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Figured I'd chime in. Coming from a much smaller city I've been pretty darn impressed by the nightlife in DC. I can certainly speak on the gay nightlife in DC is pretty up there. One gay bar on U street? Come on now. Just because you only saw one bar doesn't mean you saw all of DC. There's over a dozen.
I actually like DC way better than San Francisco. San Francisco's nightlife is conveniently concentrated on Castro versus being spread out like it is in DC. But I gotta say it's easier to hookup and meet guys on the east coast than San Francisco. I think it's because in San Francisco it's so much easier to meet likeminded guys in places besides bars that there's less need to hookup when going out.
Now I can't speak for Toronto but Montreal is awesome. It's actually smaller in population than DC (Toronto is too), but has great nightlife because they're a little looser than DC. I loved St Catherine st or rather Rue Sainte Catherine. NYC is definitely fun but they're not very friendly there in my opinion. Of course Atlanta is very fun, fairly friendly (not as friendly as our Canadian friends though), and more affordable than DC or NYC. Never been to Chicago but that's supposed to be the party capital though so give Chicago a try. And yeah Montreal is definitely better than DC.
DC does have a lot of party neighborhoods. You got Georgetown, Dupont, U street, Adams Morgan and Chinatown along with smaller hot spots. Then you got Clarendon across the river in VA. My favorite is definitely Adams Morgan there's just so many different types of bars versus more of the same. It's not too preppy either you just be you there versus some of the more upscale places. See that's more important to me personally.
I hate those upscale clubs with dress codes. The only organization that gets to tell me how to dress is my job that pays me versus me paying them. I understand the purpose is to keep out the thuggish/punkish types. I'm a nice guy who naturally wears nice polos when I go out anyways but if my jeans are torn so what? Don't mean to get on a tangent that's just me not everybody. So many define a city's nightlife by how many of these "upscale" specific clubs it has. If that is one's definition then thank God DC isn't number one. I'm happier at a bar than a fancy club but a few years ago I was all about the fancy clubs, so taste change.
I think a lot of people have never been to DC or are using their limited opinion about The Mall to generalize about the entire city.
DC is a heavyweight in terms of nightlife.
My one surprise from this thread so far is Austin. I was their briefly and did not have a chance to fully experience the nightlife. I definitely want to go for a visit to see the city in action.
The only organization that gets to tell me how to dress is my job that pays me versus me paying them.
I was surprised at how many employees were wearing dark suits like it was still the 1950's that hot and humid August summer. No other city does that anymore (and Washington seemed to be out of the times ). Is it a requirement at the Federal Government or are Washingtonians trying to stun tourists (and make them easier to spot)?
Toronto has the best night life of any city in North America, period. The diversity you encounter is astounding and unmatched.
Washington D.C. has K-street and that one gay bar, somewhere near U-Street? I can't remember but it's close to a Metra stop.
Anyways, almost anywhere else has better nightlife than D.C. and the associated metro area.
coldwine is absolutely correct! The DC boosters are out in full force. Toronto has amazing nightlife and many districts which cater to the younger crowd.
The OP has obviously never been to John & Richmond . That entire area is overflowing with rebelers. The Guvernment is my favriote club. The place is just huge. Plus there are endless bars and neat restaruants along all the arterial roads, not just one or two streets like DC.
It would be impossible to walk the Bloor-Danforth and check out all the neat places along the way. Queen is another great street. The best of them all is Yonge.
DC is blown out of the water and cannot compete. Hahahaha at the person who said DC was bigger than Toronto. Get your facts straight.
coldwine is absolutely correct! The DC boosters are out in full force. Toronto has amazing nightlife and many districts which cater to the younger crowd.
The OP has obviously never been to John & Richmond . That entire area is overflowing with rebelers. The Guvernment is my favriote club. The place is just huge. Plus there are endless bars and neat restaruants along all the arterial roads, not just one or two streets like DC.
It would be impossible to walk the Bloor-Danforth and check out all the neat places along the way. Queen is another great street. The best of them all is Yonge.
DC is blown out of the water and cannot compete. Hahahaha at the person who said DC was bigger than Toronto. Get your facts straight.
First of all try making your point without putting others down. I did some fact checking greater Toronto has indeed managed to surpass the DC area in population by 20,000, congratulations. You win, even though there is no competition.
I never said anything bad or against Toronto. Never been there. So guess else should get their facts straight. I did say that Montreal had better nightlife than DC despite having a smaller population. I have been there and had a great time. People are very friendly there.
Really and truly at the end of the day it is sooo subjective. The only way to determine which city has better nightlife than DC is to first determine the definition of good nightlife. Clearly not everyone is on the same page.
For me and for me alone good nightlife is defined as having a least one area where one can truly bar hop. That means I might go into Bar A have a drink maybe a conversation then move on to Bar B then C and D. There needs to be more than one area for doing said bar hopping because the same ol same ol can get boring. I should be able to do this bar hopping without feeling compelled to go to some overpriced club to have a good time. That's a good night out for me. Don't get me wrong I do occasionally like to go to a club and dance but that's not really what defines good nightlife. I think DC has that there's more than one neighborhood to go bar hopping and there's variety. That's it.
So if for you it's which city has the flashiest clubs. Then Miami might be the spot versus DC. Or better yet which city is it easier to hookup in. Because some places will make you work a little harder. Like I said way easier to hookup in DC than San Francisco at least for me. So maybe the question the OP could ask would be to ask which city best fits their own personal criteria for a good time.
I was surprised at how many employees were wearing dark suits like it was still the 1950's that hot and humid August summer. No other city does that anymore (and Washington seemed to be out of the times ). Is it a requirement at the Federal Government or are Washingtonians trying to stun tourists (and make them easier to spot)?
I don't know I will say that yes in DC people do like to dress to impress a little more than other places. That doesn't really bother me that much though. I don't have to wear a tie to work or anything like that. Actually at my job they're always joking about how sloppy the male government workers dress so maybe it's worse in the private sector than civil. I'm not that bad but some of my coworkers had a field day when a customer wore an ugly plaid short sleeved shirt with a tie. Personally coming from the South myself I'm not used to dressing up that much. My last job working as a substitute teacher my standard uniform was a polo shirt from American Eagle and khakis. Not so much anymore.
Austin's got great nightlife, but it seems to be narrower in appeal than other cities with great nightlife.
Hell you can have as good of time as anywhere in pretty much any college town across america.
I guarantee I could have as much fun going to bars and clubs in Greenville, NC (where my alma mater is ECU) as I could in DC.
Hell...I KNOW I would see hotter women. (esp true for Austin as well)
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). Is it a requirement at the Federal Government or are Washingtonians trying to stun tourists (and make them easier to spot)?
