs open till 3-4am that do serve alcohol. Really easy to bar hop through neighborhoods. I can't comment on other cities, but in Philly, Uber Pool is only $3.73 to get anywhere in the city, so it's super easy to go out, bar hop, and get home safely. The city is really big on beer gardens too. Artists often skip Philly when on tour, I'm guessing because NYC is so close? In the summer, a lot of the DJs opt for AC megaclubs over the city-sized Philly clubs.
Downtown Miami has a 24/7 entertainment district where clubs don't have to close (Space, Heart, The Hangar). Miami Beach is a party all the time, but can be pricey and pretentious. Last call is 5am, but I believe some are open till 6am and later. Great DJs come through and day parties and stuff going on at nice lounges and hotels and obviously the beach is right there. But if you aren't into Latino culture, a lot of the nightlife there can be Latino-centered. Not saying it all is, but think about that first. Personally, I love Latin culture and live for clubs that play only EDM and reggaeton. Speaking of which, Philly has a gay club that isn't even really gay at all that does Latin nights every Thursdays and it's one of the most fun nights out I've ever had.
Las Vegas can be pretty overrated. The nightlife is expensive. When I was there last, girl tickets for a pool party were $50 while the guys were $260. Guys get terrible service at the bars and you're treated like just a wallet being carried around by a piece of meat. As a gay guy, I was very disappointed in Las Vegas and don't really have any desire to go back there. Not worth it at all. Plus, Las Vegas as a city is just blegh. Rather live in Miami if I want nonstop party because at least Miami is a real city with a real beach and real people with real culture. Even though Atlantic City gets a bad rep, at least it's cheaper to go out there and also has real beaches. Sorry, LV, but not my cup o tea and just giving my opinion for OP. As for the pluses, though, there is no denying that LV gets some of the top DJs in the world consistently week after week all year long. The quality of the clubs is amazing and no city can throw a better pool party that I can think of. (Side note. Palm Springs is starting to steal the SoCal pool party crowd away from LV since it's cheaper and closer.)
Anyway I looked at his other post and it seems almost everyone was against his wanting to live a party life for a bit that he missed out on. Lot of hypocrites & fuddy duddies around these parts I guess...
Not to get all meta here, but I find it kind of fascinating that he started two threads in two forums asking essentially the same question, and in this one, he got a lot of support, while in the other one, he got a lot of crap. What was the difference? In the other forum, he framed it as "should I do this?" and in this one, he framed it as "where should I do this?"
Maybe that goes to show you that if you commit to something, people will go along with you. Or maybe it's just different crowds.
I am unfortunately in a situation where I was raised in a small podunk city full of overly religious zealots that will throw the bible in your face for wanting to get wasted or have premarital sex. The college I went to was also centered around Greek Life and due to issues concerning finances and other matters, it was hard for me to be a part of that scene (dues were upwards of 1k+ a semester). If you weren't in Greek Life, it was hard to be a part of that scene.
Right now I am in my mid 20s but ideally, I would like to set aside my late 20s and even a lot of my 30s for alcohol fueled parties, crazy fun filled nights, and that sort of stuff.
Here are some of the things I look for in such a city:
1 - Lots of 20 somethings and even people in their 30s who are open to partying, getting wasted, and having those alcohol filled nights at least 3 or 4 times a month.
2 - Lots of parties going on as well as lots of opportunities to party and get wasted.
3 - Lots of opportunities to make friends with people who love partying and getting wasted. I would ideally like to make friends and be a part of social circles that engage in this sort of stuff.
4 - A lack of religious zealots that will give you a lecture on how you are going to hell because you had sex before marriage and because you want to live it up.
I am in my mid 20s and afraid that my time is running out so I really need to get a list started for some possible cities.
So far I have:
Las Vegas
New Orleans
Chicago
New York City
Miami
feel free to add to that list
What is your budget? The only reason I ask is that a lot of these cities are expensive to live in. For example, you would not be able to find your own place in NYC for under $1K unless you were willing to live in a more economically depressed area. Hell, even the apartments in the suburbs are usually over $1K a month.
I spent a good amount of time traveling to different cities for drinking in my 20s, these were my personal experiences.
For LA, NYC, and Miami I was always disappointed. The clubs/bars on the surface were so superficial, expensive, and touristy that it kind of sucked the fun out of it. I'm sure there were some better local places that I didn't know about, but the nights always seemed to end earlier than they should have. People didn't socialize with one another, every place was packed, and getting drinks was always a hassle. I'm sure part of it was just my personal tastes though. There are tons of places to choose from, but every place was the same.
Nashville, NOLA, and Vegas were fun, but you really had to dig deep to find the non touristy places. The busy "main drag" type places were so awful. Cookie cutter, busy, expensive, lines, etc.
Milwaukee/Chicago. Both cities have an excellent night life, accompanied by some pretty fun people. Chicago has a more upscale feel, but you can always find a dive bar. You can go out alone and end the night with a dozen new friends. Cheap drinks are easy to find. Milwaukees scene is a little more laid back, as most bars are total dive bars, and patrons are usually regulars. While Milwaukee shuts down at 2am, the fun loving and welcoming people always know how to keep the night going.
Twin Cities night life was weird. This isn't the place to go out alone to just drink with strangers. Bars are either generic gentrified, upscale, and expensive, or they are total dives. Most places kill the fun by serving food and having booths/tables...I don't get Minneapolis's obsession with sitting at tables/booths while going out drinking. It just fits the passive aggressive/cliquish vibe of the people. You really need to have an established group to have a good time.
Detroit was one of those places that I never expected to have a good time, but was always surprised. Awesome people, tons of underground parties, after parties, people that just let you tag along with their group, and fun times if you are on a bike. It might not be be some crazy upscale party scene, but it's always fun and one of my favorites.
Denver and Portland. While these cities have great breweries and restaurants, night life is a little harder to find. There are less options, so the dive places that everyone is at are either wall to wall packed, or totally dead. The window of busy hours are much smaller here. It's hard to find a hoping place on a week night after 11pm.
Philly and Pittsburgh. There are some really fun places here. People are a mixed bag, and drinks can really vary in price. I would say these two places come the closest to Midwest drinking culture on the East Coast.
Austin and Raleigh were amazing places before about 2012. Now they are just kind of irritating. I would say it's getting closer to the feel of DC, SF, Seattle, Boston. I'm sure there are still some great bars, but you'll need a native to show you around.
If I remember correctly, there was a previous thread asking what everyone's favorite city for nightlife was, and it seemed like nearly every single person had Chicago on their favorite nightlife list. I honestly think it's really difficult to have even a mediocre time going out in Chicago. Every time I go out there, I have tons of fun and they are always extremely memorable nights.
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