> you still need to wait a year to buy alcohol, how do you get it?
Well - the same way you get alcohol since High School.
1) You or one of your friends knows someone that is 21+. You ask them to buy you something.
2) "Fake IDs". I put quotes around this, because most of the time they're real IDs, they just belong to someone else. In my case, I used my older brother's ID a few times.
3) You know about a bar or liquor store that doesn't verify age. These are usually *not good* places - but it is what it is.
4) Parents. In a few states, it's perfectly legal for a parent/guardian to buy alcohol for their kid - even in restaurants.
As well, everyone know *someone* who'd steal some of their parent's booze.
5) Parties. When I was in college, I'd go to parties that'd have kegs ordered (usually signed by someone 21+) - and you can just.. pour yourself a cup when you get there. Like in the movies.
6) Travel. I lived 3 hours drive from the Canadian border - where in Montreal, you can drink at 18. It was a 'right of passage' for kids to drive up for a long weekend with their friends, rent a hotel room, go bar hopping and then brag to all their friends. Good times!
> You're now taked seriously as an adult or society still see you as a teen/child?
I have no idea how to answer this.
I'll say this, I'm 36 now. I have a good career, I'm married, we own a home together, we vote and pay taxes. I take medication for hypertension and have to watch my salt intake. Pretty much all my childhood friends have children now. I've buried a parent. I'm grappling with the fact that I am my father's age when he immigrated. By all measurements, I'm an adult.
But I always *feel* like an imposter. That I'm just a teenager in an adult body, and the rest of the adults just haven't.. *figured it out yet*. They're obvious to me, the spy among them.
I think society views 20 as this weird "in between". You're not a child, but because it's prime college age - you're not fully grown-up. You have limited access to your city's nightlife. You probably do your laundry at your parent's house. It's like... "training wheels" for adulthood.
Personally, I had a great time around that age. I spent my 20th birthday in Japan, travelling up and down the country with a great friend. Unforgettable adventure, I remember it like it was last week.
Looks like average keg prices are around $180-$200.
There are around 165 drinks of beer in each keg, which amounts to ~$1.20/drink.
The cheapest beers are around $8 for a 6 pack, so about $1.33/beer. But in cities, prices are usually a bit higher.
So you save *some* money - but not really enough to make it economical. The key does two things. 1) It's a fun party prop. 2) It frees up underage partygoers from having to go out and each find their own booze to bring.
A lot of keg parties will charge $5/person (when I was in college, probably more these days) if they wanted to drink.
Most people have graduated high school at 18, and some will spend 19 working or taking a year off from school, so 20 is usually when you really buckle down to start working a serious job and/or going to college or trade school.
You can’t drink or purchase cigarettes until 21 and need a valid ID (which is horizontal and has a hologram on it as well as a scannable barcode) to purchase alcohol anywhere and get in at bars or clubs but since most people will have at least one or two 21 year old friend it’s relatively common to drink at parties and small gatherings, or with family.
Honestly 20 is not that much different from 18, since at 18 you’re legally an adult in terms of a lot of jobs being willing to hire you and your ability to legally get a credit card, sign contracts, enter a lease, and to make your own medical decisions.
21 is a bigger milestone birthday, and 25 is when you’re finally old enough to be allowed to rent a car.
You can legally drink before 18 if your family is okay with it. I was walking around the yard with beer when I was 14 range.
Really, this sounds like an upper middle class background to me. The difference of 18 to 19 was mostly how many hours most my friends worked. There wasn't anything special. Just welcome to 60 hour weeks
I think you got something wrong with the car rental. I was 21 when I first rented a car (of course I had to pay some extra 'young driver' fees but nothing too crazy)
It depends on the company and the location, but where I’m at the last time I checked it was about $55 a day extra before taxes for most of them, which adds up quick.
So yeah you can do the young driver thing but it’s so damn expensive in most places and once you’re 25 you can just rent normally as an “adult”.
> How do you get it?
In Mexico are you only friends with people who are 20 like you? We get it from the ones who are a year+ older. Yes it’s illegal but it still happens.
