What makes a city "FUN"?

[Holly Taylor]

Way too many people in this city who don't know how to drink responsibly or respectfully. They get stupid, loud and violent in public. Best to keep that indoors in a somewhat controlled environment as much as possible. So no, I don't think drinking in public should be allowed.

I live in the West End close to the beach and I see the leftovers from the bars, the people who don't want to go home and it's not pretty, and now you want to let them drink in public to their heart's content? Not in my house!

Panther

Well, that's the interesting thing. Now, I don't have any evidence about the effects of public drinking, but I just have my own anecdotal experiences to share:

When I was in London, people would stand outside bars and restaurants and drink glasses of wine outside, on the street.

When I was in Venice, and Rome, there was a lot more public drinking, and it was in the public squares. Huge crowds of people would basically just be hanging out, drinking, talking, chatting, dancing (in one square in Venice there was a musician and some people doing ballroom dancing- it must have been midnight).

While I saw a LOT of drinking in Rome, I never once saw someone who seemed drunk.

Whereas in Vancouver, whenever I see public drinking, I almost always see someone staggering along, being helped by friends, or making a fool of himself/herself.

I wonder if people are more responsible when the rules are a bit more relaxed- all of a sudden, "public drinking" becomes a normal thing, and not some "cool", or "rebellious" thing that only idiots do.

Public drinking seems like a completely normal part of public socializing in a lot of cities.

Personally, I found it really nice to have some wine while having a picnic at Hampstead Heath

And I enjoyed drinking bellinis while sitting on the Spanish Steps, doing some people-watching.

You know what though, I will say that I saw some rowdy public drinking in Dublin. I did not appreciate that at all. It was loud in my hotel room, on the 3rd floor.

 

[wolverine]

Holly, it's a cultural difference. People in most European countries learn how to drink responsibly at a younger age. Here in North America there's been a repressive attitude towards alcohol that seems to have prevailed since the Puritans.

 

[HB40]

What makes a city fun....

ME!

I have a good time wherever I go, I make my own fun.

 

[dagashi]

I wonder if people are more responsible when the rules are a bit more relaxed- all of a sudden, "public drinking" becomes a normal thing, and not some "cool", or "rebellious" thing that only idiots do.

I think that's a large part of it. Whenever there's drinking involved there are going to be drunken idiots. And, right now, when we see people drinking in public, they're the drunken idiot-type because the "normal" law-abiding folks are drinking inside. If there were drinking allowed outside, we would see more of what you saw in Europe, people outside, chatting.

The problem is, if the laws ever changed to allow public drinking, initially it would be very unpopular, because at the start, all the "hooligans" would be so excited that they get to drink in public that they'd do it constantly and obnoxiously. And, I would wager that the public would pressure the government folks to revert the rules before public drinking had a chance to mature to a more normal event.

In Europe, they've grown up with it, so, as you mention, it's not the cool/rebellious thing that only rowdy folk do.

Nothing better than drinking a couple of beers while watching a movie at an open air cinema in Berlin!

I've read that in some parts of England, if not all of it, they're trying to have bars and pubs close later. It used to be that they'd close at 11pm, which meant that everyone would go, buy a bunch of pints and drink as much as possible before 11pm, which would result in some serious drunkenness.

This is similar to Vancouver's attempt to reduce the disorderly craziness downtown by allowing bars to open until 4am so that people would trickle out, rather than everyone piling out all at once.

 

[smackyo]

Well, that's the interesting thing. Now, I don't have any evidence about the effects of public drinking, but I just have my own anecdotal experiences to share:

When I was in London, people would stand outside bars and restaurants and drink glasses of wine outside, on the street.

When I was in Venice, and Rome, there was a lot more public drinking, and it was in the public squares. Huge crowds of people would basically just be hanging out, drinking, talking, chatting, dancing (in one square in Venice there was a musician and some people doing ballroom dancing- it must have been midnight).

