What time is the usual nightlife?
Posted by goodamm@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 68 comments
What time do people go out to the bars and what not? Is it like 9 pm till 1 am or like midnight till 5 am? Also what time are bars open till?
ThingFuture9079@reddit
In a small town, there is no nightlife. The only thing open between 11PM - 6AM is a gas station and there is a local bar that closes at 2AM. Walmart used to be 24/7 until COVID and are now open 6AM - 11PM.
CorneliusSoctifo@reddit
For me 315pm-5pm
FeralGiraffeAttack@reddit
Here’s a map of last call for alcohol times. It varies by state from 11:45pm until 4am
IBelongHere@reddit
Illinois is wrong, there’s 5am bars all over Chicago. Used to close those out and get breakfast back in the day
grapedonkey@reddit
There are/were some in unincorporated Cook County.
MrOxxxxx@reddit
1am in some states?! Now wonder binge drinking is such a problem. You gotta get drunk fast.
Figgler@reddit
The town in Texas I went to high school in was a dry county that went wet around 2009 and when I went back to visit a few years after graduation I went to a bar because I was interested to see how the culture would change. Last call was at 11pm, I had only just gotten there and got a beer 15 minutes prior.
RemotePossibility399@reddit
Except Louisiana, where there is no last call.
pixienightingale@reddit
And where there are drive through margarita shacks!
ThrowawayMod1989@reddit
No last call but bars there typically do close for a couple hours. I genuinely believe I got the first drink on bourbon street one morning at about 5am.
cyvaquero@reddit
Even in other states, last call can be kind of deceptive. While not near as prevalent today because so much manufacturing has left but in PA, even with it’s more restrictive blue laws, had a 2:00am shutoff and a 2:30 clear out which meant they may not be lights out until 3:00-3:30. I knew a few that used to open right back up at 6:00am for those on third shift getting off work.
byebybuy@reddit
There's a bar in my town that opens every morning at 6am. Not even a very big town. I think it's insane.
uhbkodazbg@reddit
My first job was waiting tables in a diner. Steak, eggs, and beer was a popular 6:30 AM order for third shift workers at a nearby factory.
Dio_Yuji@reddit
It’s really only a few bars in New Orleans that stay open all the time. Well…casinos too. Lol
Bear_necessities96@reddit
God bless Louisiana and it’s catholic roots
LifeApprehensive2818@reddit
Not what you meant, but I now have a firm mental image of carrots wearing crucifixes.
SenseNo635@reddit
It says Alaska is 5am
eyetracker@reddit
WTF is that color scheme
Ok-Equivalent-5131@reddit
This map isn’t accurate. Says Florida is 12 but last call is usually 2. And in Miami plenty of places will be open all night.
Unsolven@reddit
It varies largely by locality, this is just a map of the average. In New Jersey it varied by county. Where I lived bars closed at 2am, but in Passaic county they were open until 3am so it wasn’t unusual to head over there when my local bar was closing. Also this map has Florida down as midnight which IME isn’t the case anywhere.
cardinalmidnight@reddit
Florida is 2 in most places, 3 in tampa, 5 in miami beach, miami proper has 24 hour areas. That's the ones I know.
Unsolven@reddit
I can speak from experience in Miami, Fort Myers/Naples/Cape Coral area, Tampa/ St Pete and Daytona and Jacksonville area that’s it’s definitely after midnight or a lot of bar tenders and servers have broken laws for me.
Cant-think-of-a-nam@reddit
Here in nj. Id say nightlife starts like after dinner time so 8pm til 2am when most bars close
Meilingcrusader@reddit
In my experience, maybe 8 or 9 or so and then you head home around midnight. Then again I don't go out much so who knows.
DrWooolyNipples@reddit
9pm-2am is legal and common. There’s places open from 9pm-6am but you have to know someone
cmiller4642@reddit
When I was younger it was typically
7pm-10pm is dinner and drinks at a place like a sports bar or something
10pm-2am was the clurb
Pernicious_Possum@reddit
Depends on the state and city. Bars where I live close at three. When I was going out, we’d hit the bars after work (around 11) and usually close them down
Cinisajoy2@reddit
I think your question may vary by the demographic. Are there more blue collar or white collar workers? Are you talking night clubs, private clubs or neighborhood bars? Do they cater to a certain ethnic group?