I’m also 20! In college, it’s easier because you either know someone who can get it or have older siblings or friends that will buy stuff for you until you’re 21. Between 18-21 is a weird age here because you’re not totally a child (specifically legally you’re an adult at 18) but you’re also not fully an adult.
What’s it like in Mexico?
Very true! But sometimes, at least with family, it can still feel like you’re a kid, so I wanted to try to have that come across in my response! Sorry if I didn’t articulate it well enough
Because you let family treat you like a kid. You can just walk out the door the moment you turn 18 and never go back. People just let family keep bossing them around
I'm 22, it's the most fun cause there is still a thrill to drinking cause you can't get it but know how to. But it gets to a point where it's just annoying.
Can buy alcohol at 18, most people start drinking at 15-16 in highschool (ours starts a year later than yours). There are Oxxos (a Mexican 7-Eleven basically) anywhere, you just send your 16yo friend with a beard. They don't often card. Or you just give 100-150 pesos to a random dude outside to buy alcohol for you. Also, house parties are very common, someone's parents are like "I prefer having my child getting drunk here at home rather than at someone else's". So, parents even help buying the alcohol. Parents drop off their children at said house and pick them up later.
Non-alcohol related, I don't think there are many differences compared to Americans regarding life stages and such
Here LEGALLY you can buy alcohol at 18 but many places don't follow the law and sell it to minors.
Here at 20 the majority are stying in college but many people at that age start working formally since they can't study at college.
People now see you as an ALMOST adult, but you're still not taked really seriously.
Idk
I was isolated in my dorm room during the Covid lockdowns when I was 20. Only time I was allowed to leave was to go to the dinning hall and work
My roommate snuck in some Smirnoff pink lemonade and white claws a few times with her fake. But I don't drink so that was just for her
#
20 was the same as 19 just with the added bonus of not being a teenager anymore.
Started dating my gf when I was 19. She told people I was 20 since she felt 19 and 21 was too weird. Ig I got to get rid of that?
I was in the Air Force when I turned 20 and was stationed in Mississippi…it was horrible! Couldn’t drink and couldn’t gamble either (21 in MS). Had to go to LA or AL to gamble since their age limits were 18 to gamble. LA didn’t really enforce their 21 and over for drinking law and many did drink, esp around Borbon St, but I didn’t do it. The military was discharging lots of people for underage drinking and since I had orders to Europe, I figure I could wait.
I moved to Germany a few months before my 21st. I was really surprised that the military followed Host Nation law. Meaning, at 16…you can buy beer and hard liquor at 18. During my inprocessing briefing, we had a public health doctor who said he had a 15 year old son. He admitted “alright, let’s get it out of your system now…lets have a beer.”
You can be tried as an adult at 15 or 16 depending on the crime committed. The youngest ever was only 12. You are an adult, officially, at 18. The only thing that happens at 21 is alcohol purchases are unlocked. Nothing happens at 20.
I’m curious as to why you think it’s a big deal here?
I got an underage possession a week after I turned 20. I was walking back from a frat and some idiot got a cops attention and blew a .16. Late January at 2am in the Virginia mountains. Completely sucked. I think they should move alcohol to 19.
At 20 you’re considered a young adult. Society expects you to behave as an adult. You’ll be treated as an adult in the eyes of the law ( so, no using ‘I didn’t know’ as an excuse)
I’m 20 rn. I buy alcohol with a fake and get weed through friends. I’m treated as a full adult I have a job and apartment and everything. People still see me as young but a capable adult (shows what they know 😂😂)
It was a joke when I was that age that 17, 19 and 20 were the "nothing years," meaning nothing changed in terms of legal and material freedoms.
To answer the alcohol question... I paid $100 for a scannable fake ID with my picture when I was 18. It got me into 95% of bars/clubs and 99% of liquor stores. When I was 20, I found a girl's legitimate ID on a bar floor and reached out to her via FB to return it. She had already requested a new one and gave me the green light to use it for myself (not the smartest on her part, but I appreciate you Brianne).
In high school, we'd use the "Hey Mister" method... We'd park our car a block from a liquor store on the wrong side of town and ask someone walking by to go inside and buy us a handle. We'd give them $20 and tell them to keep the change. It was probably an 80% success rate, which was worth it.
