21st birthday-Charleston vs Columbia (North Charleston, North: buy, school, college)

[decafdave]

It's still a few months off but I'll be back in the states after studying abroad and I would like the professional opinion of the CD folk about which place would be the best to celebrate.
Sure Columbia has USC and 5pts but Charleston has plenty of places around King St.

All opinions welcome.
Assume I'd have the same group of friends with me either place. For the record I lived in North Charleston in my teen years (parents still live there) but go to college in Columbia (USC)

[Tommy1981]

First, I'll assume deacafdave implies you're male.

In my opnion, 5 points would offer more college aged females. Depending on your relationship status that may or may not be a good thing. If I were single, turning 21 and had to choose between Columbia's 5 points, or Charleston with my parents "in town" I'd choose Columbia.

[decafdave]

yes forgot to mention I'm male! Important part
Thanks for the answer Tommy.

[waccamatt]

21st birthday - definitely Five Points in Columbia, especially when school is in session, but Five Points is still pretty busy during the summer.

[Akhenaton06]

I'd go with Charleston here. I think it's better suited to celebrate special occasions like these, and being heavily tourist-oriented, a better variety of options exist there. You could have fun in Columbia as well, but I think you could make it into a well-rounded celebration easier in Charleston.

[Tommy1981]

The problem with Charleston is the tourists would bring more diversity to the bar scene. More older folks particularly. 5-points is almost exclusively college kids, which would be more desireable IMO.

[CarolinaSouth803]

If it was just a choice of "I'm coming to South Carolina and it's between Charleston vs Columbia" for where to celebrate....I'd go with Columbia for the reasons mentioned above. 5 points is an excellent [yet inexpensive] place to celebrate...college crowd but locals do venture there also, cheap drinks and friendly people [expect to have a few drinks purchased by complete strangers if they see it's your birthday...happened to me on 3 different occasions], and places like Pop's that stay open late for you to eat if you get hungry. I mean I love the Pour House, Group Therapy, Sharky's, Parrot Heads and etc...actually i could say all the bars because i've enjoyed and frequented all of them.

As for the Vista...you can't go wrong with partying there either...you could start out at Jillian's eating and just branch out...their are many bars [Flying Saucer, Kelly's, and etc] and clubs [Headliners, Art Bar, Ra [or whatever the name is now] and etc. I think a Wet Willie's is opening this spring in the Vista also [Charleston has had one for years though] and will be a "place to be" because it's gonna be new to the area.


However considering that you will be attending USC in Columbia...i'll say spend the time in Charleston celebrating. You can party hard and have a free place to stay and eat [your parents]...plus you could get some beach time in. I'm sure you have friends in this area and many of them will be 21 also...so it's always fun to celebrate with people you know and care for thus creating a memory for all of you and not just you. I can't say i know a detail list of bars in Charleston, but considering you know the area...they aren't hard to find.

You really can't go wrong with either though

[Tommy1981]

You will get random shots bought for you, probably no matter where you decide to go. Make sure you're telling everybody its your 21st and they'll buy for you. Say no to Prarie Fire. It is not friendly (tobasco + tequila).

On a saftey note, make sure you have a DD, and don't try to do 21 drinks.

[CarolinaSouth803]

^^^^

Yeah say no to the Prairie Fire and say no to the "Four Horsemen" and yeah don't do 21 shots...I don't want to read about you in the State or Post and Courier.

[decafdave]

lol 21 shots is a bit too much. I didn't wait 21 long years to be of legal age to die of alc poisoning.