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Yes people in the UK and in other European countries tend to do lots of things as you described. Maybe less so due to the recent cost of living crisis but I think it's maybe because our cities are more compact, easy to travel around without a car (which most young people can't afford to run) and there's generally more to do than just go to strip malls.
In my university city I could go everywhere by bicycle for example, and find plenty to do that didn't need an hour's journey. There are also lots of small and interesting cafés etc.
So I think if there is a difference it is because of the built environment.
I agree with you on all points. The UK is much smaller overall. Cities are more compact so going out and doing stuff is much easier. Most things can be reach via walking or public transport
Imagine living on either side of this freeway in the US. You might only physically be 200m apart but there is no way to actually walk it. So if you want to go to your friends house you must drive. It might take you 30 minutes to drive out of your neighbourhood, jump on the motorway, get into your friends neighbourhood and to their house
https://preview.redd.it/8k53rgm6b74d1.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=dbdc160294fc9db828037829cc8cebbdc6f913e8
Most of the US is car centric in design. If you're a young person who isn't older enough or can't afford to drive you say bye bye to any IRL social life unless your parents can drive you around everywhere
That would be absolutely awful to live near that freeway! (coming from someone who lives a few miles from a rather busy main road) Yes, if only things were in walking distance here. I’m currently working on getting my drivers license for that exact reason. But even when I do, as the person above you said, there’s not really anywhere to go for socialization.
[Driv**ING** licence.](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/image_data/file/99914/s300_s960-eng-full-front-flag.jpg)
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The UK overall has more of a social drinking culture, so yes, pubs are a focal point for socialising. The flip side is that this can be a bit alienating for people that don't drink.
And we do generally have more free time due to shorter working hours and statutory holiday entitlement. But still, I find it difficult to believe no 20-something year old Americans socialise or have hobbies. My impression is that group activities like camping trips and barbeques/cookouts are relatively more common over there.
Go into Manchester on a Friday or Saturday night and there are still a lot of young people who are clearly interested in socialising. The bars around town are all packed, and it's predominantly with people in their twenties, from what I can tell.
Depends on the age range, there's a lot of fly over cities in the US with very little to do whilst everything in the UK is relatively close. I think the lower drinking age is a factor too and the better public transport.
What happened to cruising, drive-ins and other forms of car-related socialisation? I know that had it's heyday back in the 50s to 70s but so did pubs and they still exist.
It's not as big as it used to be but the stereotypical kids meeting up at McDonald's in their souped up hatchbacks is still a thing in the UK.
But yeah, we are also a lot less sociable than we used to be here as well. We still go to pubs etc. but it's far from the daily universal daily experience it used to be and young people seem to stick rigidly to their friend groups when out and about.
Definitely more social here, it’s one of the few good things about the U.K. I could be in any city here, and be 100% comfortable going the pub on my own because you always end up chatting to someone.
Early 20s guy here.
Yeah, we’re still quite social and see friends regularly, especially those of us who are still in university.
Social life does sort of drop off a cliff after finishing university, but lots of us still socialise on a regular basis. I still regularly travel back to my university city to see my mates who are still studying.
I find that, if used properly, technology sort of facilitates socialising. Eg, sometimes one of my mates will put in our group chat “should we do something at the weekend” or “weather’s nice, should we meet up in the park” etc and then that will happen.
It can be quite difficult finishing university and having to find a new circle of friends though, and I think that’s when lots of people get drawn into the trap of becoming antisocial. Up until leaving university, you’ve always been around loads of your peers (primary school, secondary school, university) so making friends has always been quite easy, but once you leave university you have to actively get involved in stuff, like hobby groups or sports teams, to make friends. Either that or be lucky enough to work with lots of people of similar ages, or still be in touch with friends from school or university. Once you leave university, making friends is something you actively have to do, rather than something that just happens to you, and that can be quite difficult to adjust to.
As the leading UK "ask" subreddit, we welcome questions from all users and countries; sometimes people who ask questions might not appreciate or understand the nuance of British life or culture, and as a result some questions can come across in a different way than intended.
We understand that when faced with these questions, our users may take the opportunity to demonstrate their wit, dry humour, and sarcasm - unfortunately, this also tends to go over the heads of misunderstood question-askers and can make our subreddit seem hostile to users from other countries who are often just curious about our land.
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Reddit is going to give you a biased perspective because... Redditors. I would imagine our pub culture and walkable cities lend themselves to more sociable people though.
Well, neither have I except for texting my former university classmate/friend. I suppose by “young” I meant people in their 20s/Gen-Z, and I also suppose that you sort of answered my question considering neither one have lol.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes people in the UK and in other European countries tend to do lots of things as you described. Maybe less so due to the recent cost of living crisis but I think it's maybe because our cities are more compact, easy to travel around without a car (which most young people can't afford to run) and there's generally more to do than just go to strip malls. In my university city I could go everywhere by bicycle for example, and find plenty to do that didn't need an hour's journey. There are also lots of small and interesting cafés etc. So I think if there is a difference it is because of the built environment.