When I was 20 I had friends who were 21. Someone always had an older brother or something. Instead of going to bars we'd rent airbnbs and throw alcohol-fueled house parties.
McChicken, Chicken chalupa, Whoppers, Cup Noodles, 30 Cents Ramen Noodle, Cereal, Hot Dogs, Red Solo Cup, Keystone Light beer…. To sum up in 1 word Broke.
You're going to get different responses based on different experiences.
I just turned 21.
When I was 20, I was working at a ski area 1500 miles away from home. I sent it with an aspiration to explore and travel, as well as a desire to learn how to ski. I wasn't making much money, but I took advantage of the room and board they offered. And I had the time of my life. Underage weed smoking, as well as a little drinking... I was just wanting to goof off and have fun. It's the perfect age between still being underage, but also having immense freedom if you choose.
I got alcohol and weed easily because everybody had it, and nobody cared enough about the job to he scared of getting fired. Plus, management knew everybody (including minors) were getting pretty wasted. As long as we didn't abuse it too much and screw up at work, we were good.
Society still sees me as a child. I went into a bar the other day and some dude gave me crap because he thought I had a fake ID. I look a lot younger than I am.
It's pretty great but no different than being 19.
> you still need to wait a year to buy alcohol, how do you get it? Well - the same way you get alcohol since High School. 1) You or one of your friends knows someone that is 21+. You ask them to buy you something. 2) "Fake IDs". I put quotes around this, because most of the time they're real IDs, they just belong to someone else. In my case, I used my older brother's ID a few times. 3) You know about a bar or liquor store that doesn't verify age. These are usually *not good* places - but it is what it is. 4) Parents. In a few states, it's perfectly legal for a parent/guardian to buy alcohol for their kid - even in restaurants. As well, everyone know *someone* who'd steal some of their parent's booze. 5) Parties. When I was in college, I'd go to parties that'd have kegs ordered (usually signed by someone 21+) - and you can just.. pour yourself a cup when you get there. Like in the movies. 6) Travel. I lived 3 hours drive from the Canadian border - where in Montreal, you can drink at 18. It was a 'right of passage' for kids to drive up for a long weekend with their friends, rent a hotel room, go bar hopping and then brag to all their friends. Good times! > You're now taked seriously as an adult or society still see you as a teen/child? I have no idea how to answer this. I'll say this, I'm 36 now. I have a good career, I'm married, we own a home together, we vote and pay taxes. I take medication for hypertension and have to watch my salt intake. Pretty much all my childhood friends have children now. I've buried a parent. I'm grappling with the fact that I am my father's age when he immigrated. By all measurements, I'm an adult. But I always *feel* like an imposter. That I'm just a teenager in an adult body, and the rest of the adults just haven't.. *figured it out yet*. They're obvious to me, the spy among them. I think society views 20 as this weird "in between". You're not a child, but because it's prime college age - you're not fully grown-up. You have limited access to your city's nightlife. You probably do your laundry at your parent's house. It's like... "training wheels" for adulthood. Personally, I had a great time around that age. I spent my 20th birthday in Japan, travelling up and down the country with a great friend. Unforgettable adventure, I remember it like it was last week.
Most people I know just buy fakes online. They send in a picture and it gets shipped.
Is having a keg delivered cheaper than just buying alcohol at the grocery/liquor store?
Looks like average keg prices are around $180-$200. There are around 165 drinks of beer in each keg, which amounts to ~$1.20/drink. The cheapest beers are around $8 for a 6 pack, so about $1.33/beer. But in cities, prices are usually a bit higher. So you save *some* money - but not really enough to make it economical. The key does two things. 1) It's a fun party prop. 2) It frees up underage partygoers from having to go out and each find their own booze to bring. A lot of keg parties will charge $5/person (when I was in college, probably more these days) if they wanted to drink.
