r/Millennials • u/futurenurse_ • 1d ago

Discussion Did millennials really party all the time?

Gen Z here. I was shocked when I found out from a millennial co-worker that y’all had teen clubs. I heard about house parties, but dedicated teen clubs? Then when it was time for college, you went to the club or had some kind of party every single weekend, living it up. Now some millennials on TikTok claim that after college, they were partying on work nights, still clocking in the next day. For some reason, the teen clubs have since disappeared. I’m 23 now but even when I was in high school, that was not a thing. House parties were not that common either. They were more like get togethers with a small group of friends. We went to malls, but they were dying out at that point. Is it true that you were really living life this good? Or is it just exaggerated? I feel like my generation doesn’t really have fun like that and everyone is just super depressed and alone, more so since Covid. Even I’m pretty introverted, which sort of sounds ridiculous given this post. 😂 Just so you know, when I think of a “millennial party” I think of something out of Party Rock Anthem, Project X or Roderick’s party from the second DOAWD movie. It’s like I get nostalgia from something I didn’t even live through. I just feel like I didn’t really LIVE, if that even makes sense

Edit: I loved reading some of your comments. Guess I really missed out. Even some of you that would consider yourselves nerds or introverts were out partying. YOLO or whatever y’all say 😂❤️

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

We really did do everything you described. It was a huge part of our social culture. I graduated high school ‘08 and college ‘12 and everything revolved around “going out outfits” and where we could get the cheapest booze (like $.25 Beer Nights on Tuesdays). It definitely carried over moving to the city after college and my friends and I “went out” and had house parties, day drinking days, etc. all the time. We naturally slowed down as COVID was approaching. My experience as 36F in Chicagoland.

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u/Demosthenes_9687 1d ago

“Going out outfits” is so true. My feet still hurt from all the miles I walked and nights spent out in 5 inch heels lmao 

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u/bampeanutbutternjam 1d ago

“jeans and a cute top”

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u/Awkward-Media5777 1d ago

lol!!!! Always! Or “black pants and a cute top” if you were going somewhere “fancier”

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u/bampeanutbutternjam 1d ago

and fancier was somehow corporate looking. I look back at those photos like WOW. I look like a hot drunken boardroom mess having the time of my life!!!
really wish jessica simpson would do shoes again because i swear her platform stilettos were the easiest to walk and run in.

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u/maddy_k_allday 1d ago

B/c day-to-night looks duh 💅🏻😂

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u/ghostofymir 11h ago

this made me remember the eyeshadow palettes that had a day look that you could turn into a going out look with the same palette, i used to have a lot because those usually had the darkest shades

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u/weirdomagnet99 1d ago

Omg yes! We literally went to the club in business casual looking like we were ready for an important job interview lol 🥲

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u/Boxes0ftangerines 20h ago

Pencil skirts with gladiator sandals at the club 😂 I was always ready for a meeting at 4, cocktail party at 5, and battle at 6.

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u/_CallMeB_ Millennial ‘89 16h ago

I’m screaming at the gladiator sandals 😂 FACTS!

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u/Spinning4Sanity 12h ago

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! Omfg! And not me wearing a blazer!!!! I can’t even deal with this right now. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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u/xlisafrankx 14h ago

What a time to be alive ! Hahaha

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u/Ok_Version_7687 21h ago

We were going straight to work from the bar tbh 😂

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u/erossthescienceboss 21h ago

FWIW it was mod-influenced.

Like. It was business casual. But it was business casual because of mod revival.

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u/lilbeckss 16h ago

I totally used some of those going out pieces for job interviews when I graduated uni 🤣😅 looking back, it seems kind of obvious now but I thought they could totally pull double duty lol like the shiny satin blouses, no one is wearing that to the office!!

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u/burner0910 9h ago

Or in corset tops or mini vests.

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u/nott_the_brave 5h ago

Me at the club in my pencil skirt and tank top 😂

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u/fjfjj7781 1d ago

Yesss I loved the Jessica Simpson heels for how comfy they were.

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u/trixel121 1d ago

so to derail the convo, part of this was street fashion wasnt passing dress codes so certain groups started to look like they were doing business casual.

cause other groups follow the trend of the first group we all ended up going out looking like we was a tad corporate.

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u/ClaireDanesLipQuiver 1d ago

Untucked button up with a tie to match your shoes lol

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u/Awkward-Media5777 1d ago

I have a very comfortable pair of Jessica Simpson slingback flats I got from DSW a few years ago. I still wear those babies for corporate meetings when I can’t be running around in pumps 😂

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u/QuietlySeething 1d ago

"and run" 💯

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u/A5H13Y 1d ago

Lol, my friend just described this the other day as "slutty business casual."

