>I find the whole US experience quite odd. Among everyone I knew up until my mid-late 20s (before I went abroad), the only viable options for nighttime fun were clubs and bars. Period.
Did you grow up in a big city? I grew up in the surburbs, went to school in a college town, and then lived in Chicago until I was 28. In all of those places, it was common to have house parties, backyard parties, and apartment parties.
When I moved to Washington, DC, I've noticed that those sorts of parties are less common because very few people have more than 500-600 sq ft apartments. I expect it's the same in NY and SF.
The public drinking thing is a cultural issue. English influenced cultures have a bizarre drinking culture. It's viewed somewhat shamefully, but it's also ubiquitous. The drinking culture is centered around binge drinking.
Drinking in public isn't allowed because we don't handle it well.
> Drinking in public isn't allowed because we don't handle it well.
Maybe it's not handled well, because it isn't allowed... which increases the excitement of course. Perhaps if you were sipping the stuff from late childhood like in Germany or Italy for example, it wouldn't be nearly as big a deal.
No, not in a big city. I was also in the suburbs, all around the SF Bay, just not in SF proper (though I have friends there and I'd go there on weekends). When I was in San Diego, the only place I felt a real college atmophere, house/apt parties were pretty normal though on par with bar+club activities.
Did you grow up in a big city? I grew up in the surburbs, went to school in a college town, and then lived in Chicago until I was 28. In all of those places, it was common to have house parties, backyard parties, and apartment parties.
When I moved to Washington, DC, I've noticed that those sorts of parties are less common because very few people have more than 500-600 sq ft apartments. I expect it's the same in NY and SF.
The public drinking thing is a cultural issue. English influenced cultures have a bizarre drinking culture. It's viewed somewhat shamefully, but it's also ubiquitous. The drinking culture is centered around binge drinking.
Drinking in public isn't allowed because we don't handle it well.