Americans

So, all you Americans what is it like having to be 21 to drink (buy) alcohol and stuff, dont you get [Expletive Deleted]ty that other nations allow their citizens to drink @ 18? What do you guys do b/w the age of 18-21?

well if ur in the Uk its the same now

I started bar-hopping at 14. I rarely got carded, and when I did, my trusty fake ID always did the trick. So to answer your question, the age limit had no effect. Huzzah!

good ponint i started at 15

IDs are getting more and more complicated(read: harder to fake) , and more and more businesses are carding. Hell, I'm 27 and get carded more now than i did when i was under-age.

At any rate, american 18-20y.o.s will often go to canada to partake of their more liberal laws. Others are lucky enough to have older friends or whatever. Personally, I just didn't drink enough to make it a real issue (obligatory P.S.A.: Under-age drinking is illegal and bad...).

Where-ever there is a will to do something, a way will be found.

At any rate, american 18-20y.o.s will often go to canada to partake of their more liberal laws. 



Or if you're in the American Southwest, Tijuana, Mexico is a most welcoming little ville for seekers 12 and up

LOL, Im from the southern portion of the US (Alabama/Georgia) We used to all just get older friends to or hell even parents would buy it for us. The only rule in my house was if you drank you left your keys with my parents. Kinda wierd now though thinkng about it now though since Im the now po-po.

Seems much like here in Oz, expect we can legally drink @ 18, as well as compulosory voting & buying smokes.
Are the US uni/colleges really like you see in movies, how hard are they to get into, and do you guys have a HECS type of system, or is it user-paid

well, voting is not compulsory here.

The colleges are sometimes like you see in the movies, but often not. I went to WMU, which is considered a 'Party School' by more than a few sources. It was not like the movies... And it wasn't that hard to get into... Just test well, have reasonable grades and a checkbook.

Colleges in the States are user-paid. There are a lot of government programs to help with this if you fit certain parameters of finances, etc, but those are often low interest loans. You get to go very far in debt in college, if you can't pay for it in front.

back when I was in college (late 90's), it cost me about 2000 USD per semester for the actual tuition on a 16-credit hour load. And that was before all the lab fees, expensive books, or even the parking permit.

It would not surprise me to find that it is twice that price now.

Community colleges can be cheaper, but often don't offer more than a two year degree (associate's), and have much more narrow of a course listing than a regular university.

here in the Netherlands you can have beer and low percentage alcohol at 16 and the heavy ones at 18...

soo...when it comes to loose rules, the Neth's are the Bests

I'm pretty sure any American could get alcohol if they wanted it. When I was 10 I knew where my parents liquor cabinet was. Granted, I didn't take anything... but I could.

Also... due to the crazy laws we have in America over things like alcohol and other stuff, I bet you can understand why I'm going abroad to Amsterdam come next year!

I know why you're going to Amsterdam - the fabled red light district. Or could it be, umm, certain cafes...? If you see one that looks like an utter craphole - try it. Their product is usually better quality...

Guilty as charged!

I did the popular ones: Grasshopper, Bulldog, and one other I can't remember the name of, and I tried a few off the beaten path. If there was a difference in quality, I was way too gone to notice it.

Hey, now here's an interesting thought. Imagine we could apply Sith alchemy to that particular area of botany. Heh-heh-heh...

Hey, now here's an interesting thought.  Imagine we could apply Sith alchemy to that particular area of botany.  Heh-heh-heh...



Mmm, I like where this is going :w00t:

I did the popular ones: Grasshopper, Bulldog, and one other I can't remember the name of, and I tried a few off the beaten path. If there was a difference in quality, I was way too gone to notice it.



You haven't paid the Greenhouse a visit? Shame on you...

Wow Muz, I'd love to pay $2k a semister for college. Tuition, room board and food run me about $12k a semister and books are usually around $300 (I had $500 in books the semister before this...ouch). I go to a private school though, and they're always more expensive then public ones.

Getting alcohol is not a problem in the least bit. I'm 20 and I always have some sort of alcohol in my room (at the moment it's a handle of Jamison left over from St Patty's day ). Hell, last year my RA woulc buy for the guys on my hall. There are 3 people that I can think of off the top of my head that would buy for me too. You only have to be 21 to buy alcohol, not drink it.

It's easier to not go to uni... thats what i did and i have a career job two months after leaving school...

Alcohol is the easiest thing to obtain in Australia... just get your parents or your friends parents to buy it.

Hmmm... I'm still a minor, but I find the laws stupid due to inconsistency.

Driving at 15/16.
Voting at 18.
Marriage at 18 (sometimes younger).

And then,
Drinking at 21.

What is that? I think that voting requires more maturity than being allowed to have a drink or two.

All the states changed the drinking age to 21 (yes, drinking age is a state law not federal) because the federal government said they wouldn't be getting any federal highway money if they didn't. That was a lot of money the states risked loosing, so they all upped the drinking age to 21.

Why 21 though? Who the hell knows. Someone behind a desk liked the number, most likely.

Okay. But I still don't understand why the state or federal government deems voting an issue that requires less maturity than drinking.

Drinking is different in that it is affects by the body, not so much the mind (it is much more related to physical health). But most of the people I know who are about 18 either are mature enough to vote and drink, or too immature to do either.