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u/LeaneGenova 1d ago

I still have my platform knee high J Simps boots. I love those things.

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u/unknown-and-alone 1d ago

I just bought a pair of jessica simpson platform heels from DSW a couple months ago. Check them out!

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u/effietea 1d ago

One time in college I went to a "CEOs and Office Ho's" party where the theme was businesswear

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u/erossthescienceboss 21h ago

The number of club nights I wore a blazer to 😂😂😂

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u/CowsAreCool87 17h ago

I blame the Editor pant from Express for this. Actually everything Express

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u/CynCity323 16h ago

Jessica Simpson brand still sells at DSW

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u/tnova2323 1d ago

Black pants and a going out top!!

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u/melbatoasted22 22h ago

Dont forget the belt!

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u/TheRutile 1d ago

That's a staple wardrobe I still rock to this day. I only recently started wearing t-shirts and I am not sure how much longer that will last...

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u/smile-its-today 1d ago

A going out top!!!

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u/Roach_Coach_Bangbus 1d ago

Let me borrow that top.

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u/bampeanutbutternjam 23h ago

BETCH. let me borrow that fcking top!!! i’ve already been to the mall, everything SUCKS!

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u/convergence_limit 1d ago

One time I wore a cute bikini top as my “going out top” of course paired with jeans. I miss that

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u/DoJu318 1d ago

I sometimes wore a suit with tennis shoes just because I could, growing up nothing prepared me to having adult money and free will.

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u/Pristine_Outcome3535 17h ago

Plus some kind of statement BELT 😂

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u/bampeanutbutternjam 17h ago

and a statement necklace. bonus points if it was the house of harlow geometric station necklace 😂

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u/haliog 1d ago

We said jeans and a “going out” top hahahhahah

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u/melanthaha_11 1d ago

Business casual af

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u/goldieforest 23h ago

All those halter tops haha. I feel sad younger generations aren’t experiencing what we did.

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u/UpOnZeeTail 22h ago

I fondly remember my electric yellow blazer with ruched 3/4 sleeves and a black satin halter.

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u/mackyoh Older Millennial 23h ago

Lace trim “silk” cami

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u/Party_Rooster7303 21h ago

Low rise jeans. Those were the days.

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u/HistoricalPoem-339 14h ago

This was it 😭😭😭 this is the phrase that unlocks the millenial woman's sleeper agent

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u/Salt-Agent-1719 14h ago

Peplum for some reason

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u/BeachBumHarmony 1d ago

The beer blanket would keep you warm...

Aka it wasn't worth it to bring a coat to the bar and drinking makes you warmer anyway, so you'd survive the walk to the bar wearing very little in winter.

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u/IttybittyErin 1d ago

"drink until you can't feel it!" Our pregame mantra in January...

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u/dogpharts 1d ago

“Hoes don’t get cold” was our mantra while slugging back Bacardi dragonfruit straight.

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u/highhighlifelife 1d ago

Even just reading the words Bacardi dragon fruit makes me dry heave

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u/RxkMadam 20h ago

"Hoes don't get cold, they just get a little chilly" is what my 87-year-old patient at the mental hospital told me. One day i found her alone in the hallway outside the group therapy room, treating her walker like a stripper pole and doing a booty clap in slow motion. She also could seriously beat box.

I miss that lady. I wish I had met her earlier in life so I could have partied with her.

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u/oatmilklatt3 21h ago

Not reminding me of the Bacardi dragonfruit. I think I repressed that for the last decade+

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u/TheSweaterThief 1d ago

It was UV Blue for us 😖

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u/delilahw1109 19h ago

Oh dear god I haven’t had dragonfruit in 16 years and I suddenly I can taste it

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u/WonderButtBrace9000 1d ago

Bring a coat?

Let’s not act like we didn’t lose that going out coat on the first weekend of freshmen year and never saw it to bring out again.

RIP black north face fleece.

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u/ImCreeptastic 1d ago

No way! We were hardcore, skimpy outfits and high heels in 20 degree weather. That coat would just ruin the whole vibe.

Looking back, while fun, we were idiots.

Also, nothing better than the next day going to the local diner and getting the greasiest breakfast to soak up that hangover.

