Nightlife in Boston (Amherst, Andover, Orleans: to rent, crime, hotels)

[masssachoicetts]

Originally Posted by skeddy

College kids keep the bars in business in Boston. People work from home, co-workers have become talking heads, heading out to a bar after work doesn't sound as attractive.

Everyone does here, with friends.. not coworkers.

I literally come home from work at 5, take the train four stops for Wing Wednesday and hang out for a few hours. 8 Gigantic Wings for $6.50.

On Tuesdays I go to Taco Tuesday (Because its $4 Margaritas, $3 Coronos and $2 Tacos) in Somerville NJ on the train at 7 and meet up with people 25-35.

Shhht, every other week my boss goes out with us and buys us 5 or 6 drinks. lol. Maybe you live somewhere boring?

So... yeah, not just college kids.

I just made a tiktok that got 1 million views on my experience in Somerville NJ. BBMM check that town out sometime, or the Raritan River Valley Line if you want some good food, transit access. Worth it.

[BOORGONG]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Everyone does here, with friends.. not coworkers.

I literally come home from work at 5, take the train four stops for Wing Wednesday and hang out for a few hours. 8 Gigantic Wings for $6.50.

On Tuesdays I go to Taco Tuesday (Because its $4 Margaritas, $3 Coronos and $2 Tacos) in Somerville NJ on the train at 7 and meet up with people 25-35.

Shhht, every other week my boss goes out with us and buys us 5 or 6 drinks. lol. Maybe you live somewhere boring?

So... yeah, not just college kids.

I just made a tiktok that got 1 million views on my experience in Somerville NJ. BBMM check that town out sometime, or the Raritan River Valley Line if you want some good food, transit access. Worth it.

Sounds like fun. But I can detect the beginnings of a pretty bad habit. I don’t want to preach but all the loss leader stuff that bars and casinos dish out are meant to have you drink more. Maybe your boss has a stake in the place he buys drinks in. What goes around come around as far as rounds go, if you know what I mean.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade

The fearmongering works to an extent but generally it loses out.

Casinos, sports betting, cannabis, tattoos, and alcohol sales on Sunday. They're all recent examples.

In the long run, it tends to get overruled by the will of the people and market forces. This is accelerated when the state loses much of its older native populace like Massachusetts is. Once a place gets filled up with people not from there- as is the case in Boston- attitudes start becoming very different, very fast.

It is no surprise our mayor from Chicago and or our Chief of Economic Opportunity was schooled in Atlanta. Sheena is from Albany- where clubs and bars close at 4am.

City Hall is decided on where it wants to go, it's going to be a matter of the state-level polls and the Governor's willingness to let Boston do what it wants. The city wants to create more vibrant neighborhoods and more positive experiences in general. it also would love the taxable revenue in the form of increased commercial tax revenue and increased property values.

There is a reason a place like DC or Seattle has a more highly educated populace than Boston in terms of % of adults with a bachelor's degree, and they have higher incomes. They're more able to retain young talent than Boston is. And they're more friendly to social entrepreneurs. For folks who have employment opportunities in competing cities, it comes down to the little things little QOL things for them. You can get newer housing, milder weather, and better nightlife in DC and maybe SEA than in Boston and in MA. Ppl want to remain competitive and we need to stop the region's workforce from shrinking. Nightlife is a part of that - when the cost of living gets to the point where it is now...

I'm for more things being open a little later in select areas of the city, if there is demand. But to say Boston isn't as wealthy and educated as it could be, because the bars aren't open till 4am??? COME ON.

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by BOORGONG

Sounds like fun. But I can detect the beginnings of a pretty bad habit.Maybe your boss has a stake in the place he buys drinks in.

this is preachy and paaranoid

[BostonBornMassMade]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I'm for more things being open a little later in select areas of the city, if there is demand. But to say Boston isn't as wealthy and educated as it could be, because the bars aren't open till 4am??? COME ON.

I for sure think it's part of the reason. People with options....have options. Even Cambridge which is not capped in liquor licenses has a higher % of college grads.

People get these high-paying, high-stress jobs and want to feel they're getting bang for their buck and that they have outlets for their stress and pent-up energy.

Places would also gentrify if there were better transit (a la DC) and more places to be social in neighborhoods (you see this in Brooklyn, Queens, Northeast DC)

Boston has a lower percentage of college grads than Denver and Austin, 9% below DC, and is essentially tied with Portland. It is 14% below Seattle. 8% points below San Francisco. None of those places have our liqor licenses and are other emerging or established tech markets.

With such a huge headstart in college grads, why is Boston on par with Austin, Portland and Denver? for grads and income (but with much higher poverty)?

