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The Vancouver nightlife problem is that UBC is way away from the high density part of the city and the subway won’t get there in my life since the first piece of that line is still in the planning stages. With the astronomical cost of housing, 20-somethings can’t live in the city and the whole HongCouver and big Indian population doesn’t make for a vibrant bar scene. Boston closes early so if you have the NYC frame of reference where your club crawl runs until 4am, Boston feels very provincial.
I’m older. I don’t care about bars and clubs. I’ve had Boston Symphony season subscriptions. I’ve been to lots of Sox, Bruins, and Celtics games. I’ve seen lots of Boston Ballet and off Broadway theater. My sister has lived in Vancouver since the late-1980s. The spectator sports scene is obviously more limited. I’m usually there at Christmas and there are plenty of Christmas-oriented arts things. The dining scene in Vancouver is way better than Boston. For the kinds of things I do in a city, Boston is better for spectator sports and Vancouver is better for everything else.
Not all young people go to UBC. Those that do, and want to party downtown still do. The bus ride is only 30 minutes or so, and there are night buses that they can take. The first part of the Skytrain extension is already under construction, albeit only to Arbutus, but will be finished in 2025. The UBC extension, if all goes well, well be completed by 2030. Hopefully that is within you lifetime?
If you go to Granville street where a majority of the dance clubs are, you will find that those young people come from further afield than UBC.
Your comment about Indians and people from Hong Kong is way off the mark. Trust me, they party.
Students usually aren't buying property in Vancouver, they rent. Rents are manageable if you get a roommate.
My take on clubbing in Vancouver. When I was a clubber, there was no shortage of clubs with the best ones being after hours. Dancing until 7am. Some legal, some not
Today I'm no longer in that scene, but do hear people complain that a lot of younger people don't club like we used to. Apps didn't help apparently.
Was Vancouver ever a NYC, LA, London or Amsterdam? No, but in a way that may have saved me LOL
Boston punches below its weight when it comes to nightlife, but Vancouver is even worse. Both cities are good enough for a 40 plus-year-old with a family-like myself, but when I was younger I would much rather have Boston's nightlife at my disposal than Vancouver.
My experience is that both are great, world-class cities with pretty bad nightlife.
Vancouver is very club/lounge-oriented and yet most of the clubs tend to be one-dimensional and kind of suck. The Roxy isn't bad if you're in your early 20s I guess, but for the most part it's just a lame scene. Granville feels like a wanna-be LA scene and Gastown is overpriced generic British and Irish pubs and restaurant bars. The neighborhood bar scene is very sparse. One positive is if you're a straight male there are lot of very beautiful women in Vancouver.
My experience in Boston is that for a city of its size and its formidable urbanity there just isn't as much quantity or variety of nightlife as you would hope. I was expecting it be similar to San Francisco or Philly in terms of nightlife and it just isn't. Places like Faneuil Hall and the Seaport are just as lame as Granville and Gastown. Boston probably has a little more to offer than Vancouver overall but it's in the same disappointing tier.
My experience is that both are great, world-class cities with pretty bad nightlife.
Vancouver is very club/lounge-oriented and yet most of the clubs tend to be one-dimensional and kind of suck. The Roxy isn't bad if you're in your early 20s I guess, but for the most part it's just a lame scene. Granville feels like a wanna-be LA scene and Gastown is overpriced generic British and Irish pubs and restaurant bars. The neighborhood bar scene is very sparse. One positive is if you're a straight male there are lot of very beautiful women in Vancouver.
My experience in Boston is that for a city of its size and its formidable urbanity there just isn't as much quantity or variety of nightlife as you would hope. I was expecting it be similar to San Francisco or Philly in terms of nightlife and it just isn't. Places like Faneuil Hall and the Seaport are just as lame as Granville and Gastown. Boston probably has a little more to offer than Vancouver overall but it's in the same disappointing tier.
Granted, seaport is rather new and most of its amenities have not opened yet. It needs a bit mire time there. Hopefully they can pull something out.
My experience is that both are great, world-class cities with pretty bad nightlife.
Vancouver is very club/lounge-oriented and yet most of the clubs tend to be one-dimensional and kind of suck. The Roxy isn't bad if you're in your early 20s I guess, but for the most part it's just a lame scene. Granville feels like a wanna-be LA scene and Gastown is overpriced generic British and Irish pubs and restaurant bars. The neighborhood bar scene is very sparse. One positive is if you're a straight male there are lot of very beautiful women in Vancouver.
My experience in Boston is that for a city of its size and its formidable urbanity there just isn't as much quantity or variety of nightlife as you would hope. I was expecting it be similar to San Francisco or Philly in terms of nightlife and it just isn't. Places like Faneuil Hall and the Seaport are just as lame as Granville and Gastown. Boston probably has a little more to offer than Vancouver overall but it's in the same disappointing tier.