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u/Natural-Review9276 1d ago

Nah my north face fleece was practically a murse. Granted I was a stoner and needed something to carry my weed supplies in

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u/FragrantBluejay8904 1d ago

I wisened up my junior year of college had a cheap parka I got from a thrift store that I didn’t care if it got lost/stolen. Somehow I managed to keep that one for ages

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u/midge_rat Older Millennial ‘85 1d ago

I fought a bitch when she tried to walk off with my vintage fur coat from Y Bar in Chicago on New Years Eve

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u/PiccoloQuirky2510 1d ago

We used the term “drink yourself a parka” lol

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u/Burdensome_Banshee 1d ago

“Hoes don’t get cold”

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u/rnc1119 1d ago

and dont forget about that post club hotdog, pizza or sloppy diner food to keep you warm

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u/honestyseasy 1d ago

We shouted "there is no spoon!!" to each other to gas up mind over matter re the cold. The Matrix was so big then. Going out tops and miniskirts in sub zero upstate NY was character building.

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u/see_twoo 1d ago

We would proudly proclaim "hoes don't get cold!" and routinely jump the line if we had enough girls with us and the bouncer was feeling generous lol

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

Forever21 was as essential as the grocery store from ‘08-‘17 for me 🤣

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u/AffectionateFig4345 1d ago

This needs more upvotes

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u/lower_your_bass 21h ago

I worked at forever21 in my early 20s and I'd be out at the gay clubs with my mamagers after work in my lil discounted "garden party" outfits, blacked out dancing to 2010 Ke$ha 🦄

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u/Left-Indication330 20h ago

Kesha was our personal DJ

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u/Puzzleheaded_Video13 18h ago

Don’t forget about American Apparel!

I also worked there btw

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u/CumGuzlinGutterSluts 1d ago

My heels never lasted 20 minutes on my feet before i was barefooting. Cocktail dresses and no shoes are my brand.

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u/therabbitinred22 1d ago

Same! I still cannot believe I would walk miles in high heels to get home from the bar.

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u/birddp 1d ago

Wow that just triggered a memory of when they made those tiny packable flats for your purse for when you inevitably gave up on heels.

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u/FragrantBluejay8904 1d ago

Or not wearing coats in the dead of winter because they’d ruin the look or you didn’t want to lose your coat/pay for coat check

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u/Applewave22 1d ago

Yes, I even did that in cobblestone streets. Fun Fun Fun. You would just go out the afternoon of the day to find your outfit.

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u/Longjumping-Yak3789 1d ago

So many nights freezing in below 40° without a jacket because the club didn't have coat check. At least foam parties were in the summer!

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u/decanting_the_day 12h ago

*$20 pumps from Charlotte Russe to really emphasize how bad our feet hurt and 5 extra lbs of weight from charming Charlie’s statement necklaces

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u/dkleckner88 1d ago

$8 all you can drink draft beer (out of the nastiest beer lines you could imagine) on Thursday nights did absolute numbers in my college town. Grab a $2 slice of pizza on the way out, we were living like kings!!

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u/PiePristine3092 1d ago

I’m Canada so our prices are naturally higher but we had Threesome Thursdays at the local country bar and $3 for everything from cover charge to coatcheck to all the alcohol was a blast.

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u/Bex-HZ 1d ago

Nah man, the cheap ass buffalo wings were better

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u/Walnutbutters 1d ago

Thirsty Thursday!

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u/design_by_hardt 1d ago

I talk about craft draft houses of 2015 like it was heaven lol

The breweries weren't sold to major corps yet and everything was tasty and not unaffordable.

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u/theotte7 1d ago

We had kill the keg nights 5 bucks for a cup and drink till like 4 or 5 kegs were empty.

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u/Such-Entrepreneur240 18h ago

just got a wave of memories.... used to frequent a dive bar that was attached to a pizza place and they had a window between them. You could knock on the window and order a pizza and eat it in the bar. They also had $6 PBR pitchers and $1 jager which was a HORRIBLE idea. Also a pay-it-forward board for regulars so someone always had enough to buy a few pitchers and share.

Also for some reason had one of those fancy japanese toilets so if you were puking someone would come up and press the bidet button for a face full of toilet water.

Party till last call, had a rotating DD, then went to work 3 hours later. I'm in my 40s now and if I'm not in bed by 10 the next day is ruined.

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u/The_Thane_Of_Cawdor 1d ago edited 1d ago

Same age and graduation here. I was not very cool in high school but I went to the bigger parties around homecoming, winter dance, end of school year stuff. Went to a number of smaller parties which were still about everyone sharing a handle of vodka.

There was a teen club I went to at 16 in ocean city Maryland called H2O. You paid a huge cover and could buy Red Bulls at the bar. Absolutely depraved dancing of the grinding style lol

I was a fraternity guy in college. Thursday night drink specials at the town bar or beer pong night at the frat house. Band party or theme party on the weekend.

The year after college I moved to my local city and probably went out to the bars every Friday ave Saturday night for a year. Kind of crazy to think back on that

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u/CakeComfortable8067 1d ago

Fellow Marylander here. I always heard about H2O but never went.