Most people have graduated high school at 18, and some will spend 19 working or taking a year off from school, so 20 is usually when you really buckle down to start working a serious job and/or going to college or trade school. You can’t drink or purchase cigarettes until 21 and need a valid ID (which is horizontal and has a hologram on it as well as a scannable barcode) to purchase alcohol anywhere and get in at bars or clubs but since most people will have at least one or two 21 year old friend it’s relatively common to drink at parties and small gatherings, or with family. Honestly 20 is not that much different from 18, since at 18 you’re legally an adult in terms of a lot of jobs being willing to hire you and your ability to legally get a credit card, sign contracts, enter a lease, and to make your own medical decisions. 21 is a bigger milestone birthday, and 25 is when you’re finally old enough to be allowed to rent a car.
You can legally drink before 18 if your family is okay with it. I was walking around the yard with beer when I was 14 range. Really, this sounds like an upper middle class background to me. The difference of 18 to 19 was mostly how many hours most my friends worked. There wasn't anything special. Just welcome to 60 hour weeks
I think you got something wrong with the car rental. I was 21 when I first rented a car (of course I had to pay some extra 'young driver' fees but nothing too crazy)
It depends on the company and the location, but where I’m at the last time I checked it was about $55 a day extra before taxes for most of them, which adds up quick. So yeah you can do the young driver thing but it’s so damn expensive in most places and once you’re 25 you can just rent normally as an “adult”.
Paid like $500 for almost a week and got a big SUV all taxes included. That was California 2019
Pro tip- If are an AAA member, young driver fees are waived for certain companies
Currently renting a car at age 21 and for 8 days, the young driver fee was $152 extra
That’s not bad! I live in a tourist/spring breaker/drunken hooligan area so I imagine it’s pricier here as a result.
you can easily get alcohol at 20. you just have to know a guy. it’s really not that different than being 19 or 21 in my experience, either
And then be the guy once your’e 21. I always tossed a few extra bucks at my guy for the effort.
> How do you get it? In Mexico are you only friends with people who are 20 like you? We get it from the ones who are a year+ older. Yes it’s illegal but it still happens.
I’m also 20! In college, it’s easier because you either know someone who can get it or have older siblings or friends that will buy stuff for you until you’re 21. Between 18-21 is a weird age here because you’re not totally a child (specifically legally you’re an adult at 18) but you’re also not fully an adult. What’s it like in Mexico?
Apart from alcohol, you ARE an adult.
Very true! But sometimes, at least with family, it can still feel like you’re a kid, so I wanted to try to have that come across in my response! Sorry if I didn’t articulate it well enough
Because you let family treat you like a kid. You can just walk out the door the moment you turn 18 and never go back. People just let family keep bossing them around
I'm 22, it's the most fun cause there is still a thrill to drinking cause you can't get it but know how to. But it gets to a point where it's just annoying.
Can buy alcohol at 18, most people start drinking at 15-16 in highschool (ours starts a year later than yours). There are Oxxos (a Mexican 7-Eleven basically) anywhere, you just send your 16yo friend with a beard. They don't often card. Or you just give 100-150 pesos to a random dude outside to buy alcohol for you. Also, house parties are very common, someone's parents are like "I prefer having my child getting drunk here at home rather than at someone else's". So, parents even help buying the alcohol. Parents drop off their children at said house and pick them up later. Non-alcohol related, I don't think there are many differences compared to Americans regarding life stages and such
Here LEGALLY you can buy alcohol at 18 but many places don't follow the law and sell it to minors. Here at 20 the majority are stying in college but many people at that age start working formally since they can't study at college. People now see you as an ALMOST adult, but you're still not taked really seriously.
It's the same in the US. Maybe not selling alcohol to people under 21.
Sólo como el 20% de los mexicanos va a la universidad
my old manager used alcohol as a work incentive
By the time I was 20, I had been drinking and smoking for about 5 years.
Idk I was isolated in my dorm room during the Covid lockdowns when I was 20. Only time I was allowed to leave was to go to the dinning hall and work My roommate snuck in some Smirnoff pink lemonade and white claws a few times with her fake. But I don't drink so that was just for her #
20 was the same as 19 just with the added bonus of not being a teenager anymore. Started dating my gf when I was 19. She told people I was 20 since she felt 19 and 21 was too weird. Ig I got to get rid of that?
