It seems that to go out these days and enjoy yourself, you have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for such limited duration's of time. And if your out on a date, as a male (or a gentleman) you have to double those fees. Living in Miami, nightlife runs pretty costly if your out to have a good time at a well-known place or location. Whenever I go to the movies these days, I think to myself, "Damn, 9 dollars for a movie?" The simple fact of the matter is, for two hours of entertainment, 9 dollars isn't that bad if you sit to think about it.
Clubs these days are ridiculous. If you venture to South Beach (which I have given up), you will have to battle traffic (and waste gas), pay for parking (which isn't cheap), walk in alot of cases a long distance to get where you want to be, and you still haven't begun your club experience. Once you get to the club of choice (picked out ahead of time, or randomly at the time), you have to pay (usually) an entrance fee or "cover" to get in. Now these "cover" charges can be anything the bouncer, or front door attendant chooses at that time. It's going to be expensive, if your living on a meager (college student) budget. Now your inside, and you want to drink, and your bank account begins to suffer. Now double all of that, if your on a date (gentleman...)
Even the simpler things have gotten so expensive. If you want to take a young lady on a date to "Dave and Buster's" or any adult orientated arcade/gaming resturant/bar, you are looking at dropping cash quickly, without even knowing it. You park, you enter (sometimes with another "cover" charge), then you buy a "power card," or tokens, or any type of in house currency that actually lets you play games or do activities and you have already spent 15-20 dollars, or more per person. God forbid you want to eat, because your meal will range from 8-12 dollars each, depending on how much you want to impress your date. Then their is the bar, and if you like to drink as much as I do, well your wallet just took another shot, for the throat.
Bowling is a great way to kill some time and have fun with friends or a date. These days however, bowling has become so increasingly expensive. Gone are the small, simple bowling alleys of the past (sure you can still find one somewhere out there, but do you really want to go on that kind of journey)? Now these club/bowling experiences have been built. "Strike" is one, located at Dolphin mall in sweetwater, is a bowling alley with a club atmosphere and impressive lighting. After you have paid your entrance fee, that's right, entrance fee for a bowling alley ... you usually have some drink minimum, shoe rental, lane rental, and if your hungry food to pay for. Your talking easily 35 bucks per person on a weekend.
It seems that the smaller places to go have fallen to a market of big names and even bigger locations. If you want to go to a movie, you have AMC and Regal, not much more. Dave and Buster's as well as Gameworks are dominating the adult arcade market. Many bowling alleys such as Cloverleaf on 441 in North Miami have fallen to bigger names like "Strike". And even the roller rinks and ice rinks have seemed to disappear under the feet of the new strip malls and stores breaking ground all over Biscayne Blvd. "Miami Ice" on Biscayne Blvd. right across the street from FIU North Campus use to offer unlimited skating on Wednesday nights for 5 dollars, including skate rental! But alas, it was sold and demolished to make way for more shops and stores.
I recently frequented Hard Rock Casino for New Year's Eve and I dropped 100 dollars before I knew it, and I didn't even pay to enter any of the clubs there. My fees were accumulated only through food, drinks, gas and playing some slot machines. Granted News Year's Eve is generally an expensive holiday if you go out somewhere, but it just goes to show how easily money can flow out of pocket and very quickly. I can't even imagine how much I would have spent had I gone inside one of the clubs (entrance fees that night were from 50-100 dollars per person). On an average night at Hard Rock Casino (without gambling), you can easily spend 50 dollars for a few hours at a bar, restaurant, or club. Again, double those fees if your treating a significant other.
Now if you really want to go out on a nice Miami night and enjoy a few hours with friends or a date, 9 dollars for 2 hours isn't that bad, is it? But then again, how many movies can you really watch before she gets bored of you and wants a man that takes her bowling under glowing lights and 10 dollar shots of tequila. Unfortunately, we all have to pay for modern amusement, especially as college students looking to impress the ones we love. Then again, you could always make it a "Blockbuster night."
2 comments:
Good info. Would be interested in more articles on places to go within average budget.
Hey, you're usually so quiet in class... but it's the quiet ones who are the most observant, it seems. You were right on the money in this post (pun intended). And these days, it's even hard for us women -- guys hardly ever offer us drinks; they just want to bump and grind on the dance floor. Perhaps it's because drinks are so expensive nowadays?
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