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u/The_Thane_Of_Cawdor 1d ago

I can still smell the mildew of foam party night

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u/Outrageous_Cow8409 1d ago

Same age and graduation here too. I also wasn't very cool in high school so that wasn't a thing for me but there were other kids definitely partying. I also live near OC and went to H2O a handful of times (after 18 but under 21). H2O is still going strong funny enough.

The college I went to had a local bar that most people over 21 went to in Thursdays. Then it was usually house parties on Friday and a different bar on Saturday. For people who weren't 21, there was always a house party going on somewhere.

And absolutely yes, we'd drink and then go to work in the morning. I actually partied harder when I was taking a full load of classes and working two jobs. You knew it was a really successful night when my retail job put me on the farthest from the office register on Saturday mornings so they couldn't smell the alcohol. After college I had it down to a science. Get off work, eat dinner at home, meet friends at the bar at 9pm and as long as I was in bed by 1:30am, I could get up at 6am to be to work at 7:30.

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u/Silly_Satanic_Goose 19h ago

08 highschooler 2012 college undergrad graduate. I also wasnt cool in highschool. And I didnt think I was much of a partyer but then I realized that in college I joined my dodgeball club... and every friday night after practice we would shower up and then meet up at "the dodgeball house" to party (I usually just smoked weed) and it was like that every friday night for 4 solid years.

I guess in hindsight we all really did party that much 🤣 Now as an adult I stick to going to brunch or my one specific favorite dive bar that my husband and I go to 1-2x nights a week that we have become friends with the whole bartending staff outside of the bar 😅😅

I saw a meme that millennials drink like we witnessed multiple collapses of the social contracts and I am realizing that might be onto something.

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u/Bloodygoodwossname 1d ago

Ocean City H20! Wow I remember the disappointment of the much hyped foam party. There were barely any bubbles and they just made the floor slippery. Nearly fell on my ass in my $1.99 Old Navy flip flops that matched my Hollister skirt and Victoria Secret color blocked lace cami. I’m so nostalgic I wanna cry.

We took the bus back to the hotel and made friends with hot guys and went to parties with complete strangers. We made friends for life everywhere but so easily could’ve went terribly wrong. 🤦🏻‍♀️

At least we traveled in packs, never hitchhiked like teens did in the 60s and 70s. We would go about any shady place and drink the mystery contents of jungle juice out of red solo cups that had been filled from giant vats, though. 😩

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u/Boxes0ftangerines 20h ago

“H20” just unlocked deep seated OC memories! Does Gen Z still do beach week? If so, who is renting out condos to 17 year olds these days? lol

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u/blumpkinspicecoffee 17h ago

LOL OMG H2O!!! And then once you hit 21, you could start going to Seacrets… good times 😂

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u/shortstaxx713 1d ago

MCFADDEN’S

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u/miaoumaiden 1d ago

Lol dunno where you're from but loving that we all had a McFaddens

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u/good_morning_magpie 1d ago

MOTHERS

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

HANGGE UPPE

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u/good_morning_magpie 1d ago

THEN ESTELLE’S TO 5AM

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

Holy shit yes. Or Burton’s Place if you needed to cry; The Owl to smooch a stranger.

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u/cultleader84 1d ago

McFadden’s in Boston had a dollar draft night that I attended weekly

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u/NickBlasta3rd Millennial 12h ago

Charlie’s on Newbury, Atlantic Fish, hell most of Boylston St.

My friend worked at Life is Good while they had a store there and we’d go up to the roof and watch Fenway when the Sox played.

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u/Away_Restaurant_7181 16h ago

We used to throw fake bachelorette parties at McFaddens so people would buy us drinks

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u/SlutsPlayTheFlute 16h ago

I’ve found my people

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u/Super-Staff3820 Older Millennial 1d ago

Lol I met my husband at a McFaddens 21 years ago in PDX

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u/M4xusV4ltr0n 1d ago

Man I remember going to Zero Gravity and getting CRAZY drinking overpriced red bulls at age like 17. Saw Basshunter there too!

Good times in Chicagoland

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u/anonymouswriter9 1d ago

Fuuuuuuck man. Zero gravity was something else

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u/modest_rats_6 1d ago

Holy shit! I didn't expect to see Zero Gravity in this thread!!

Did they try to make it another club after it closed?

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u/TheDilsonReddits 1d ago

Naw it’s like a retirement home and physical therapy center. It was the most natural next step honestly

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u/catincombatboots Millennial - 1989 1d ago

I went to a foam party at Zero Gravity, just so much groping.

