Students go out much more frequently at Cambridge than they do at MIT. Whether it is a weeknight or the weekend (except on Sunday) you find a vibrant nightlife culture. Why? A few reasons:
- The drinking age is 18 years old. There are so many more places available to students than there are in the US.
- Students have more free time during term than they do at MIT.
- There is a noticeably different drinking culture.
As mentioned above, there is a slew of pubs in Cambridge, frequented by both city residents and students; some students visit the pub several nights each week. There are five or six nightclubs in Cambridge, each of which offers specials on a given night of the week. (Not surprisingly, the nights with the specials are also the nights that the clubs tend to get the highest student traffic). In addition to these spots, some students will also spend many nights socializing in their College bars or attending their College formal halls. Here is a Map of Pubs in Cambridge.
How to tell the good from the bad? The Cambridge University Student Union and college profile the most popular pubs and clubs in their Freshers Guides. You may hear students warn you of mingling with "townies." Townies is a derogatory term for the non-student residents of Cambridge. There is a historically contentious relationship between the elites who attended the university before it was slowly more diversified and the permanent residents of Cambridge. While there have been rare instances of assault or verbal abuse during between Cambridge students and permanent city residents at pubs and clubs, the frequency of these incidents is heavily exaggerated by students. Just be respectful of everyone as you would in Cambridge, MA.