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On another note, Philly is in my top 5, possibly top 3.
Im bar/pub oriented. Tough to beat the scale of Chicago, NYC and Philly IMO.
I was more implying that "East" and "West" is not a meaningful distinction when you're looking at places toward the middle of the country like Chicago and New Orleans.
I was more implying that "East" and "West" is not a meaningful distinction when you're looking at places toward the middle of the country like Chicago and New Orleans.
Nightlife in LA can be built up in ones mind if they have never really gone out in the city. What a lot dont know is that LA is not a party all night city. Everything closes at 2 am just like many other places around the US. My favorite spots were never the clubs on Sunset or West LA, but rather in Long Beach and the bars at the Hermosa Beach and Huntington Beach boardwalks.
And worse than that, many clubs outside of Hollywood start to empty out well before 2 am. People used to going out on the east coast need to be prepared to mover their evening up by about 2 hours. Go out 2 hours earlier and go home 2 hours earlier.
And worse than that, many clubs outside of Hollywood start to empty out well before 2 am. People used to going out on the east coast need to be prepared to mover their evening up by about 2 hours. Go out 2 hours earlier and go home 2 hours earlier.
Just don't change your watch when you head West. It's the only thing that keeps me on schedule. Everything in Miami seems to be exactly 3 hours later than it is in California cities. Dinner at 10PM become dinner at 7PM. Going out at Midnight becomes going out at 9PM. Partying until just before dawn becomes last call at 1:30AM.
Easy peasy.....
I was more implying that "East" and "West" is not a meaningful distinction when you're looking at places toward the middle of the country like Chicago and New Orleans.
Once again, its got nothing to do with culture, and everything to do with geography, more specifically, cities direction in relation to the West.
From a West vantage point, Chicago and NO are "back East." West/East split, literal.
Agreed - Boston was by far the most disappointing to me. For such a great, vibrant city during the day, and given the strong Irish heritage, I was expecting a good nightlife. Not the case. So much of the city feels dead past 11 pm and the bar scene just isn't that great.
Nightlife that I found to be surprisingly good was Chicago. I know, Chicago has a reputation for good nightlife, but I found it to be outstanding, surpassing my expectations. Such an awesome range of places and nightlife neighborhoods, and a great foundation of down-home neighborhood bars throughout the city, not to mention dives, cocktail lounges, nightclubs, music venues all in spades. People in Chicago definitely know how to party as well.
I think Atlanta's nightlife is kind of overrated now. It used to be that "Buckhead" was the place to be, but all the bars and clubs either got priced out of the neighborhood or hurt by some of the ordinances passed by the city of Atlanta in the last 10 years, so now the nightlife is very decentralized across the metropolitan area. There are still things to do; you just have to drive a lot farther to do them than before.
As for underrated nightlife, I say Nashville. It has a healthy cluster of restaurants, bars and clubs along Broadway and up the Cumberland River. I've been very bullish on Nashville becoming "the next Austin," so to speak. It's a state capital; it's home to a major university, and music is an integral part of its culture.
Yes, Chinatown in San Francisco was all closed by sunset when I was there, and this was on a Saturday night, no less. I was expecting a lot of nighttime ambiance there, but there was virtually nothing.
That's because Chinatown is the last place to go for nightlife. SF actually has many great, vibrant nightlife neighborhoods, and I believe the 2nd highest number of bars per capita for any city over 500,000.
Agreed - Boston was by far the most disappointing to me. For such a great, vibrant city during the day, and given the strong Irish heritage, I was expecting a good nightlife. Not the case. So much of the city feels dead past 11 pm and the bar scene just isn't that great.
Nightlife that I found to be surprisingly good was Chicago. I know, Chicago has a reputation for good nightlife, but I found it to be outstanding, surpassing my expectations. Such an awesome range of places and nightlife neighborhoods, and a great foundation of down-home neighborhood bars throughout the city, not to mention dives, cocktail lounges, nightclubs, music venues all in spades. People in Chicago definitely know how to party as well.
Boston really is kinda tame IMO in comparison with NYC, Chicago and Philly.
SF is alright, but I was really disappointed in it both times I went last year. Just seemed to shut down early and not much going on, at least crazy stuff.
Boston is more or less kinda fratboyish to me.
NYC is the city with the most 24/7 energy and options obviously, but in my experiences, it can get pretty crazy and pretty tame some nights. Even though bars are all night, ive only seen it utilized by most patrons a handful of times. Most people by 3am are going back home. Its not like this widespread kind of 24/7 craziness youd expect.
Chicago just has a drinking and party culture rooted in it. I had spent much more time in NYC and Philly before having a night out in Chicago and I was blown away by it.
Philly also has a great drinking culture, although on a lesser scale than both.
NYC, Chicago and Philly IMO are the three best bar cities in the country. Milwaukee obviously, but im talking top 10 cities in population.
Buffalo isnt bad either. Last call is til 4am. Same with Albany.
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