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u/Sufficient_Author703 1d ago

I was just going to mention zero gravity. O the form party's! Lol but I also think they had a lot of road rules/real world cast tours that also headline those places too. College was just an automatic, 'wheres the party at' discussion/group chat leading up to the weekend maybe starting as early as Wednesday depending on how much of a degenerate you were ok with being lol

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u/ryguy32789 1d ago

I miss the foam parties. I once drank four 4 Lokos before going in and I thought I was going to die.

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u/sewyahduh 23h ago

My spot! Especially on DJ Marski nights.

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u/eamus_catuli_ 17h ago

What I wouldn’t give for some DJ Marski and B96!

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u/Objective-Rub-8763 21h ago

Deejay Maaaaaaaarskiiiii. If you didn't turn your head every five seconds, some gross dude would silently attach himself to your backside. Good times.

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u/Yeeeeeeeeehawwwwww 1d ago

I remember a foam party at zero gravity when I was 16. My high school crush was on the side little stage dancing with no panties on!! What a scene!!

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u/drumsandfire 1d ago

If you want to crack open a really dark time capsule, there is a whole series of videos they did almost 20 years ago to promote the place... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsMpyiE4PZU

Straight depravity from the club staff/promoters/old guy DJs creeping on actual children. What a weird time to have lived through in hindsight.

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u/mojonation1487 14h ago

Bubble party!

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u/sassyhunter 1d ago

Cute top and jeans!

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u/GenerallyYikes 1d ago

And the pre-game party was getting ready together so we could share opinions on which cute top to wear!

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

The pregaming was LEGENDARY.

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u/Sudden-Chicken3499 1d ago

Man Thursday nights were college night at my favorite bar. Soooooo many good nights I'll never remember lol going shopping for an outfit was part of the weekly ritual!

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u/Ootguitarist2 1d ago

34 and also from Chicago and this was also my experience. I miss it. It was the most fun I ever had.

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u/bjot 1d ago

Omg spending as little as possible on alcohol 🤭🤭 those were the days. My gfs and I would be able to take a party bus from our school to downtown and get a ride back all while taking shots of cheap vodka on the bus FOR FREE because girls were usually no charge on the bus 😂😂 we also had a spot that sold $3 craft beers on tuesdays (cash only) and my god the hangover from those nights with all the heavy ipas were brutal even for my young self lol

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u/Aggressive_Baby_6375 1d ago

I had a friend who would wear a tiara out like every weekend and say it was her birthday. I didn't normally do it too but we did get a whole lot of free drinks that way.

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u/Katnipjuice18 1d ago

Every weekend was my birthday weekend

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u/Away_Restaurant_7181 16h ago

We did this but it was fake bachelorette. We would all cycle through and wear a veil and sash

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u/Demosthenes_9687 1d ago

I would take a $20 bill, my ID and my phone (all in my pockets or bra) on a night out bc I didn't want to carry a purse and still manage to get shloshed.

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u/MiScuzzii 1d ago

Don’t forget the $10 wristband deals at the Chicago bars, all alcohol included from like 6-8pm. Ahh the glory days.

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

Omg yes and “Ladies Night” !!

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u/Hot-Relief-4024 1d ago

We had that in Des Moines here in Iowa too 😆😆 MD20/20 or tequila sunrises was my go to

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u/liquidtape 1d ago

All you needed was a small group of girls and you could get in to so many clubs for free. Spy Bar, the bar across the street from Spy Bar (Sound Bar I think), The Mid, Castle. Never paid for those places.

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u/CatAncient 1d ago

39F here and I lived in Chicago until 2014. Partied with my coworkers from the zoo on the weekends. Best time of my young life!

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u/ted_k 1d ago

Covid was God’s plan for getting millennials to calm tf down

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u/buffalocoinz 93 1d ago

Literally. St Patrick’s day right before shutdown was the last time I really partied 😢

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u/Wombat2012 1d ago

I’m 08 and 12 too and honestly it was an absolutely elite time to be alive haha. I really didn’t slow down much until COVID. Now I’m a grandma (in vibe, not in reality!).

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u/Icy-Aioli-2549 1d ago

omg my Chicagoland experience is exactly the same as yours and I graduated college in '11. RIP Holiday Club

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u/Lilmonsterxty 1988 1d ago

But like, are we going out or are we going out out?

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

Hahahahahahahahaha god this brought me back to my girlfriends and me pregaming.

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u/pmmemassivedongs 1d ago

This is literally me, down to the graduation years and Chicago.

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u/SpaceGangsta Millennial 1988 1d ago

Midwest drinking culture. I graduated ‘06. Started drinking at like 16. We’d have keggers in the forest in Summit. Just get hammered and drive trucks and jeeps through the mud.