I think this is very fair. Faneuil is just a bunch of old bars with loaded college kids. You can definitely have fun in Fenway and the West End, but are really centers for large sports bars with basement dancing. Seaport is boujee high end restaurants, rooftops, and lounges, perfect for the guy who wants to wear a blazer out on a Friday night. I've had a lot of fun in Seaport, but I'm also not looking for clubs. Southie splits the difference, but really only has 10 popular bars that all mirror one another.. Lines out the door, like clockwork. Allston has seen a ton of turnover, but was always the area of the city to go see live music and drink cheap. Super grungy, cheap food and beer, and an eclectic mix of spots.
But, to be fair to Boston, the options in Cambridge and Somerville are at your fingertips. You're adding another 100 bars, several clubs, outdoor patios, breweries, and probably an additional 10 music venues broken out into pockets. That's something you're just not going to find in Vancouver.
It’s incredible how I’m the only one here who does nightlife in Boston in the Theatre district/Chinatown/Downtown crossing.
As said previously- the absolute last place you’d ever find me on a Friday night is Seaport or Faneuil Hall (I didn’t even know they had nightlife). As for the west end I used to go to a bar there for 10 cent wings by the Bowdoin T stop but that’s it. If you’re judging Boston nightlife off of that I straight up don’t think that’s fair, or accurate.
It’s incredible how I’m the only one here who does nightlife in Boston in the Theatre district/Chinatown/Downtown crossing.
As said previously- the absolute last place you’d ever find me on a Friday night is Seaport or Faneuil Hall (I didn’t even know they had nightlife). As for the west end I used to go to a bar there for 10 cent wings by the Bowdoin T stop but that’s it. If you’re judging Boston nightlife off of that I straight up don’t think that’s fair, or accurate.
When I first moved to Boston I lived in Chinatown and almost always went out in the area. Places like Good Life, Caprice, etc..were the spots we hit. In addition to going out in Providence, Mattapan (Kay's), Dorchester (Unity), and some spots in Lynn. Also, have to include Cambridge and places like Enormous Room, Western Front, and Middlesex.
Some of these places are gone now, but I don't really go out the way I used to.
It’s incredible how I’m the only one here who does nightlife in Boston in the Theatre district/Chinatown/Downtown crossing.
As said previously- the absolute last place you’d ever find me on a Friday night is Seaport or Faneuil Hall (I didn’t even know they had nightlife). As for the west end I used to go to a bar there for 10 cent wings by the Bowdoin T stop but that’s it. If you’re judging Boston nightlife off of that I straight up don’t think that’s fair, or accurate.
No we spent plenty of night in Chinatown/DTX for sure. I don't even remember the names of the clubs in the mid 2000s, but there were plenty. All packed, table service booked. I know it's still the same old, same old.
I'm the first to dog Boston for nightlife.. Not enough dense pockets of diverse nightlife downtown or in the neighborhoods, bars close at 2 am. I compare it to Old Town in Chicago, where within three blocks you have a three story bar with a retractable roof, next to an old school speakeasy that plays hip hop until 3 am, next to several bars with beer gardens, next to two comedy clubs, next to a BBQ bar that plays country, down the street from a few clubs and lounges. Nowhere in Boston is nightlife as compact and diverse.
But, the fact that people in Boston are arguing where the nightlife lives and where they go, tells me there's plenty of nightlife to be had. It's not like you're going to go out in Boston and have a bad night.. You just aren't going out and skipping around from bar to club, club to bar in one area like you can in a city like Chicago.
As for Seaport- Yeah, there's nightlife, just might not be your thing. Rooftops are always packed out.. Lookout, Deck 12, Scorpion Bar, and Legal Harborside (which sounds weird, but it's the best one). Suite Lounge is a **** show until close. Drink is the best cocktail bar in New England. City Tap has a good indoor/outdoor scene. Committee always get's the high brow spillover from the rooftops, always packed until close. Empire is interchangeable with Committee. If there's a line at one, then the other is the play. Coppersmith, which is the only notable bar that splits Seaport/Fort Point and Southie, is always crowded. So, yeah, there's plenty going on in Seaport without even mentioning Trillium and the beer gardens. But if clubs are your choice for nightlife, Seaport's not it.
My experience is that both are great, world-class cities with pretty bad nightlife.
Vancouver is very club/lounge-oriented and yet most of the clubs tend to be one-dimensional and kind of suck. The Roxy isn't bad if you're in your early 20s I guess, but for the most part it's just a lame scene. Granville feels like a wanna-be LA scene and Gastown is overpriced generic British and Irish pubs and restaurant bars. The neighborhood bar scene is very sparse. One positive is if you're a straight male there are lot of very beautiful women in Vancouver.