While I saw a LOT of drinking in Rome, I never once saw someone who seemed drunk.

Whereas in Vancouver, whenever I see public drinking, I almost always see someone staggering along, being helped by friends, or making a fool of himself/herself.

I wonder if people are more responsible when the rules are a bit more relaxed- all of a sudden, "public drinking" becomes a normal thing, and not some "cool", or "rebellious" thing that only idiots do.

Public drinking seems like a completely normal part of public socializing in a lot of cities.

Personally, I found it really nice to have some wine while having a picnic at Hampstead Heath

And I enjoyed drinking bellinis while sitting on the Spanish Steps, doing some people-watching.

You know what though, I will say that I saw some rowdy public drinking in Dublin. I did not appreciate that at all. It was loud in my hotel room, on the 3rd floor.

brilliant response, you have hit the nail right on the head. not mention europe because you already have but when i was in japan also they have freakin vending machines on the street that give you beer . also in tokyo, what a night life. bars are open til 6am and i partied pretty hard there.

however, rarely did i see people acting like fools or going to overboard. when i did it was usually a "gaijin" (foreigner) and let me tell you, they weren't all from vancouver but they were from western societies, so what does that tell you?

a lot of what i see downtown with people drunk in public gets escalated by the police. the more you try to control people and tell them what to do, the more they are going to lash out, especially when drunk. now i know pantherdash is going to have something to say with his unwavering support of the police but just because i'm critical doesn't mean i don't support them, i think they have a tough job.

but when you treat otherwise law abiding citizens as criminals when they are just trying to let loose and have a good time then that just makes their jobs harder and that is one of the things that makes this city a "no fun city". if people are having a good time and it is not affecting people or property in an overly negative fashion, then let them have that fun.

another example was that summer when the cops didn't patrol the beaches. the fear mongering and bullshit that was fed to us in the news and in the papers was astounding. to hear it on the news, you'd think it was WWIII on the beaches of vancouver. now while i wasn't at every beach, everyday that summer i pretty much spent my summer at the beach and let me tell you, it was nothing like the media was saying it was.

all i kept hearing about was these out of control mobs with coolers of beer terrorizing people and the cops standing by on the news telling the camera's "sorry but we don't have the budget to patrol beaches" they need to have the public believe that without them patrolling everywhere, all the time that none of us are safe. the reality of that summer on the beach could not be further from the truth.

all i experienced was a good time having a few cold beers on the beach with friends, letting the stress of the work week melt away, one of lifes great pleasures. that is what escalates the situation is when police try to take that away from us.

i've seen cops take a case of beer from tourists that don't know any better cause drinking on the beach is legal almost everywhere else in the world. the cops instead of saying "no sorry you can't drink on the beach here, take your beer home and drink it there." they would take the case and empty every bottle out on the street right there in front of them. wow they sure are winning over hearts and minds with actions like that aren't they?



















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[wess]

I remember all the talks about how Vancouver is such a boring place to live and that the weather is always rainy and grey. All there is to do is Vancouver is clubbing, dining, miscellanous recreational activities.

But how does other cities differ from Vancouver? People in Paris claim to be the most boring city to live in. You might say, "What? But there's the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Montparnasse! Think about all that history and culture!" All that is true, but as an average Parisan, you're gonna be playing pretend tourist everyday and visit all the sites when you're bored.

Hong Kong... "All that nightlife, the bright city lights and lots and lots of shopping!" Once again, it's not like Vancouver doesn't have a nightlife, and shopping mall opening until 12am isn't what I consider as making a city "fun".

The same goes to NYC as well. What is there to do that is actually different from Vancouver and is "you can only do it here in New York"? If you're not a tourist or enjoy sightseeing, I fail to see the appeal.

Am I just saying all this because I've never been to some of the cities I listed above? Or it's true that we always perceive that the "grass is greener on the other side"?

If you want culture shock and no bordom in sight then go to Bangkok. I just love the place.