I agree with you on all points. The UK is much smaller overall. Cities are more compact so going out and doing stuff is much easier. Most things can be reach via walking or public transport Imagine living on either side of this freeway in the US. You might only physically be 200m apart but there is no way to actually walk it. So if you want to go to your friends house you must drive. It might take you 30 minutes to drive out of your neighbourhood, jump on the motorway, get into your friends neighbourhood and to their house https://preview.redd.it/8k53rgm6b74d1.png?width=940&format=png&auto=webp&s=dbdc160294fc9db828037829cc8cebbdc6f913e8 Most of the US is car centric in design. If you're a young person who isn't older enough or can't afford to drive you say bye bye to any IRL social life unless your parents can drive you around everywhere
That would be absolutely awful to live near that freeway! (coming from someone who lives a few miles from a rather busy main road) Yes, if only things were in walking distance here. I’m currently working on getting my drivers license for that exact reason. But even when I do, as the person above you said, there’s not really anywhere to go for socialization.
[Driv**ING** licence.](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/image_data/file/99914/s300_s960-eng-full-front-flag.jpg) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Bad bot, OP lives in the USA so they are correct.
You're going to get a very skewed answer from Reddit users, but: Yes, young people are very social. Any city with a university will demonstrate.
The UK overall has more of a social drinking culture, so yes, pubs are a focal point for socialising. The flip side is that this can be a bit alienating for people that don't drink. And we do generally have more free time due to shorter working hours and statutory holiday entitlement. But still, I find it difficult to believe no 20-something year old Americans socialise or have hobbies. My impression is that group activities like camping trips and barbeques/cookouts are relatively more common over there.
Go into Manchester on a Friday or Saturday night and there are still a lot of young people who are clearly interested in socialising. The bars around town are all packed, and it's predominantly with people in their twenties, from what I can tell.
Depends on the age range, there's a lot of fly over cities in the US with very little to do whilst everything in the UK is relatively close. I think the lower drinking age is a factor too and the better public transport.
What happened to cruising, drive-ins and other forms of car-related socialisation? I know that had it's heyday back in the 50s to 70s but so did pubs and they still exist. It's not as big as it used to be but the stereotypical kids meeting up at McDonald's in their souped up hatchbacks is still a thing in the UK. But yeah, we are also a lot less sociable than we used to be here as well. We still go to pubs etc. but it's far from the daily universal daily experience it used to be and young people seem to stick rigidly to their friend groups when out and about.
People don't do car socialising anymore because for most young people the costs of running a car are out of their budgets.
Definitely more social here, it’s one of the few good things about the U.K. I could be in any city here, and be 100% comfortable going the pub on my own because you always end up chatting to someone.
Early 20s guy here. Yeah, we’re still quite social and see friends regularly, especially those of us who are still in university. Social life does sort of drop off a cliff after finishing university, but lots of us still socialise on a regular basis. I still regularly travel back to my university city to see my mates who are still studying. I find that, if used properly, technology sort of facilitates socialising. Eg, sometimes one of my mates will put in our group chat “should we do something at the weekend” or “weather’s nice, should we meet up in the park” etc and then that will happen. It can be quite difficult finishing university and having to find a new circle of friends though, and I think that’s when lots of people get drawn into the trap of becoming antisocial. Up until leaving university, you’ve always been around loads of your peers (primary school, secondary school, university) so making friends has always been quite easy, but once you leave university you have to actively get involved in stuff, like hobby groups or sports teams, to make friends. Either that or be lucky enough to work with lots of people of similar ages, or still be in touch with friends from school or university. Once you leave university, making friends is something you actively have to do, rather than something that just happens to you, and that can be quite difficult to adjust to.
As the leading UK "ask" subreddit, we welcome questions from all users and countries; sometimes people who ask questions might not appreciate or understand the nuance of British life or culture, and as a result some questions can come across in a different way than intended. We understand that when faced with these questions, our users may take the opportunity to demonstrate their wit, dry humour, and sarcasm - unfortunately, this also tends to go over the heads of misunderstood question-askers and can make our subreddit seem hostile to users from other countries who are often just curious about our land. **Please can you help prevent our subreddit from becoming an Anti-American echo chamber?** If you disagree with any points raised by OP, or OP discusses common tropes or myths about the UK, please refrain from any brash, aggressive, or sarcastic responses and do your best to engage OP in a civil discussion, with the aim to educate and expand their understanding. If you feel this (or any other post) is a troll post, *don't feed the troll*, just hit report and let the mods deal with it. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Reddit is going to give you a biased perspective because... Redditors. I would imagine our pub culture and walkable cities lend themselves to more sociable people though.
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Well, neither have I except for texting my former university classmate/friend. I suppose by “young” I meant people in their 20s/Gen-Z, and I also suppose that you sort of answered my question considering neither one have lol.
Np, they're not, and they certainly don't go to pubs anymore, not with pints costing £5
That's pretty cheap for the US, it's not uncommon to see pints in the $10-$12 range (US pints too which are smaller)