<p>This is mostly dealing with international students adjusting to the american drinking age limit of 21, but I want to hear some american opinions too.</p>
<p>How did you adjust to the changed drinking age? (assuming the age is lower in your country, which it more than likely is). Where I'm from the legal age is 18 to get in clubs and to drink, although this is not enforced at all. You can get into clubs as long as you're old enough and you can basically drink whenever. </p>
<p>Although I am not by any means a party animal I like to go out with my friends and have a drink or two and dance at the end of the week to relax. But here in america this is next to impossible for me. I was only 17 what I cam so every weekend was basically a bore for me. And when I did sneak into a club, I hated not being able to go up to the bar and buy my own drink >.<</p>
<p>How did you deal with american strictness? Fake I.D.? Asking older friends to buy? Or are you gonna be a fully law-abiding citizen and wait until you can legally drink?</p>
<p>well here in NYC, you can go to bars and clubs when you’re 18, you just can’t buy alcohol. I always figured it was like this in the rest of the country, too - so you don’t have to sneak in unless you’re still 17.</p>
<p>as for buying alcohol at clubs, I usually go with my boyfriend who’s of age and buys me drinks…I think nyc is more laid-back about drinking because i’ve bought drinks without being carded before; I’m nearly 20 but look young for my age.</p>
<p>in most colleges, there are plenty of parties on campus where you can drink and dance and meet people</p>
<p>I drank during the first semester but after considering it, I think I am going to try and become 21 to wait before I can legally drink because that’s just the right thing to do. Then again, I’ll probably have one beer once in a while but I won’t go over that limit until I’m 21.</p>
<p>Some bars and clubs in the cities don’t even card you. For example, I’m in Providence and I know quite a few bars/clubs that don’t card at all. I also know some people back at home and at Purdue who have fake ID’s. I have a lot of friends who are 21 so whenever I want booze, I get it. As Alix said, there are plenty of parties on campus where you can drink, dance, and meet people. Just don’t get caught for DUI, public intox, or underage consumption. Some campus police officers are lenient than others in terms of citing/arresting minors.</p>
<p>Go to school near the Canadian border. Or Mexican, although then you risk getting killed by some gangbangers.</p>
<p>edit: I strongly don’t recommend a fake ID, if only because it’s a pretty serious crime. And definitely don’t get in the business of making them… AFAIK it’s now a felony.</p>
<p>At both schools I’ve been to, police are generally a bit lenient. If you’re drunk but walking straight and not being a nuisance, they’ll ignore you. If you’re shouting, being a fool, drinking in public and generally just being a mess then yeah they will arrest you. And for god’s sake don’t yell at a cop or hit him… you can’t win that battle.</p>
<p>I second DCH’s advice about going to a college near Canada or Mexico so you can just cross the border and drink legally. Otherwise, get a 21+ year old friend or go to parties. Fake ID’s might work, but they are a bad idea in the long run. Be responsible with your drinking and people will look the other way. If you’re staying a dorm, don’t drink in the common areas even when you turn 21 as that is usually not allowed.</p>
<p>In NYC, actually this probably applies to all of New York state, you can very, very, very easily get alcohol while underage. All you need is an Internet connection and access to a credit or debit card.</p>
<p>NYC is so lenient. I bought a fake ID last year and the only times I have had to use it are when I am going with a bunch of college-age people to a hot spot. Otherwise, I have never been carded in the common bar, although I am pretty old looking.</p>
<p>It also helps if you establish a relationship with your local watering hole. They might card the first few times, but then they’ll remember you and it won’t be weird and you can get a whole bunch of cool perks by being a “regular”. If you are always going to different bars all of the time, you’ll encounter the same awkward identity issues each time if you don’t have a fake, and even if you do, it is still annoying using it (in my opinion).</p>
<p>^^I’ve never had that problem. Most of the companies in the city use UPS and they’ve never asked for ID when they deliver it.
Though I didn’t know UPS did same-day local deliveries until I started using the companies.</p>
<p>And delivery stores like Fresh Direct don’t ask for ID either. I think they’re supposed to but they never have.</p>
You aren’t even 21?! HAHAHAHAHAHA! By the way you talk about your peers, I would have guessed you were 30! You definitely need to get off your high horse and take a chill pill, man. If I had known, I would have ripped you up… <3</p>
<p>I never was really into drinking so I waited until I was 21. </p>
<p>Even then I keep the drinking at home just because of the exorbitant cost of going to bars in NYC. You could have a bottle of wine for the cost of a glass or two.</p>
<p>I often don’t get carded at restaurants, especially if I’m just out with a few friends as opposed to a large group. Clubs do card at the door unless you have an in with a promoter or something, but many near colleges have 18+ nights where you can get in with a college ID. Bars often don’t card, especially if its a small neighborhood dive. Like everyone else said, campus parties and local house parties have lots of alcohol available for you to enjoy. Some schools have extremely lax alcohol policies where underage drinking is basically all but overlooked.</p>
<p>I would avoid the trouble of getting a fake ID. If you have an older friend whom you sorta resemble, I’d suggest paying them for their old or current ID and reimburse them for the trouble of getting a new one. That way, the real ID will scan and you’ll avoid trouble.</p>
By definition, yes :). Age also = wisdom. Pretending to be wiser than you are =/= mature. Maybe you should try being the kid that you are for once. I don’t understand what you accomplish by having a prejudice towards having fun and identifying with peers. IMO, you are wasting your life away, missing out on years you can never get back. If I had to make a prediction about your future, I would say you’ll regret having the attitude you do now.</p>
<p>Both false. If age = wisdom, then a 35-year-old crack addict is more wise than anyone younger. Then you will say, “it is a generalization, and there are exceptions, blah blah,” to which I would say “duh, of course”, hence why age does not always = wisdom.</p>
<p>Age is also not maturity. Not all older people behave responsibly, there are older people with childish personalities, there are older people who are mentally handicapped and their brains aren’t fully developed, etc… age is not maturity. I would say it is a trend that most people gain maturity as they age, but this isn’t always true and not a direct or proportional relationship. There are 30 year olds who act like 20 year olds and vice versa.</p>
<p>And I don’t have anything against having fun. I have plenty of fun and I have plenty of friends. Just because I pass judgment on something doesn’t exclude me from being a part of it. On top of that, you have no idea who I am, so claiming that you think I am wasting my life away is a horrendously stupid and uninformed statement. I happen to be very opinionated, but I am also very productive and happy and I have probably gotten a lot more done at 19 than most 19-year-olds I know. I don’t need to step down from my “high horse” because I take pride in who I am, what I’ve done, and what I’ve experienced.</p>
<p>Do you understand what it means to mature? It doesn’t mean to become more well-mannered, less excited, better-spoken, etc. Your definition of “mature” is actually not the true definition, but instead, is a collection of traits you believe are associated with maturity. Crack addict or not, the 35-year-old, while less responsible and possibly less intelligent than you, is wiser and more mature. The way you use the word is reminiscent of how an elementary teacher would compliment his/her students, which is funny to me, because you don’t realize how childish it sounds when you say it.</p>
<p>Kid, I don’t expect to persuade you. I was just making a prediction.</p>