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...rado/PST045222

[bostongymjunkie]

All kinds of confounding factors could be in play here. Weather, housing costs, culture, desirable suburbs, the list goes on and yet you point to liquor licenses. You're the Master of pointing to things that correlate and implying causation without any substantive research. What's clear, though, is your demonstrated and committed support for mass citywide gentrification and continued elimination of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity in the city. You push these policies out of one side of your mouth, while feigning concern for the fact that working and lower class minorities can't afford it here our of the other side. I think you really have no concern for those interests and no concern for true diversity and you demonstrate disdain for those who are different. I think you really want the city to be a playground for privileged globalist "young professionals" like yourself.

[mdovell]

Keep in mind that businesses make market decisions based on the market. Unless you have a product that requires a license (alcohol, weed, tobacco) most likely you can be open as long as you want. Remember 711?

Box stores generally have an advantage of hours vs smaller stores. I worked in box retail and we never put anyone out of business. HOWEVER if you wanted anything beyond 5PM or on a weekend chances are you'd go to us. Smaller stores pretty much meant you had to take a day off or live/work close to shop there.

So likewise why not just ask the Boston Chamber of Commerce as to how many businesses would honestly stay open later and what would validate that. There's no fears here it's just that the volume just isn't there. The only thing I can think of that ran nearly 24/7 and didn't close was movie theaters but then covid hit.

So please tell as all what specifically you would want to see late night hours for? Here's a list of things possible and not possible

Possible

fast food - automate it. heck get automats this shouldn't be that hard or controversial

auto repair - yeah this could get done but is it that earth shattering

overseas sporting events - time zones being a factor this could work for viewing parties. Hong Kong 7's, Aussi football, Premier league etc


impossible

Plays - go ahead and schedule a performance for 1am and see where that gets you

major sporting events - between the league and the players unions impossible

Taking a step back here drinking is very different from what it was in say the 70's.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/...ges-in-the-us/
Crackdown on drunk driving along with a decline of happy hour really hit hard alcohol sales. Rise of microbrews shifted things more towards beer but now you have the trend of hard seltzer etc. then we allowed alcohol sales on sundays and it's the the point where anyone can really get booze any day of the week.

I think the argument for more late night hours might have made more sense before covid. There's even some talking about removing outdoor dining (which is lame).

I dunno maybe it's me but it seems like you are complaining about the fact that most businesses aren't really thinking the way you are. If what you are saying is such a good idea then where the the businesses that want to make it happen?

https://boston.eater.com/maps/best-l...ht-food-boston

The bar shut down, the nightlife and the mbta. If you want a $ Crossant at 2:45am at Bova's Bakery go right ahead no one is stopping you. You want eats, there's eats. Now you want a cluster of places? That's different.

[bostongymjunkie]

It's about alcohol, and it's about alcohol after 0200. There is little stopping IHOP's and other establishments from late night hours in areas that are conducive. We've had many. Many have closed earlier for business reasons. Others have curtailed hours due to community complaints about noise and disruptive behavior. The group who has consistently complained the loudest - pardon the pun - over the last couple decades has been younger professional newcomers in residential city neighborhoods such as North, South and West End and they have often gotten their way. Those who show up to community meetings and are active in political affairs get heard.

[msRB311]

People giving up alcohol seems to be trending. It's just not healthy to stay out until the wee hours of the morning drinking. I'm not saying I've never done it either. Look at what happened to cigarettes. You don't think the same thing could possibly happen with alcohol? there's more info out there now that it causes cancer as well.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by msRB311

People giving up alcohol seems to be trending. It's just not healthy to stay out until the wee hours of the morning drinking. I'm not saying I've never done it either. Look at what happened to cigarettes. You don't think the same thing could possibly happen with alcohol? there's more info out there now that it causes cancer as well.

Well, yeah. In moderate consumption some alcohol can be beneficial but if you are complaining that 0200 is not long enough into the night for you to enjoy yourself, it's probably not moderate use. It's also trending that people are partying more in private places. Either way, I do believe people have a right to do what whatever they want to their bodies, as long as what they are doing isn't negatively impacting others or the community. If the voters see fit to allow late night alcohol sales they would need to identify areas where it wouldn't impact abutters and would also need to determine if we want to devote already taxed public safety resources to deal with the fallout. Those areas conducive to such venues are become scarce and it's not likely right now that Boston has the resources to address fallout. That said, Boston has had many late night eateries and many were squashed due to problems from intoxicated customers and complaints from residents. We've also had after-hours clubs like The Loft in areas that were no-so-residential but again, those areas are scarce.