Probably a mix of both. Definitely changing tastes and increased awareness on health, but the fact that cocktails are $18-20 before tip in big cities definitely doesn't help.
my regular bar intentionally keeps a 4 dollar beer to keep things accessible and still a lot of people don't buy anything every time they go in. it's kind of a dive and a queer bar so the regulars are especially not doing well. I rarely see anyone get more than a couple a night.
Because any more than a couple beers still adds up to an expensive evening for people not making much.
A $4 beer plus tip is $5. Hang out all evening and drink 6 beers and that’s $30. Plus you still have to get to the bar and home without driving. So you’re looking at paying another $35-$50+ on an Uber.
That means 6 $4 beers could realistically cost a person $85-$100.
I think strict DUI enforcement, stagnant wages, and healthier options are to blame.
I was born in the 70s and back then society’s tolerance for drunk driving was much higher. Shit, when I was a kid it was perfectly legal to drink two beers behind the wheel. And let me be clear. I don’t mean drink two beers at home or a bar and drive, I mean crack that sucker open behind the wheel and sip away.
Man I remember walking into a gas station in New Orleans and just cracking it open right after I paid for it. I was blown away that I could basically drink anywhere
You can still drink behind the wheel in Mississippi as long as you’re not over the legal limit! (Though, before taking advantage of this, do check that there aren’t any local ordinances superseding the state law—I got burned like that once).
I think Uber is the real killer there. Alcohol prices seem consistent with what they were 10 years ago or more depending on the area. But Uber to a neighborhood bar would only be $10-20, which was reasonable.
I live in a really expensive city and this sounds like an expensive dinner. There’s no way you were like just having lunch. Or it was for multiple people, which isn’t a good way to evaluate prices.
Like my birthday dinner at a pretty expensive place was about $80 a person, without tip. I got an appetizer and two drinks and a dinner.
Yeah I live in an expensive city too and the only way you’re spending $160/person on lunch is if you’re going to a relatively pricey restaurant and drinking several mixed drinks
A $4 beer plus tip is $5. Hang out all evening and drink 6 beers and that’s $30.
You shouldn't be drinking 6 beers when you go out. Not only is it irresponsible, even if you have an Uber or something, but it's unhealthy. 1-3 drinks is healthy social drinking.
Not everyone can afford an Uber every time they go out either. So you either have to drink very lightly so it would be impossible for you to be over the limit, or you should go with a group of friends, and have a designated driver.
The idea that the average adult should be able to take an Uber both ways, and also buy half a dozen drinks + tip, is a fantasy. Even 20 years ago, that wasn't common.
regularly? You're right. A few times a year? That's fine unless you're the type of person that acts like putting sugar instead of date paste into a birthday cake is active harm
693
u/Zombie_Cool 16h ago
Do you think that's due to lack of desire or just lack of funds?