Well, it can't come as a surprise, as the city of Milwaukee is known as "The Nation's Watering Hole," and was, at one time, home to four of the world's largest breweries: Schlitz, Pabst, Blatz, and of course, Miller, which is the only one left in the city currently. Still, the drinking habits of Milwaukeeans are what made it #1 on Forbes' list of the "Drunkest Cities in America."
Forbes took the 35 largest metropolitan areas and ranked them in order of "drunkenness," based on five parameters: state laws, number of drinkers, number of heavy drinkers, number of binge drinkers and alcoholism. Rounding out the Top 10:
- Milwaukee, WI
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
- Columbus, OH
- Boston, MA
- Austin, TX
- Chicago, IL
- Cleveland, OH
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Philadelphia, PA
- Provdence, RI
What? I wonder why no city on the west coast made the top 10?
8-23-2006 @6:21PM Velvethandgirl said... I think it's bc all west coast peeps are the potheads.
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8-23-2006 @8:54PM Samantha said... Because out there the social lubricant of choice is a little more - green?
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8-23-2006 @9:35PM tr said... woo-hoo! i live in #3 and my hometown is #7!!! :D
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8-23-2006 @11:22PM rosie said... I can see why Columbus would be on here...OSU contributes to some serious binge drinking...I should know - I did my share in college...I just think the folks in Cleveland drink to drown their misery over how bad the Browns are....
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8-24-2006 @2:39AM Miranda said... Because no one in CA friggin' drinks. You might think you do, but really you have no idea. It's hell if you're trying to make money as a server or bartender. My theory is that it's because it doesn't get cold enough there. Drinking is a social activity and Californians don't have to spend half the year indoors. We here in city #6 do and prefer to spend that time in bars with various warming libations.
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8-24-2006 @2:51PM Justin T. said... I want to know where Athens, Oh is in all of this. When I was down there I heard that we had the most bars per capita in the nation. Here in Columbus, I can totally understand being number 3. Although I wonder if the smoking ban kept us out of the number 1 spot.
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8-24-2006 @4:37PM Jay said... Because Athens, OH falls a tad bit short of being one of the 35 largest metro areas in the country, which is what the survey measured.
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8-30-2006 @3:42PM Hardknox said... I live in CA and and I'm from #7....Yea it's true...west coast ppl are all the potheads!
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8-26-2006 @3:18PM D said... Sure, we West Coasters may smoke a bit more herb than the rest of the country, but that thankfully comes at the expense of other lovely habits quite prevalent in other regions, such as methamphetamines (I'm pretty sure I don't live anywhere near one of those meth labs you find in numerous hick town-type places), coke, crack, herion, and creative use of cold remedies. Sure they are used here, but one doesn't see it with nearly the same frequency as one does in other parts of the country, or even in the central valley of California.
The more analytic explanation for the west coast not being present is the general pursuit of a healthier lifestyle than is present in other areas of the country, as well as an acceptance of the fact that alcoholic beverages are high in calories, meaning it's tough to drink like a lush and maintain a nice figure (beer bellies on men and women are certainly not attractive) unless you give up something else in your diet. The smoking ban has a lot to do with this, and also might contribute to the effect, as it's hard to drink a ton with the combinaton of public drinking laws and the fact that to smoke one often has to stand outside the bar (sans drink). Plus, people just smoke less here anyway, and smoking tends to go hand in had with a big drinking culture. Finally, yes, the weather and not having to spend a huge chunk of the year exclusively indoors sure has a lot to do with it. Miami's not exactly high on the list either.
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8-30-2006 @1:40PM Adam said... It's because the west coast cities, just like the east coast cities that didn't make it have stuff to do. Look at all those cities. There's nothing around there and all of them kinda suck. There's nothing left to do but drink.
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9-07-2006 @7:44PM Bonnie said... Whatever. Tucson AZ drinks mass quantities of beer. We just didn't know there was a survey, cuz we were drunk at the time. Viva Coronitas!!
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11-09-2006 @12:20AM Ben Gohlke said... Contrary to the nations popular belief, #1 Milwaukee absolutely Rocks. I'm 28, have lived here my whole life, and would never move permanantly. Don't get me wrong, I've been to most of the major cities in the country, and many are fantastic to visit, but this is the place to be. It's a perfect blend of the four seasons, and I'm telling you, we're #1 for a reason. We party hard, and work hard, and there's no better blend. One trip here during Brew cities famous Summerfest Music Festival, and I guarentee you'll be hooked. Milwaukee actually should be the countries best kept secret. Come visit us, and party a bit.
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