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Yea, and I think part of it stems from mass suburbanizatiom where there aren’t a bunch of venues and such you can easily get to without driving or finding parking.
Nightlife isn’t just for getting trashed by yourself, though some people certainly do it, but it’s for seeing things, meeting new people, meeting up with friends, or keeping up with what’s going on around you.
It’s understandable that in a nation that’s so car-oriented and suburban home oriented that nightlife doesn’t seem to be of much importance because there’s generally not all that great nightlife that’s easy to get to and from.
Agreed. I also think we suffer a bit from a culture that expects people to become slaves to their children. Yeah, you wanted to live in that townhouse that had amenities within walking distance, but then "where are the kids going to play?" If you are married with children and go out on the town more than once a month, there's this assumption that you're not fully committed to being a parent, and you will incur deep, deep shame as a consequence. You always have to "put the kids first," even if that means living a lifestyle that makes you absolutely miserable.
Nightlife isn’t just for getting trashed by yourself, though some people certainly do it, but it’s for seeing things, meeting new people, meeting up with friends, or keeping up with what’s going on around you.
Exactly. (And I do admit to getting silly every now and then on a night out :P)
One of the many reasons I hated the small town I used to live in was the lack of nightlife. The whole package of it (entertainment options and social opportunities) is what I really enjoy about it, not just the getting sloppy part lol. Now my girlfriend and I are living in a city that has decent nightlife - not major like NYC, New Orleans, etc. of course - but enough to keep us entertained for the time being. Also, we've actually made multiple good friends and have had quite a few fun conversations with random people while out on the town.
I mean I'm almost 40, been in Chicago for 17 years and I still go out multiple times a week to bars. It's a very strong part of my life and I love nightlife and seeing friends and being out in public. I'm a big drinker too and it's a fun thing my friends and I do to go out during the week or on the weekend. I don't do the 5am anymore on the weekends though! Lucky if I'm out much past midnight these days.
It's all personal taste, but to a lot of people access to nightlife that's fun and very walkable is very important. I would have a hard time if I moved somewhere that I couldn't walk to a dozen bars or so within 10-15 minutes from my place. I like variety.
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Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Not necessarily. For some people, "nightlife" changes as they age. You may go from the frequent bender at age 23 to the single mojito on a rooftop at age 33 to a jazz show at age 43. I don't think getting older means you necessarily stop wanting to hit the town after 8PM, especially for older singles or couples without children.
This isn't 1958 where 99% of people over the age of 40 are married, living in the suburbs and raising 3 kids. There are a lot of never-marrieds, empty nesters and divorcees in their 40s and 50s who are looking for nightlife options. They're just not looking for the same options the 20 something crowd is looking for.
I find myself feeling sorry for those people. They never learned to go deeper, or what truly leads to a contented life. It seldom involves the bottom of a glass or a quick in and out.
I find myself feeling sorry for those people. They never learned to go deeper, or what truly leads to a contented life. It seldom involves the bottom of a glass or a quick in and out.
There's a definite balance between the two. You can still go out and not feel like "wow I'm too old for this" and moderate that with "well, maybe I shouldn't be doing this every weekend"
Maybe its just my personality but once I find a good group of people to be around, we can do anything night and day and it will be a good time. Nightlife isn't necessary for that, but at least it would help break the "well what should we do" monotony.
I just question how it differs from city to city. Energy is one of them. Atmosphere might be another.
I'm in my mid 40s, so is my wife. We love living in a large city with countless bars and restaurants within walking distance (or quick cab ride). We go out all the time for dinner with friends and usually hit a bar or lounge afterwards. We also like that we can walk to the movie theater or even live theater and have a drink before or after. We have a massive selection of dive bars, cider bars, cocktail lounges, micro brewers all within walking distance. I couldn't live any other way.
I am still young and I have never been a bar type.I prefer to drink my beer and wine at home cuz its cheap.I dont like going out cuz its costs too much for me.
While I do believe nightlife is slightly overrated on the blogosphere, I also think a decent and diverse scene is a healthy part of life. As others mentioned, there are many varieties of nightlife. On CvC it seems to revolve around bar and club hopping, but that isn't for everyone...
I'm also 29, and where I currently live (Virginia Beach), I think nightlife is one of the more underrated things this area does well. The problem is that I work in a field in which I'm not fully able to take advantage of the nightlife here as consistently as I'd like, as well as me having a young daughter and another on the way, which brings me to Bajan's point:
There is a stigma on parents who are nightlife people. My girlfriend wasn't a nightlife person before she had kids, but her having kids now, she's almost entirely canceled it out. It limits what we can do as a couple and even what I can do by myself...
I was never a club/bar-hopper. From about 20-23 I tried the club and bar scene occasionally. It was cool, but I'm not a drinker or a partier so the experience wasn't fulfilling. Around 23 I realized I was into stuff like indie music events, poetry jams, trying new restaurants, and specialized events like Zombie crawls. All of which can be nightlife events...
I still like to do these things, as well as an occasional bar or lounge visit (>three times a year), but the timing and parenting/couple thing can be difficult to get around. So as it pertains to age, on not sure there is a cutoff age to enjoy nightlife, since nightlife is diverse...
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