Six Cities to Move to If You Love Nightlife
You’ve got a closet full of sparkly clothes. You have your neighborhood happy hours memorized. You calendar is full of concerts, festivals and booze cruises. You believe that the party isn’t over until the sun comes up.
If you love nightlife, but you’re stuck in a town with an early last call and a city center that looks abandoned on Friday nights, weekends can be a drag. After all, you only get so many Saturday nights in a lifetime. Why spend them all at the same three bars? Instead, consider moving to one of these six cities where the party never stops and nightlife is the only life.
Austin, Texas
From the dreamy backyard vibes of Rainey Street to the raucousness of Austin’s famous—or perhaps infamous—Dirty Sixth, the city does nightlife Texas style: bigger. Many people might associate the words “Texas” and “nightlife” with images of line dancing and cowboy boots, but in a city as eclectic as Austin, you can find so much more than that. If you’re a college student, you can bar hop along The Drag, a part of Guadalupe Street on the edge of the UT campus. If you’re a hipster you can sip a craft brew on East Sixth Street. If you’re a business professional, you can head to after work happy hour in the sleek lobby of a Downtown hotel. And if you’re anyone else, you can catch live music along with a side of Texas barbecue just about anywhere.
New York City, New York
What list of cities with epic nightlife would be complete without a mention of the one that never sleeps? New York City has outgrown its 90’s nightclub heyday and transformed into a playground for all types of partygoers. Move to New York City and you can expect plenty of nighttime fun no matter which borough you live in. Manhattan still goes big with its world famous nightclubs like Marquee and Cielo—the kind of places where you splurge on bottle service while looking for celebrities, but there are also unique live music venues, like Brooklyn Bowl, which is part concert mecca, part bowling alley. And if the bar scene is more of your speed, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood has you covered with dog-friendly dive bars and rooftop lounges with skyline views.
Chicago, Illinois
Most people associate Chicago with deep dish pizza, Da Bears and its nickname The Windy City (which probably has nothing to do with wind). But did you know that Chicago is the birthplace of house music? It’s true; Chi-Town’s now defunct Warehouse club gave us the music genre—and the all-night dance parties that accompany it—in the late 1970’s. These days, you can seek out a techno-infused nightlife scene at Chicago clubs or at the annual Chicago House Party. But don’t worry, there are plenty of jazz bars, dive bars and cocktail lounges to flock to each weekend. And because Chicago is an amazing place, there is more than enough late night pizza to enjoy at closing time.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Want to guarantee that you’ll never be bored again? Move to Las Vegas, the self-proclaimed Entertainment Capital of the World, where nightlife and daylife are basically the same thing. As a newcomer, you won’t be able to resist the allure of mega clubs like Hakkasan and XS that dominate The Strip, most of which offer up wild pool parties come summertime. Once you start to feel like a local, you’ll get to know the impossibly cool bar scene of East Fremont Street, where downtown hipsters drink Moscow Mules on patios with views of Burning Man art installations. From tiki bars to rooftop dance parties, Vegas is proof that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a nightclub person or bar person, there’s always an excuse to go out.
Miami, Florida
After a day spent lounging on the sunny beaches of Miami, the sun sets and the city really heats up. The South Florida hotspot earned its beach party vibes at South Beach, where you’ll find beautiful coastline and a glittering nightlife scene featuring clubs like LIV and Story which play host to bright young things and famous DJs. But don’t worry, if your move to Miami has you craving a party without a dress code, you can bar hop in neighborhoods like the artsy Wynwood, home to outdoor lounges and art walks, or Coconut Grove, a palm tree dotted village on the water where you can sip wine and gaze out at the lights on the harbor. Whether you’re looking for a handcrafted cocktail or a no-holds-barred pool party, Miami never disappoints.
New Orleans, Louisiana
If your ideal night out involves dancing in the street, sipping bourbon at a jazz club, eating beignets at 3 a.m. or all of the above, there’s no place better to move to than New Orleans. The lively Louisiana city is home to myriad nightlife options. Some people say that The Big Easy got its nickname because of how easy it was for musicians to score gigs during the city’s early years, but in modern day New Orleans, it’s even easier to experience live jazz from the audience. Whether that means attending the city’s famous New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, or catching a show in the French Quarter, there’s always music in the air. And of course, if you truly love nightlife, you’ll want to move to New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras, which just might be the biggest party in the the country. In a city where you can literally throw yourself a parade, we would expect nothing less.