Oh and funny thing has happened in the last 25 years or so. Many bars in my area closed. One bar that had dancers is now a game room, another bar is just a run down empty building, a third one is a barber shop, one is a clothes store and the big one that had 5 bars is now of all things a church.
Cinisajoy2@reddit
Not so much anymore but I know people that used to go to the bars right after work and stay until closing. Some bars (clubs) even allowed kids in.
In some towns, the women took shifts getting drinks bought for them. Depending on whether their husbands worked morning or evening tower. 7am to 3pm and 3pm to 11pm. Husbands go to work, wives would go to the bar.
Cinisajoy2@reddit
In Texas except on Sundays, bars can open as early as 7am and close at either midnight or 2am. For the midnight bars, they can stay open until 1am on Saturday.
riarws@reddit
In my area, it varies by day of the week. Friday and Saturday nights are usually 1 am but other nights are 10 or 11. I don’t know if that’s a law or just a business decision.
Also there are some places that convert from family restaurants to 21-and-over bars around 8 or 9 pm every night.
gagirlpnw@reddit
It varies by state. Where I live, most close by 11:30/12am.
thats-gold-jerry@reddit
New York is out until 4am or later
RickyRagnarok@reddit
The bar I work at is often a ghost town until 11-1130pm and then 40 people walk in the door and drink until I kick them out at 145am.
shammy_dammy@reddit
In Wisconsin, it's 2:30 am on weekends (that aren't on New Year's and aren't affected by daylight savings time change)
Sensitive-Chemical83@reddit
Bars close between 1-3am most at 2am.
"Going out time" varies. As a young man I wouldn't go out to the bar till 10pm, but I'd pregame at home with some friends starting at like 7-8.
Older now and I rarely close out bars (mostly because the last train home is at 11pm) but if I'm going out I'll usually start at 5-6pm.
kshucker@reddit
I used to DJ at bars about 15 years ago. The hours were always 10pm to 2am. Bars closed at 2am due to state laws. Midnight was as busy as it got. Sometimes it would stay busy until 2am and sometimes it would taper down the closer it got to 2am. There really was no rhyme or reason to it.
Nowadays I Uber as a side hustle when I’m bored. I picked up a guy who was going to a bar around 4pm. We got to talking and he was a bartender at the bar. I asked him how the nightlife scene is since COVID and he said it’s completely different. He said he’d be lucky to have a handful of people at 10pm and there are nights where he considered closing the bar down around midnight because there were so few people.
meltingintoice@reddit
This is the most complete answer to OP's question -- most of the other top responses are focused only on bar closing time.
Of course the answer varies widely by location, but in most US cities big enough to have several dance clubs/discos, it's rare for them to start filling before about 10 p.m. and its typical for people to continue to arrive until about midnight. They start to empty out at last call or around 2 a.m., whichever is earlier.
EuphoricGoose4735@reddit
10 pm - 2 am. WithAfter Hours spots usually being from 2 am - 4 am.
Appropriate-Food1757@reddit
I’d say 10pm - 2am is standard most Places.
Particular_Bet_5466@reddit
Yeah, I have lived in other states and that seems pretty standard to me.
let-it-rain-sunshine@reddit
Some people go out to happy hours for discounted drinks and food, 5-7pm typically. Nightlife kicks in around 9-10pm to 2am
MsPennyP@reddit
Depends on town culture too. Some places are more of a "brunch" culture. My town (small city ~100k population) is a good example. Lots of brunch places, but the few bars we have will close 10pm weekdays and 12pm Friday and Saturday.
Atlas7993@reddit
There's not really a set time. You might see regulars show up during happy hour (5-7pm), but a lot of people bar crawl, so there's a constant flow of people coming and going.
seancbo@reddit
10pm to 3am is pretty typical.
In most regions you have to stop serving alcohol at 2am, so it peters out after that and people who want to keep going go to house parties.
sashby138@reddit
When I was younger I’d go out around 9pm and be out until 4am but we’d be at a friend’s house for some of that time (sometimes). It’s been so long since I’ve been to a bar that I have no idea what time they close.