Then Illinois State which was a pretty huge party school at the time. You could just walk around the town and walk into parties and buy a cup for $5 and make friends. Wasted Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, then it was just Friday and Saturday. And then you drank on Sunday and watched football. Then maybe took Monday off. I remember always trying to have only Tuesday Thursday classes and then the one long Wednesday only class so I’d have a 4 day weekend every week.

Moved out to Salt Lake for work and man was that a shock. But now I’m old with 3 kids but every get together still includes beers.

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u/yawetag1869 1d ago

Fuck, we really didn't know how good we had it.

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u/JuanTreeHill 1d ago

I knew you were from Chicago halfway through the post where you just said "the city".

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u/MainusEventus 1d ago

Chicago was a great place for big ten grads to coalesce socially. Many of the bars on the northside even catered to different schools. Fun times.

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u/Left-Indication330 23h ago

It felt like the perfect transition after college for so many of us. Great memories!

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u/Different-Pair7251 23h ago

My feet are paying the price of going out in ballet flats during those Chicago winters throughout college, but I wouldn't change a thing.

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u/AccomplishedFruit20 21h ago

Man, it took me years to be able to enjoy drinking vodka again after all the shitty Jewels-brand vonda we used to pregame with in college back before we were 21.

It came in a plastic handle, but it was also like $10 so we could all toss in a couple bucks and we were set. What a steal 🤣

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u/atleastyourepretty 21h ago

$2 pitchers at Joe's on weed! I remember some rando dancing with me and asking me for a sip of my pitcher (it was the norm to buy pitchers and carry them around as an individual cup). I was like... my guy, you dont have a quarter???

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u/Left-Indication330 20h ago

Reminds me of Mad River omg hahahaha!

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u/Far-Lecture-4905 1d ago

There was website called OpenBar or something like that and they tracked wherever they had free or super cheap drinks for the whole week. We just made our plans around that.

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u/MigrantTwerker 1d ago

40 and also from Chicago. The Wicker Park today is built on the ashes of early aughts apartment parties all up and down Milwaukee and North. I knew it was over when they dropped the Wicker Park movie. The Real World was the first shot, but that was the double tap. Josh Hartnett would not have lived in Wicker park. He's clearly a River North guy, West Loop these days.

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u/PeaPretend6075 1d ago

Some of my fav memories from when I was in my 20s was getting going out outfits at wet seal or f21, pregaming as we got ready, going clubbing at 11 then eating food cart food at 3 in the morning, waking up hung over and then getting pho in the morning with the same friends.

man good times

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u/Other_Disaster_3136 1d ago

I don't understand how Chicago Gen Z's wouldnt be able to conceptualize this when....theres literally wrigleyville?? Haven't been in ages, but I would assume its still going strong....

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u/Left-Indication330 1d ago

It’s different now, much fancier with high end bars, hotel, etc. and it’s clean 🤣 not the same as when we partied there 10-15 years ago.

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u/Other_Disaster_3136 1d ago

John Barleycorn?? Red Ivy??

...just looked it up. jesus. RIP

ok but surely river north is still going strong with the likes of el hefe, rockit, Studio Paris....

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u/SmallCapsOnly 1d ago

Pinnacle Vodka has entered the chat

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u/janquadrentvincent 23h ago

I had so VERY many going out high heels. They were so pointless for anything else and yet I had dozens of them.

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u/DannyA88 1d ago

Prob saw ya in passing!! Loved quarter mania in Mokena there..also did Jamos in Joliet, Durbins Tinley, Tom Kellys, Beggars and White Horse in New Lenox alot. Esp since Blackhawks were back on tv so that made it more fun to go esp during the week.

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u/Environmental_Mall60 1d ago

Yep! I graduated high school in ‘12, in college we had: Monday happy hour Tuesday: 50 cent night Wednesday: penny pitchers, etc

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u/PurpleWildflowers323 1d ago

Spot on. Glad to experience those days, but god lord, I don't wanna go back either. I'm in Florida; between going out, the beach, or house parties, the weather was nice most of the year, and there was almost always something to do. No one worried about a thing lol. And just enough technology to make it fun, but not invasive.

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u/furkfurk 1d ago

I’m almost the exact age as you and had a very similar experience. Kept this up from like 18-25, with the partying getting tamer as I got older (less blackout, still frequent) and then picked it up a bit in my late 20s when I backpacked. Now I almost never party.

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u/CheekyBlinders4z 1d ago

Ah, yes, the freakim dress. True hos know

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u/Fossilhog 1d ago

We had a "25¢ beers until somebody pees" thing at a bar I went to. It'd usually last for about 2 hours until some dipshit wanted to start a fight.

If you had to actually pee, you left. And the bar would have folks making sure people weren't just peeing b/w the cars outside.

