"So why aren't you drinking?"

[OzGuy]

In Australia you are expected to drink, especially if you're at a club. If you aren't seen with a drink in your hand people think you're some sort of weirdo. I'm a non drinker and on the odd occasion I've been out to a bar/club the first thing women ask me is "so why aren't you drinking?" If you go out with mates they will also ask you this question. Its almost as if drinking alcohol is compulsory in Australia.

I am so sick of being asked this question all the time when I go out. Women here will only date men who drink, they aren't interested in non-drinkers who prefer to live a healthy lifestyle. As soon as they find out you're not drinking they aren't interested in you. What I sometimes have to do is get a drink of coke and just pretend its mixed with rum or something. Or if they ask me why i'm not drinking then I say "because I have to drive" to which they say "oooh that sucks, you poor thing!".

If you're a non-drinker or don't like getting drunk every weekend then don't bother coming to Australia. People will even make fun of you if you don't drink, and women certainly won't be interested in you.

I am so sick of this country with its bogans (rednecks) and drunks. I can't wait to move to Europe where people actually have some class and intelligence.

Is the drinking culture this bad in the US? Are women also not interested in you if you don't drink?

[jamesbond]

In Australia you are expected to drink, especially if you're at a club. If you aren't seen with a drink in your hand people think you're some sort of weirdo. I'm a non drinker and on the odd occasion I've been out to a bar/club the first thing women ask me is "so why aren't you drinking?" If you go out with mates they will also ask you this question. Its almost as if drinking alcohol is compulsory in Australia.

I am so sick of being asked this question all the time when I go out. Women here will only date men who drink, they aren't interested in non-drinkers who prefer to live a healthy lifestyle. As soon as they find out you're not drinking they aren't interested in you. What I sometimes have to do is get a drink of coke and just pretend its mixed with rum or something. Or if they ask me why i'm not drinking then I say "because I have to drive" to which they say "oooh that sucks, you poor thing!".

If you're a non-drinker or don't like getting drunk every weekend then don't bother coming to Australia. People will even make fun of you if you don't drink, and women certainly won't be interested in you.

I am so sick of this country with its bogans (rednecks) and drunks. I can't wait to move to Europe where people actually have some class and intelligence.

Is the drinking culture this bad in the US? Are women also not interested in you if you don't drink?

Yes, in America if you don't drink alcohol, people think you are a weirdo! Also, if your in your 20's or 30's and don't go to bars and clubs people think you are a freak!

How dare you be a young single person not go to bars and clubs on the weekend? Also, how dare you be a young single person in the US and not drink alcohol?

I hope this party animal atomosphere does not exist in eastern Europe or Germany. I want to get away from this "party animal culture" as soon as humanly possible!

[anon13]

Just wanted to disappoint you- Europe is the same. I didn't drink until I was 30, and was constantly pressured by other people to do so. Partly it's because they think you'll have more fun, and partly because they are self conscious that there's someone sober watching them while they get drunk and act stupid. Also I think as a female it's additionally because young guys expect to get you drunk and for you to then behave as they imagine women ought ie become more accessible. Note as well that if you don't drink, people will assume that you also disapprove of them drinking, even if that's not the case. So expect to be called boring, no fun, uptight, repressed etc

Best bet- get involved in a hobby club where you actually *do* something to socialise- play games or sports or something. Otherwise, socialising means getting drunk.

PS- I say Europe, I mean the UK. I've also spent some time in Finland, and the drinking culture here is even more ingrained.

[ExpeditionSailor]

Just wanted to disappoint you- Europe is the same. I didn't drink until I was 30, and was constantly pressured by other people to do so. Partly it's because they think you'll have more fun, and partly because they are self conscious that there's someone sober watching them while they get drunk and act stupid. Also I think as a female it's additionally because young guys expect to get you drunk and for you to then behave as they imagine women ought ie become more accessible. Note as well that if you don't drink, people will assume that you also disapprove of them drinking, even if that's not the case. So expect to be called boring, no fun, uptight, repressed etc

Best bet- get involved in a hobby club where you actually *do* something to socialise- play games or sports or something. Otherwise, socialising means getting drunk.

