Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Part of the reason thread like this are ridiculous is because everyone has their own preferences. The common consensus is:
Austin - if your college aged to mid 20's.
Dallas - if youre gay or mid-20's to 30's.
Houston - if youre not white.
Of the above what I view as the best and what I prefer are two different things. I like Houston because everything is chill. You can show up pretty much anywhere and not have to dress up. You can hear each other at the bar instead of hearing blaring music most places. You can go to a nice place like Public Services downtown in shorts (not gym shorts) and a short sleeve shirt. People are much more welcoming here than the other two. Its not a judgmental scene.
Dallas more of a party hard city than Houston. Its the only place I've ever seen people doing coke out in public at a club. Most of those places are dominated by gay nightlife or electronic music. Then of course you have to get dolled up to go anywhere. That was fun once upon a time, but its not so much city.
Austin focuses on young white liberals and what they enjoy. That's fun, but I'm not young anymore.
That seems to be a pretty fair analysis.
My impression of the Houston nightlife is that it's pretty similar to Dallas (actually lots of bars have locations in both cities) but the Houston bar scene seems to have more men than women and is more diverse.
The bar scene in Houston is a lot less walkable than Dallas or Austin as well. I live in Victory Park, and besides the half dozen bars in a 2 block radius of my apartment, im 5-10 min walk from uptown or downtown a 5 min uber or long walk from deep Ellum or the Southside on Lamar and about a 10 min uber from either Bishop Arts or Lower Greenville.
Visiting Houston I've never gotten the impression there is any central location close to that amount of nightlife. Midtown is kind of like that but is about 10 years behind Uptown as it is still full of parking lots and such (As of last summer)
Part of the reason thread like this are ridiculous is because everyone has their own preferences. The common consensus is:
Austin - if your college aged to mid 20's.
Dallas - if youre gay or mid-20's to 30's.
Houston - if youre not white.
Of the above what I view as the best and what I prefer are two different things. I like Houston because everything is chill. You can show up pretty much anywhere and not have to dress up. You can hear each other at the bar instead of hearing blaring music most places. You can go to a nice place like Public Services downtown in shorts (not gym shorts) and a short sleeve shirt. People are much more welcoming here than the other two. Its not a judgmental scene.
Dallas more of a party hard city than Houston. Its the only place Ive ever seen people doing coke out in public at a club. Most of those places are dominated by gay nightlife or electronic music. Then of course you have to get dolled up to go anywhere. That was fun once upon a time, but its not so much city.
Austin focuses on young white liberals and what they enjoy. Thats fun, but Im not young anymore.
Austin doesn't seem super diverse but it does have a lot of Mexicans
Part of the reason thread like this are ridiculous is because everyone has their own preferences. The common consensus is:
Austin - if your college aged to mid 20's.
Dallas - if youre gay or mid-20's to 30's.
Houston - if youre not white.
Of the above what I view as the best and what I prefer are two different things. I like Houston because everything is chill. You can show up pretty much anywhere and not have to dress up. You can hear each other at the bar instead of hearing blaring music most places. You can go to a nice place like Public Services downtown in shorts (not gym shorts) and a short sleeve shirt. People are much more welcoming here than the other two. Its not a judgmental scene.
Dallas more of a party hard city than Houston. Its the only place Ive ever seen people doing coke out in public at a club. Most of those places are dominated by gay nightlife or electronic music. Then of course you have to get dolled up to go anywhere. That was fun once upon a time, but its not so much city.
Austin focuses on young white liberals and what they enjoy. Thats fun, but Im not young anymore.
There's really no objective measure for "best nightlife" which is why everyone can only answer based on preference or experience.
"Partying hard" is a relative term and something else based off of experience, unless you can actually prove that electronica invites a more raucous experience than hip-hop. Just because Dallas is the only place you've seen people doing lines doesn't mean it doesn't happen in Houston.
There's really no objective measure for "best nightlife" which is why everyone can only answer based on preference or experience.
"Partying hard" is a relative term and something else based off of experience, unless you can actually prove that electronica invites a more raucous experience than hip-hop. Just because Dallas is the only place you've seen people doing lines doesn't mean it doesn't happen in Houston.
I definitely know of a few places in Houston where that was not frowned upon.
There's really no objective measure for "best nightlife" which is why everyone can only answer based on preference or experience.
"Partying hard" is a relative term and something else based off of experience, unless you can actually prove that electronica invites a more raucous experience than hip-hop. Just because Dallas is the only place you've seen people doing lines doesn't mean it doesn't happen in Houston.
Having lived in both Dallas and Houston, those are my observations.
So what is the demographic distribution in the nightlife scenes of Austin, Dallas, and Houston?
Austin = predominately early - mid 20s, college students (UT), hipsters. There's a growing young professional scene, but it's nothing like DC or even Dallas. Austin is mostly a niche city that is beginning to diversify. More clubs have been opening. A lot of live music, but again mostly niche. It's like a more diverse Nashville.
Dallas = Mostly mid 20s - mid 30s, with some college students (SMU). A lot of young professionals, but also more diversified than Austin. Dallas is stereotyped for its upscale nightlife, 30K Millionaires, gold diggers, and open use of coke. However, depends where you go. That tends to be more of an Uptown/Victory Park scene, while Deep Ellum is more chill and eclectic (more stereotypical Austin). Less live music than Austin, but better for EDM and variety in general.
Houston - Somewhat similar to Dallas, but less of a younger feel. Felt a bit older in the age spectrum in general. Houston is also more diversified than Austin and has the best ethnic and AA nightlife in the state. The biggest downside to Houston is the lack of a really concentrated nightlife district. Sure you can find a few small strips here and there, but in general it's not an easy place on foot.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