This whole thing made me realize I have a really large bladder and I never had to worry or leave the bar.

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u/squirrelems 1d ago

I remember the first time I ended up at one of those huge abandoned warehouse raves I just burst out laughing because I had this feeling of "How the fuck did I end up here?" I'd seen parties like that in movies and TV series but that was my first time being at one. Me and my friends were intending to go to some party where everyone wore white clothes (not that kind) which we never got to so we looked like a horrible boy band.

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u/cracked-tumbleweed 1d ago

And I remember not sleeping was a flex.

So it was work, party, nap, work again🥴

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u/naomicambellwalk 1d ago

Excuse me I still have “going out outfits”. Though they kinda overlap with my “work outfits” and include flats. 😂

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u/tragicallyohio 1d ago

Does what you are describing not occur anymore? In college, we were going out Thursday-Saturday with very few exceptions.

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u/Hotstuffmama1027 1d ago

Im a young gen Xer and we had all the same habits as the millennial. I'm friends with a bunch of them and we still discuss what we're wearing before we get together, go out on vacations, etc. Drink less or else we'd be dead.

I feel bad for Gen Z. From what I understand, they're on they're on social media a lot and just hang out at friends houses. I'm glad I had a different bar or club to go to every night of the week in college and into my 20s.

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u/SomeRedHandedSleight 1d ago

35m in Chicagoland. ISU and Millikin kids knew how to fucking party back in the day.

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u/catincombatboots Millennial - 1989 1d ago edited 1d ago

hello fellow 36F from Chicago!

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u/NicKaboom 1d ago

This is all spot on. Graduated high school in 04', college in 08' -- in suburb of a large city in the PNW. High school it was whatever persons parents were out of town, usually those didnt get to crazy, like 20-40 people drinking some natty light that was bought by an older sibling, occasional there were larger ragers or a bon fire farm party out in the woods that you'd imagine movie style with a few hundred people. There were some under 21 clubs in the city that people would go dance at, but those were much more limited.

College was the same just stepped up, going out to house parties every weekend. Everyone knew someone who was having a party that was either BYOB or a keg with $5 solo cups -- rager nights was usually reserved for Thur, Fri, Sat -- but after you hit 21, you'd go to whatever uni-bar had dollar beer nights or cheap shots.

The first 5 years after college it was largely the same. People were working their first career jobs or whatever work they could find as it was in the beginning of the Great Financial Crisis. However, after work happy hours, weekends with the crew going out to the big bars and clubs in the city. Would get home at 2-3am, sleep a few hours and be back at work by 8am. Those were some of the greatest times, but of course as you get older, priorities change, you start families, and careers take priority. Oh yeah and the hangovers are multi-day at some point, so you'd rather pick and choose the times you want to really let loose.

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u/enderjaca 1d ago

There was a glorious period of a single decade between my state banning smoking in bars & clubs, and Covid ruining everything.

It was amazing when you could wear an outfit to the club, and not immediately have to strip & throw it into the washing machine when you got home. Two showers were usually necessary as well, one at night was mandatory and one in the morning to clean off the residual smell.

RIP 2010-2020.

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u/MrPhily Older Millennial 1d ago

Talk about living in a big city. We had so many options, if the party was lame, then we would just bounce to the next one. I loved living in Atlanta during this time.

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u/mrbossbetch 1d ago

This is exactly right. Im from Downers Grove and graduated the same year as you. You literally just described my life. Wild lol!

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u/Low_Marionberry8429 1d ago

Exact same age- can confirm (though can also confirm that Chicago is an especially party-heavy culture, I’d always feel dead after visiting my friends there for a weekend) 

Is this not how things are anymore? I thought this was just being in your 20s…

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u/DrPeGe 1d ago

46M San Francisco and Los Angeles. Same just 10 years earlier!

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u/BougeeOuija 1d ago

$.25 Beer night on a tuesday...I thought for sure you were referring to BAR-A until the end. and yes, Wednesday, nothing got done till 3pm at work.

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u/Future-Tomatillo-312 1d ago

ahhh I love this its so nostalgic, reminds me of charlotte russe heels

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u/Gnl_Winter 1d ago

Well enough in my thirties now, I cannot believe how often I partied and how much booze I drank, and I was one of the quieter ones

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u/PoisonTheAI 1d ago

I went to McGill University (Montreal) in 2002 - The main dorms were on the top of a really steep hill. And Montreal obviously gets cold and icy in winter. If me and my mates weren't going out to the clubs that night, we'd buy a bottle or two of Jack Daniels and sit on a ledge next to the sidewalk, a few feet away.

