I've lived on long island my whole life, im 23 and have basically run out of things to do at night on the weekends. my friends and i really dont like clubs...we're up for basically anything else. We are so sick and tired of spending an hour deciding what to do on a friday and ending up with nothing...bowling, pool, jillians, dinner, movies...its getting old. Does anyone have any secrets? We're getting desperate!!!! :0) thanks for your help in advance...

How about joining a tennis club and playing doubles or beginner tournaments on the weekends? I am sure there are also concerts at Jones Beach, Nassau Coll, or Westbury Music Hall, or The Planting Fields in Glen Cove. Are there any movie clubs or anything at Pace University that might interest you? What about joining a local theater group?

I too grew up on Long Island, and looking back, it was great. Then I joined the Navy at 17 and saw things that were even greater.

My suggestion would be to get away for a couple of weekends and see what the outside world is like. You may find a different lifestyle that you can adapt to.

I left there for good in 1964 and never regretted it.

Don't know where you live but here's a website to check out.

http://nightlife.longisland.com/nightspots/listings.php?area=Nassau&cat=9

Overall, I'd say start checking out areas outside your normal haunts. Even in the city, dinner is just dinner if you keep going to the same old, same old. Variety is the spice of life.

we do travel on vacations, but obviously thats not an option on most weekends, we go to the city to dinner to see shows to museums, i was just wondering if i was missing anything on long island :0) whats a movie club?

What about joining a sports league? We have many of them in NYC...volleyball is especially popular (there's probably 4-5 vb leagues that each have several hundred teams). You don't even have to be good...there's many different levels, and some are much more social than competitive. I wonder if there's anything like that in LI? If there isn't someone should start one!

My best friend lives in Baltimore and after 5 years of not really making any friends she joined the Sports & Social League and now has a ton! She plays v-ball, touch football, softball, and broomball (don't ask). And she's not even all that athletic. I went down there one weekend and watched her play, and afterwards we went to a pub that was packed with about five hundred fb players that had also just played. There were $1 beers for everyone wearing a team shirt. Definitely more of a "social" than "sports" league! (Their team shirts all feature a crab with a football in one claw and a beer in the other!) What a great time!

alwayzmile,
Except for a stint in the military, I too have lived on LI my whole life and I'm 55!

When I was your age, friends and I ran into the same problem and did the only reasonable thing; dissused it over beers at Finnegan's in Huntington - it was a nice place back then. We diagnosed the malady as acute, winter time, cabin fever.

Our brilliant cure was to plan weekend long events a 1-2 times a month depending on our "cash positions". This usually resulted in ski trips or trips to nearby cities. Certainly helped our problem.

Another option, join the Navy, see the world
hth,

How about doing a day of Wineries? There are so many out there. It's beautiful and very fun!
Also, try mountain biking on some of the trails. I think there's a great one in Woodbury (Exit 44 off the LIE)

Where on LI do you live? That might help with suggestions...

Here's something to do:

Move.

I did. I grew up in Commack. Moved to Denver. Now THAT'S a place where there are THINGS TO DO!

Short of that, when in LI in my late teens ( i spent my 20's living in TriBeCa), it was always fun to do road trips. We all worked in restaurants, so one guy would say, hey i never played golf in Virginia Beach, and Boom, after a night of driving, there we'd be. Going to AC, learning to play poker, driving to Montreal, (wow, beautiful girls!) was always a good time.

Take it from a married, 38 yo father of one 3 yo (hey no regrets mind you)(incidentally with a wife from Montreal) you will never have an opportunity like you have now to do things that are REALLY outside the norm. Which i assume is why you're asking the questions.

Decide you're going to perfect a hobby (for me it was expensive -- texas hold em poker) and then all do it. That's fun, something different like painting or knitting, etc.

Have progressive dinners at eachother's house with prizes for the best/most innovative dishes cooked.

There's always the navy. You're all under 34. Dam da dam da da dam.

You don't say if you live in Nassau or Suffolk County. If you live in Nassau or Eastern Suffolk, then you might as well drive into Manhattan to do suff. I mean, you are between 1/2 hr to 1.25 hrs away from the most exciting city in the WORLD!

I grew up on LI, and when I was a child, my parents always brought us into Manhattan EVERY Sat or Sun.

When I was a high school senior, I would drive into Manhattan and go to the clubs (the drinking age was 18 back then and they never proofed you)

It's ironic though, since I live in Manhattan now, and my family is back on LI. So I drive back INTO LI not only to visit family, but also to shop at places like Costco, Home Depot and Large, suburban supermarkets that offer tons of brands and double coupons!

I meant to write If you live in Nassau or WESTERN Suffolk, Manhattan is an easy drive.

I, too, grew up on LI, at Montauk. There used to be an Air Force Base out there. So you want secrets...there are old WWII bunkers on the old base. Before it was an AFB, it was an Marine base in the 40's (Camp Hero)these bunkers are supposedly where ammo was hidden and POW's were kept. You can still see the large radar screen from the Hiway. Go out to the lighthouse and walk the huge rocks in front of the lighthouse around to the other side of it and there is a secluded beach. On the Sound side of the lighthouse you can camp, with permits, right on the beach. Viking Star lines have deep sea fishing cruises. Gosman's Dock provides a great seafood dinner but alittle pricey. Sam's culinary talents with food are amazing. Have drinks and dinner at the Shagwong or Tipperary Inn or Crow's Nest. Breakfast is great at John's Pancake House. God I can find tons of stuff I miss about Montauk. I could never be board.

thank you to everyone for all of the responses. we live in nassau county by the way, and we do go into the city often...sounds like our frustration is shared by most people growing up on long island. (we have no plans to move by the way i happen to love it here...except on friday and saturday nights in the winter :0)