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I love Minneapolis (and St. Paul) but there's no shortage of druggies and alkies up here. My first roommates here included drug addicts (including someone who denied being a heroin junkie... what a mess) and alcoholics. I also did work at liquor stores so I was more exposed to those side of the tracks. Saw lots of good lives ruined by addiction.
First of all, nobody is making a sober person drink in the same way that nobody is making someone order either the meat or the vegan option on a menu.
That said, I get that a sober person wants to live somewhere that doesn't require being around drinking in order to have a life. To that end, I'd probably take personal inventory of the things that I like to do and base my decision on where to live around those activities. These could include nature things like boating, skiing, hiking, running, or cultural things like performing arts, creative arts, etc., or humanitarian things like volunteering for soup kitchens, habitat for humanity, etc., or environmental things like beach clean ups, adopt a highway, etc. One might also want to look into how many things are supported by the city and county, how much infrastructure there is for hobbies, and community programs that are offered by local universities, etc.
OP should retitle this to 'which US city has the best secular AA groups'.
People who don't drink, or can control how much they drink, can live a sober lifestyle anywhere, even at South Padre in March. Those who kept talking about it likely needs a good community of people dealing with similar struggles. Dallas I heard has in general a better freethinker community than Houston, but I don't know this for fact.
OP should retitle this to 'which US city has the best secular AA groups'.
People who don't drink, or can control how much they drink, can live a sober lifestyle anywhere, even at South Padre in March. Those who kept talking about it likely needs a good community of people dealing with similar struggles. Dallas I heard has in general a better freethinker community than Houston, but I don't know this for fact.
Disagreed. Not only is Dallas more evangelical than Houston, it’s also seemingly more likely to be judge mental on that while while Houston seems to be more “mind your business” when it comes to religious ideologies. Obviously, neither is San Francisco where it’s the opposite (religion being viewed negatively)
In all honesty, anyone who’s a “gen z or younger millennial” shouldn’t have a problem being openly atheist or agnostic in any major metro.
Somewhere you can be outdoors year round in comfort doing healthy activities, with a culture that embraces a healthy lifestyle. Cabin fever, whether from the heat or cold, leads to boredom. Boredom leads to drinking. San Diego, Los Angeles, The Bay Area, and Honolulu, would be my choices.
Back in the 1980s, Orange County, California and Auglaize County, Ohio had the highest alcohol consumption per capita in the USA.
I’m a huge fan of NA beers, and it’s amazing how far they’ve come since Near Beer, but NA breweries (and their products) are irrelevant in this discussion.
I’ll check out Athletic Brewing on your recommendation. I’ve seen it in the NA section in BevMo, but I’ve always stuck to brands I know. Golden Road’s Mango Cart Hefe is a great NA. And on the swilling side so is PBR’s. I like to mix in NA while drinking booze for the beer taste, but not to get hammered going double fisted.
I guess the relevance depends on what meets somebody's definition of sober and what might help somebody with that lifestyle. Personally, I find access to quality NA beer to be very helpful. Being near the brewery is amazing - you get all the pilot beers. Also, a lot of restaurants and bars here carry good NA brews. FWIW - I haven't had a drink in 12 years.
In terms of 12 step, most major metros in the Northeast will have secular groups, but milage will always vary from group to group. I had a GF in Boston AA and the meetings in Cambridge and Somerville were secular. Meetings in West Roxbury were practically Oxford Group meetings. I mostly went to NA to avoid the Big Book thumpers and more heavily Christian-influenced literature.
The advantage of being in city or more populated area is simply more meetings and more variety of meetings. When I lived in Missouri, it was terrible. You would go into a clubhouse and there would be a picture of White Jesus on the wall. Traditions? Nah, optional. Still, anywhere in the bible belt will run thumper-heavy. Meetings in central Florida were like evangelical prayer meetings. Ugg.
First of all, nobody is making a sober person drink in the same way that nobody is making someone order either the meat or the vegan option on a menu.
That said, I get that a sober person wants to live somewhere that doesn't require being around drinking in order to have a life. To that end, I'd probably take personal inventory of the things that I like to do and base my decision on where to live around those activities. These could include nature things like boating, skiing, hiking, running, or cultural things like performing arts, creative arts, etc., or humanitarian things like volunteering for soup kitchens, habitat for humanity, etc., or environmental things like beach clean ups, adopt a highway, etc. One might also want to look into how many things are supported by the city and county, how much infrastructure there is for hobbies, and community programs that are offered by local universities, etc.
I think this is good advice in general, whether the issue is alcoholism or anything else. Run toward what you like instead of running away from what you don't. And because you can find drugs and alcohol everywhere--you can't avoid them--it makes sense to see what else in one's life is satisfying and aim to get that.
And yes, there are AA meetings, certainly in or near sizable cities, for agnostics and atheists that OP can attend. From what I understand, a "higher power" does not have to be in any way a traditional God. You can choose and use your own "God". The idea is that you can't count only on yourself to maintain sobriety. If you could, you wouldn't have a problem in the first place. You need something bigger.
Disagreed. Not only is Dallas more evangelical than Houston, it’s also seemingly more likely to be judge mental on that while while Houston seems to be more “mind your business” when it comes to religious ideologies. Obviously, neither is San Francisco where it’s the opposite (religion being viewed negatively)
In all honesty, anyone who’s a “gen z or younger millennial” shouldn’t have a problem being openly atheist or agnostic in any major metro.
I was speaking mostly to agnostic/atheist organizations. I was engaged in those a while back, and it seems like Dallas has a larger and more active community. Might be because of the heavier evangelical presence.
Since OP probably needs a tightly knit community of secular sober people the dynamic of the city at large should matter less.
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