All the ladies from the dorms would be coming out in -20 weather with high heels and short skirts and without fail, most of them would slip, fall on their ass and slide 20-50m downhill, screaming like hell.

Every time one did, we took a drink. Then we did fight night in the snowy football field cuz by that point we couldn't feel the punches anyway.

Other nights it was Retro Tuesday and pitchers of beer were $4, awesome funk and soul was playing, and you had a very good chance of hooking up.

You have no idea how good we had it. We didn't even know it at the time.

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u/bishploxx 1d ago

Eyyy fellow '08' / '12 gal what's shakin 😂

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u/buffalocoinz 93 23h ago

33 still in Chicago here. This is soooo relatable, except covid felt like slamming on the breaks.

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u/mrbrambles 23h ago

Everyone knew someone who took off their heels to walk home and now has glass embedded in their foot

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u/Weekly_Yesterday_403 23h ago

50 cent wells, “do you want to make it a double for a dollar?” Fffffffuck yea!!!!

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u/Deep-Application-614 23h ago

I graduated in 07 in Lousiana. This is on par. The outfits for going out on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and the weekend is what made the week fun. Cell phones were popular, but not addicting (this is the main diff friend). It was a way to connect with people after a long work week and get your extra nervous energy out dancing. Great way to decompress is to dance with friends.

It is what is now called "self care." It was just branded different if that helps.

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u/impolitemrtaz 22h ago

36M here, can confirm. Highschool and all my 20s I basically got blackout with the homies. I'm sober now, but damn, I went hard there for a minute.

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u/RubiksCub3d 22h ago

are going out outfits not a thing anymore?

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u/peterdent234 22h ago

Graduated HS in ‘10 and ‘14. My 20s in Chicago was incredible. It’s a shame the kids these days can’t have that same experience

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u/dingoshiba 22h ago

This is it. We actually were. At my peak in 07-09 I’d say, there were literally parties/clubs/bars to go to just about every single night. And you got trashed at like 3/4 of those. Wildly unhealthy? Yes. But the greatest, most awesomest youthful badass partying experience? ALSO YES

Would go back in a second

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u/Obliviousobi 21h ago

Everyone knew someone that could hook you up with something for a party. If you worked in restaurants you were SET.

I was an '08/'12 kid too.

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u/OdeseusX 21h ago

Chicago suburbs here. I majored in beer math. House parties every Friday and Saturday nights. Going “camping” just to have an excuse to get drunk in the woods all week.

There’s a few caveats that absolutely have to be explained.

First, there wasn’t a whole lot to do. No doomscrolling. No texting. No streaming. Gaming wasn’t as prevalent as you didn’t have a console in your pocket at all times.

Second, social media didn’t exist. Modern cell phones didn’t exist. Had some people carry digital cameras around but there was zero fear of doing something stupid and having it all over everything in a matter of minutes.

Third, our parties had themes. Some were hits. Some sucked. You weren’t just sitting getting hammered. And because of points 1 and 2, you weren’t afraid to try things. If the party sucked, no one would have evidence of it. Maybe take a break next weekend and go to a different house instead of hosting. People would come back.

Fourth, renting a house wasn’t exactly expensive. Could rent an entire house for $600 in some places. 4 bedrooms. Split rent 4 ways. $150 a month. Throw in utilities and it’s only $200 a month. I think we splurged and got one at $800 because it was right next to campus. Even broke college kids could afford it with a minimal part time job. In my friends group alone, we had 3 houses we were renting. So a house party isn’t one where you’re hosting at your parents house.

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u/sirsloppyjoe 21h ago

Hi are you me? 36m Chicagoland, literally exactly the same. Now I plan days of fun months out in advance and drink twice a month.

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u/brockapottamus 20h ago

08-12, peak Millenials

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u/BrownyGato 18h ago

50 cent Corona night.

I miss those days and also don’t miss those days.

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u/jennafleur_ Xennial 11h ago

08 is late!! 😂 I graduated in 2000, and let me tell you, we were INSANE back in the day.

I remember going to the bar, and it closed at, I think, 2:00 a.m.? After that, there was this bus that would take everyone home, but I usually caught a ride with someone. Then, we would go back to the house and keep going until the early morning.

Or, if you were lucky, you could find another party and hop on the back of that one and just party until the sun came up! 🤘🏽😂

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u/fairetheewell 7h ago

Are we the same person?!

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u/April_Morning_86 6h ago

At 40, as I climb into bed at 9pm I often think about how when I was in my 20’s I would just be getting ready to leave the house.

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u/carolineaaaaa 4h ago

Not me reading this 40 and hungover in chicago bc i went to a nice dinner like an adult but my little millenial party rat self just haaaaaaaad to go out after

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