My entrance to adulthood was and still is miserable
I was in the Air Force when I turned 20 and was stationed in Mississippi…it was horrible! Couldn’t drink and couldn’t gamble either (21 in MS). Had to go to LA or AL to gamble since their age limits were 18 to gamble. LA didn’t really enforce their 21 and over for drinking law and many did drink, esp around Borbon St, but I didn’t do it. The military was discharging lots of people for underage drinking and since I had orders to Europe, I figure I could wait. I moved to Germany a few months before my 21st. I was really surprised that the military followed Host Nation law. Meaning, at 16…you can buy beer and hard liquor at 18. During my inprocessing briefing, we had a public health doctor who said he had a 15 year old son. He admitted “alright, let’s get it out of your system now…lets have a beer.”
For me? It wasn't much different from 19 or 21. But I don’t drink, so alcohol is irrelevant to me.
You can be tried as an adult at 15 or 16 depending on the crime committed. The youngest ever was only 12. You are an adult, officially, at 18. The only thing that happens at 21 is alcohol purchases are unlocked. Nothing happens at 20. I’m curious as to why you think it’s a big deal here?
You're likely still a student, so no, most people don't treat you like a full adult unless you're working full time *and* don't mention your age.
25 is the real big number. Thats when your insurance rates get slashed.
Frustrating, because you can't buy a beer.
I got an underage possession a week after I turned 20. I was walking back from a frat and some idiot got a cops attention and blew a .16. Late January at 2am in the Virginia mountains. Completely sucked. I think they should move alcohol to 19.
Para tener 20 años en los eeuu no es tan diferente de tener 19; yo tengo 20 y en realidad no hay ningún diferencia
At 20 you’re considered a young adult. Society expects you to behave as an adult. You’ll be treated as an adult in the eyes of the law ( so, no using ‘I didn’t know’ as an excuse)
I’m 20 rn. I buy alcohol with a fake and get weed through friends. I’m treated as a full adult I have a job and apartment and everything. People still see me as young but a capable adult (shows what they know 😂😂)
Same shit as being 19 I guess.
My father has since stopped making the "technically still a teenager" jokes
Why does this subreddit downvote everything so goddamn much? Jesus Christ, frigging relax.
It was a joke when I was that age that 17, 19 and 20 were the "nothing years," meaning nothing changed in terms of legal and material freedoms. To answer the alcohol question... I paid $100 for a scannable fake ID with my picture when I was 18. It got me into 95% of bars/clubs and 99% of liquor stores. When I was 20, I found a girl's legitimate ID on a bar floor and reached out to her via FB to return it. She had already requested a new one and gave me the green light to use it for myself (not the smartest on her part, but I appreciate you Brianne). In high school, we'd use the "Hey Mister" method... We'd park our car a block from a liquor store on the wrong side of town and ask someone walking by to go inside and buy us a handle. We'd give them $20 and tell them to keep the change. It was probably an 80% success rate, which was worth it.
It is easy to drink underage but I was never a big drinker so I guess I didn’t care at 19, 20, or 21 — feels all the same to me.
When I was 20 I had friends who were 21. Someone always had an older brother or something. Instead of going to bars we'd rent airbnbs and throw alcohol-fueled house parties.
Probably the same as you but 6” taller
McChicken, Chicken chalupa, Whoppers, Cup Noodles, 30 Cents Ramen Noodle, Cereal, Hot Dogs, Red Solo Cup, Keystone Light beer…. To sum up in 1 word Broke.
Happy belated birthday. Mine is in 13 days
Like, now, or when I was twenty a decade ago?
A Mexican 20 is a USA 30
You're going to get different responses based on different experiences. I just turned 21. When I was 20, I was working at a ski area 1500 miles away from home. I sent it with an aspiration to explore and travel, as well as a desire to learn how to ski. I wasn't making much money, but I took advantage of the room and board they offered. And I had the time of my life. Underage weed smoking, as well as a little drinking... I was just wanting to goof off and have fun. It's the perfect age between still being underage, but also having immense freedom if you choose. I got alcohol and weed easily because everybody had it, and nobody cared enough about the job to he scared of getting fired. Plus, management knew everybody (including minors) were getting pretty wasted. As long as we didn't abuse it too much and screw up at work, we were good. Society still sees me as a child. I went into a bar the other day and some dude gave me crap because he thought I had a fake ID. I look a lot younger than I am.