Bored with irish nightlife.......

Minera

I apologise if there has already been a post on this but for the last while im totally bored with the pub scene, plus I barely go out anymore so im finding it difficult to find other ways to entertain myself especially at the weekends, im not really interested in outdoorsy stuff and ill crack if I have to spend another saturday night watching netflix or going to the cinema. Has anyone any suggestions on what to do after 6pm on weekend nights other than sit in or go out to the pub? Does anyone know of any non alcohol venues to spend an evening in?

Sunnyisland

There are a few in Dublin if that's where you are, you will have to seRch for them as I on ph here :-)

Minera

I did google it but all im getting is dates from a few years ago i suppose coffee shops and cafes are open late, I was kinda hoping somewhere I could meet other people some live music etc maybe Im looking in wrong places

yes im in dublin but I dont mind travelling to a venue either

Sunnyisland

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowUserReviews-g186605-d2465200-r152102628-Accents_Coffee_Tea_Lounge-Dublin_County_Dublin.html


http://www.dancefree.ie/


You could try theses,I was in the top one and it was grand, for me anyway.


Minera you have to go out and look for what might interest you,Unfortunally most of our country's social life is based around pubs,It's very hard to fill the void that's left in your life when you stop drinking,you could pop into an AA meeting even if not interested in it itself it's a great way to being around like minded people and some good might come out of it, Like so many have said recently.

Learning to trust others again is part of our emotional growth and healing.You just regained about 4-6 hours a day back,The world out there is telling us to do something totally counter to what we know we must do. So staying connected with like-minded people is vital. We are swimming upstream on this one...it's nice to have fellow fish to make the journey with,give it a try you have absolutely nothing to loose :-)

Minera

Thanks for the links and inspirational thoughts realies

hubba

realies wrote: »

http://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowUserReviews-g186605-d2465200-r152102628-Accents_Coffee_Tea_Lounge-Dublin_County_Dublin.html


http://www.dancefree.ie/


You could try theses,I was in the top one and it was grand, for me anyway.


Minera you have to go out and look for what might interest you,Unfortunally most of our country's social life is based around pubs,It's very hard to fill the void that's left in your life when you stop drinking,you could pop into an AA meeting even if not interested in it itself it's a great way to being around like minded people and some good might come out of it, Like so many have said recently.

Learning to trust others again is part of our emotional growth and healing.You just regained about 4-6 hours a day back,The world out there is telling us to do something totally counter to what we know we must do. So staying connected with like-minded people is vital. We are swimming upstream on this one...it's nice to have fellow fish to make the journey with,give it a try you have absolutely nothing to loose :-)

Another great post, Realies. Thanks

cutterhugs

minera i started dancing and irealey love it good for the head keeps me fit and away from drink

enoughalready

Theatre trips? Love a good show me!

tealcottage

The thing I enjoy is to go anywhere there is something on that you enjoy in a pub or anywhere else and enjoy the entertainment and Ballygowan.

I leave as soon as the entertainment is over I can drive home and I have sporting activities on every morning that I look forward to getting to bed as early as possible.

I look at it as it's the drinkers that are missing out on a lot. Some of them won't remember the entertainment that was on and none of them will be up next morning with a clear head to do anything.

It's great to be free to do what you want. Life is brilliant now without drink.

Everlong1

Minera - have a look at meetup.com

There's groups there for every interest under the sun and in particular there are quite a few groups based around non-alcoholic social activities. Check out the group called A Sober Slice of Dublin for starters. They do all sorts of social events that don't involve booze.

I'd agree with Tealcottage above - I stopped drinking two years ago and I've never been happier. Still do all the things I used to do and still go into pubs but I now I'm going to see a band, watch a footie game or socialise - everything except drink alcohol. I spent Halloween in the Grand Social, danced my ass off to a great David Bowie tribute band and spent the rest of the night dancing to the DJs and nary a drop of alcohol all night.

Minera

I'm feeling a lot of support here its great! I think I'm beginning to realise that it's more a way of thinking than being "bored" just a lack of imagination anyway cheers guys keep it coming!

Corkgirl210

funky seomra is a great night out (next one ny eve).. they also do embodiement dance nights (one on tomorrow from 730 to 10pm) alcohol free dancing... always a good night out... conscious Ireland is another one on ny eve.. soberslice as mentioned above, usually arranges meetups at these gigs...

tunguska

Minera wrote: »

I apologise if there has already been a post on this but for the last while im totally bored with the pub scene, plus I barely go out anymore so im finding it difficult to find other ways to entertain myself especially at the weekends, im not really interested in outdoorsy stuff and ill crack if I have to spend another saturday night watching netflix or going to the cinema. Has anyone any suggestions on what to do after 6pm on weekend nights other than sit in or go out to the pub? Does anyone know of any non alcohol venues to spend an evening in?

Yeah I understand your dilemma, its something that most people dont realise(or dont want to acknowledge) because the alcohol covers up so much. Its like a buffer that prevents you from seeing what things are really like, but once you remove the booze you see our social lives for what they really are. And I think most people know this deep down but dont want to face up because that means youre left in the exact place where youre in now man, where you have to figure out how to have a social life thats fun but that doesnt involve alcohol or any other substance. And this is not such an easy thing to do. I mean it'd be a lot easier if most people didnt drink aswell, then for sure there'd be a lot more things to do and people to hang out with.
When you drink socializing is easy, all you do is show up at the boozer like everybody else and take it from there. I honestly think this is why most people do drink, because socialising is so much easier when you do. But the downside is the price you and your body pay is massive. I read a stat the other day that was pretty scary, I cant recall the exact figure, but a significant proportion of suicides have high alcohol levels in their blood. And I know people will throw up the moderation argument, but honestly out of all the people I know, theres only one who genuinely can have one or two and leave it at that.
I think what you need to do is just get out and try things out for yourself. Just look at it as one big experiment, have no expectations and be do things with an outcome independent mentality. That way you go into anything in a non judgemental, open and relaxed way. The funky seomra is something thats a good concept but I think it can be a bit intimidating to some people who struggle to be social without alcohol. And this is especially true if you're not a good or confident dancer. The first time I went I was lucky in that I had 3 friends with me but if youre in a position where youre going on your own, youre a bit shy and not a good dancer then its not such a great thing.
For me what I found I really liked was dance classes. When I drank I wouldnt bother with the dancing because you could just stand around with the lads and get sloshed. Easy. But when alcohol is out of the equation youre left with the boredom of just standing around trying to make conversation with people who are slowly but surely losing the power of sense. So the only other things you can do is go chat up some girls, which is a lot of fun, but again if youre socially shy without booze this can be hard, or you can go dancing (Or you can chat up girls and go dancing, both are good). So it made sense to learn how to be at least competent on the dance floor so that I could still go out with friends who drink, but also because dancing is a lot of fun. Seriously the happiest people I know are dancers, theres definitely some kind of correlation between dancing and happiness. Anyway i just went along to a dance class(theres a lot of them scattered all over the city) and this was something that has clicked with me and transformed my life. The people are cool, and we have so much fun its an amazing thing. Its ironic because the class I go to is held in a pub, and a lot of the time the people who are just there to drink will ask can they join in because we're having so much fun and they want to be part of it.
So I guess the bottom line is to go and explore. Get out there and throw yourself into things. A lot of the time you'll have to overcome internal resistance, because your ego will try to prevent you from stepping out of your comfort zone. But dont ever allow that to happen, just go for it and step into the unknown, even if its something that turns out to be not to your liking, thats fine, nothing is a waste, you'll always get something positive from your experiences.