My experience in Boston is that for a city of its size and its formidable urbanity there just isn't as much quantity or variety of nightlife as you would hope. I was expecting it be similar to San Francisco or Philly in terms of nightlife and it just isn't. Places like Faneuil Hall and the Seaport are just as lame as Granville and Gastown. Boston probably has a little more to offer than Vancouver overall but it's in the same disappointing tier.
I can't really disagree with any of this. We can quibble about the term "world-class" (Personally I find Boston closer to world-class than Vancouver, but that's just my opinion)
I have spent a lot of time in Vancouver as I have family in the area and have been visiting since I was 12 years old.
It's a nice city and gorgeous setting, almost a postcard, but it leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to culture and diversity that spans the entire globe rather than a focus on certain regions. It leaves a person of colour from the West Indies like myself and my family living there feeling limited when it comes to accessing certain amenities that are important to us. This is not a feeling I get in Boston where those types of amenities are plentiful.
When I first moved to Boston I lived in Chinatown and almost always went out in the area. Places like Good Life, Caprice, etc..were the spots we hit. In addition to going out in Providence, Mattapan (Kay's), Dorchester (Unity), and some spots in Lynn. Also, have to include Cambridge and places like Enormous Room, Western Front, and Middlesex.
Some of these places are gone now, but I don't really go out the way I used to.
Exactly. Some new ones have opened since then (La Fabricia Icon, Inner Sanctum, District 7 Tavern, Guira y Tambora, TopMix). Some have closed (Caprice). People's narrow view of Boston's offering (a few centralized areas) is their own fault IMO. Folks box themselves in too much. I know some places in Quincy as well-to add to your list. Allston isn't bad either-although it was mentioned. The synergy and a sheer number of options does lack.
Providence is a real option for many folks but that's definitely not Boston.
I will say compared to DC I find the Boston nightclub crowd to be a bit rowdier/too pugnacious. This seems to keep people away (just a little) and gives the city reason/impetus to conduct frequent "crackdowns".
No we spent plenty of night in Chinatown/DTX for sure. I don't even remember the names of the clubs in the mid-2000s, but there were plenty. All packed, table service booked. I know it's still the same old, same old.
I'm the first to dog Boston for nightlife.. Not enough dense pockets of diverse nightlife downtown or in the neighborhoods, bars close at 2 am. I compare it to Old Town in Chicago, where within three blocks you have a three story bar with a retractable roof, next to an old school speakeasy that plays hip hop until 3 am, next to several bars with beer gardens, next to two comedy clubs, next to a BBQ bar that plays country, down the street from a few clubs and lounges. Nowhere in Boston is nightlife as compact and diverse.
But, the fact that people in Boston are arguing where the nightlife lives and where they go, tells me there's plenty of nightlife to be had. It's not like you're going to go out in Boston and have a bad night.. You just aren't going out and skipping around from bar to club, club to bar in one area like you can in a city like Chicago.
As for Seaport- Yeah, there's nightlife, just might not be your thing. Rooftops are always packed out.. Lookout, Deck 12, Scorpion Bar, and Legal Harborside (which sounds weird, but it's the best one). Suite Lounge is a **** show until close. Drink is the best cocktail bar in New England. City Tap has a good indoor/outdoor scene. Committee always get's the high brow spillover from the rooftops, always packed until close. Empire is interchangeable with Committee. If there's a line at one, then the other is the play. Coppersmith, which is the only notable bar that splits Seaport/Fort Point and Southie, is always crowded. So, yeah, there's plenty going on in Seaport without even mentioning Trillium and the beer gardens. But if clubs are your choice for nightlife, Seaport's not it.
I very much agree. Very much. Boston nightlife lacks that synergy, hours, and cohesion that make things special and makes options/possibilities feel limitless and tantalizing. But still, when I go out I have a great time because I know exactly where I'm going to go and what my 2 back-up options are. And where I'm gonna get my late-night food (Mass Ave McDs, Hen House-now closed, NY Pizza or Moon Villa)
I agree the Seaport isn't my scene but I've been apart of that scene very much in the past-its just not very good-legitimately. The Seaport? like... it's bad. The venues aren't that interesting or visually stimulating from what I saw and have seen online and the variety is virtually non-existent. I feel like people are in the Seaport trying to have a good time or just happy to be with friends. The venues themselves I think lack for everyone. More lines (as your post alludes to) than anything. It has too much of a contrived feel. Needs more time to mature.
I can't imagine going to the West End for nightlife. I do know of some more upscale places in the North End near Fanuiel Hall but they wouldn't be my go tos aside from 222 Friend St.
Compared to the young/prep/money crowd and what I saw in Dallas (during a pandemic!) it was just night and day in terms of energy. Dallas blew it out of the water.
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