PS- I say Europe, I mean the UK. I've also spent some time in Finland, and the drinking culture here is even more ingrained.

Non-drinkers should build themselves an island out in the ocean, in international waters. A place where they could live without being looked down on or ostracized because they don't drink. An island free of man-hating feminism, manginism and a whole host of other ills that drive us to seek out foreign lands where we will be accepted, and the women will love us.

[NorthAmericanguy]

Yea, I don't drink either. It lowers your IQ, it dulls your senses, it makes you fat, it messes up your teeth, and it REALLY f***s up your liver.

[Contrarian Expatriate]

A drink serves as both a social lubricant (for some), and a social prop to give the illusion that you are relaxed.

I don't like to drink alcohal either so I order cranberry juice in a wine glass. People think I am some refined bon vivant drinking wine when, in fact, I drink a $1.50 glass of juice.

When people don't see you with a drink, it makes them feel you are not at ease. Stupid, I know, but it is what it is.

[Google]

I hope this party animal atomosphere does not exist in eastern Europe or Germany. I want to get away from this "party animal culture" as soon as humanly possible!

I think in East Europe is the same ( Ukraine)
personally I'm a non drinker and i have friends who not drinkers. if someone offers me a drink, I say "no", and I do not care what others think

Are women also not interested in you if you don't drink?

vice versa, Ukrainian girls more interested in you if you don't drink

[lavezzi]

Just wanted to disappoint you- Europe is the same.

That's only true for Northern European countries. In Southern Europe, it's the norm for young people to hang out together without needing to be drunk to do so. Every summer Spanish students come here in droves and I often see them in groups late on a Friday night just sitting around peacefully at the seafront with none of them drinking. Then I see local youths drunk out of their heads, shouting and starting fights etc.

I don't see any problem with drinking, but why do people act like animals whenever they drink? When I drink my behavior is identical to when I'm sober except I'm a bit more relaxed and confident, but many people seem to transform into completely different people, as if it brings out some kind of psychosis within them.

[ErikHeaven]

The women i am meeting are hydro addicts or other prescription drugs. They come out and blatantly admit they are pill poppers and they ask you do you do them. And when i say no that is when the interest goes away. And these are young hot white women around 120 pounds.

[Cornfed]

When I was living in a small town in New Zealand last year I tried to give up drinking for a month. Unfortunately there was nothingto do socially if you weren't drinking or using drugs. The mostly younger people I hung out with were mostly users of various drugs and regarded me as eccentric for not using drugs. It is not a good world we are living in now, at least not in the West.

[OzGuy]

Now that i'm living in Switzerland I never get asked this, even in a bar. People don't even question why you're not drinking.

[terminator]

At least the Govt is putting drinkers in jail with all the DUIs and tresspass laws at Pubs. Drinkers will regret their habit.

[Teal Lantern]

The women i am meeting are hydro addicts or other prescription drugs. They come out and blatantly admit they are pill poppers and they ask you do you do them. And when i say no that is when the interest goes away. And these are young hot white women around 120 pounds.

Wow. Now I know I'm too far out of touch with this culture. I had to look this phrase up.
Yikes! Talk about learning something I was happier not knowing.
If this is what I'm "missing out on", I'm going to keep on missing it.

[royaldude]

i have been off and on alki for years though never extreme levels. but i try to go dry every once and a while to give my liver a break. anyway i still like going out and when i do i try and stick to virgin bloody marys its an easy one to order and still served in a cocktail glass so no one is the wiser

[ClearView]

Some people only feel comfortable lowering their inhibitions (through alcohol) if they think others are doing it too. It's the tribe/herd mentality. The interesting thing is that if you just drink a coke but act drunk they'll still feel comfortable around you. I used to do it when I was young and fitting into this type of crowd was still important to me. It didn't take long being sober while observing drunken people to realize how idiotic being catatonic was and what an idiot I was for trying to fit into that when I really didn't enjoy it.