HotButteredPoptart@reddit
I don't know man. I'm in bed at 8.
Patient-Ad-7939@reddit
I don’t know, I ain’t leaving my house after 7 or 8pm
malibuklw@reddit
Where I grew up, bars closed at 4. If you went out at ten it was still pretty empty.
Bear_necessities96@reddit
Something I love about NYC is that you leave home at midnight and you don’t know what time you get back there’s always an after
Bear_necessities96@reddit
In my city (because usually each county have different closing times) people usually go out at 10p-12a and leaves at 1-2:30am usually last call is at 2:30 and you got kick out at 2:45a.
Now mind you these days due the cost of drinking people either pre game at home or get something else 💊…
After parties are not uncommon but not very popular usually have high covers and they are dry aka not alcohol.
little_runner_boy@reddit
It depends on state and/or city. Chicago is lively until 2am, some bars stay open until 4am. Boston starts slowing down before midnight
icebox_Lew@reddit
Used to be we wouldn't start getting ready until 10pm, then be out by 11. Bars shut at 2 so back to someone's for afters, or somewhere for a late night eat.
Now I'm in bed by 9 most nights!
GSilky@reddit
Depends on where you live. I love visiting NYC for the 24 hour scene, as my city is closed at 2a, and that is downtown, out on the perimeter everyone, even bars, shut down around 10p since COVID.
cool_weed_dad@reddit
Pregame for a few hours before hitting the bars at 10:00pm and drink til they close at 2:00am, then go to someone’s place to keep the party going.
tsukiii@reddit
Yeah, in my party years we’d be out 10pm - 2 am
1PumpkinKiing@reddit
I usually don't go anywhere until 9 or 10, unless it's like a BBQ or potluck type of thing.
I personally am disappointed if the party is over before sunrise, and I usually wanna keep partying past sunrise.
I'm not a big fan of bars, it's much less expensive, and more fun to do house parties and bonfires. Bonfires are best.
Bars here close at 2am, but last call is usually around 1:30am, but I've usually already found something more fun to do well before that point in the night, on the very rare occasions when I do go to a bar.
Also, when u go to a bar it's usually for a karaoke night, cuz then a bar can actually be a decent amount of fun
Pulp501@reddit
In my mind its 2 to 6 am, in reality its 10-1
Nickvv52@reddit
My "crew" and I would show up about 11 or 11:30 and leave at close, which was typically 2am or 2:30 am, then hit waffle house or whataburger after. I said "crew" cause it was usually just me and my one gay friend or just me and my best hag. We only went to the after hours place once.
BigDamBeavers@reddit
Our bars usually open around 5p and close at 2a. But nightlife can be very different in different parts of the country. Some towns have bars that close as early as 9p. Others have after parties that go well into the next day. Back when I was going clubbing I'd get in the doors around 7p and head home around 4a.
5hallowbutdeep@reddit
Depends on where you are at
ImplicitEmpiricism@reddit
Varies immensely. In new orleans, bars close when the bartender passes out.
ScarletDarkstar@reddit
Heading out depends on the individual, last call ia 2 a.m. where I am, and they're kicking you out by 3.
WiseQuarter3250@reddit
First there's happy hour, while it varies by location, it's usually somewhere in the 4pm-7pm time frame. Intended to encourage drink sales on weeknights when fewer folks tend to go out, it's designed to capitalize on your college adults who are done with classes for the day, or adults who have worked a regular job (the stereotypical 9am-5pm). This tends to be more casual, and laid back.
Alcohol sales at a bar may have different local laws. In some areas there are old morality laws where alcohol can't be served at a certain time, and that will impact when things close. But generally speaking, in urban areas bars close usually between midnight and 2am (typically later on weekends, and earlier weeknights). In more suburban or rural areas the hours will probably be less, closing up between 10am and midnight.
Smart_Engine_3331@reddit
Bars close at 2 am where I live so it's usually around 10 to 2 but it can vary.
mar_de_mariposas@reddit
Most events close at 1-2 am sometimes 12am. Some large cities (NYC, Miami) can go until past five, otherwise 4am is the very latest anywhere will go.
Gator222222@reddit
Bar at 11. after parties till whenever.
Ace_of_Sevens@reddit
Most states, bars have to close by 2 am.