Better nightlife: Boston vs Washington DC (living, state, place, moving)

[Oistrakh12]

Which city do you feel offers the superior nightlife and why? Which is better for nightclubs and which is better for bar hopping?

[GeoffD]

I’d say Boston has the worst nightlife of any major US city. No happy hour. Things close early, particularly midweek. The T doesn’t run late. It’s expensive and most college students can’t afford the prices. It was a totally different place in the 70s/early 80s when the drinking age was 18 and prices hadn’t soared. The music scene was better. The club scene was better.

[cdw1084]

DC by far.

[Fly Dragon]

Washington DC, and it's NOT JUST the political landscape!

[ccm123]

I’d say Washington DC.

[masssachoicetts]

Hands down, DC

Bostons nightlife scene is absolutely horrible. No drink specials. No happy hours. No decent clubs. No cool spots. And to boot, terrible beers at sub par venues and pubs go for $8-10.

Boston is not the place for good nightlife

[MrDee12345]

Originally Posted by masssachoicetts

Hands down, DC

Bostons nightlife scene is absolutely horrible. No drink specials. No happy hours. No decent clubs. No cool spots. And to boot, terrible beers at sub par venues and pubs go for $8-10.

Boston is not the place for good nightlife

I can't make a case one way or the other because I haven't been to DC in years and when I was there I didn't really go out to bars.

Boston gets a bad rap for nightlife and some of it is certainly earned, but it's not that bad. I certainly enjoyed my time living in Cambridge and going out in either Boston, Cambridge or Somerville. Not having a happy hour kind of sucked, but we made do. And the one thing noticed moving from Boston to NYC (then eventually abroad) was how much GOOD beer you could get in Boston. Even in dives, you can still find a good variety of domestic mass produced beers as well as local beers. When I was in Queens, it was rare to find microbrews in corner bars. I'll take Boston beer selections over just about anywhere I've lived.

[Vincent_Adultman]

DC’s nightlife isn’t that great, but it’s still a lot more exciting and interesting than Boston’s.

I’d take Philly or SF nightlife over both.

[Vincent_Adultman]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

I’d say Boston has the worst nightlife of any major US city.

San Jose is probably worse - that may be about it though.

[OyCrumbler]

Does Boston-area nightlife better? Like, do Cambridge and Somerville have good nightlife or is it county / state level restrictions that make nightlife bad in Boston and surrounding municipalities as well?