How do I decide what club to go to when I’m already out?

So this happens to a lot of people, like, every weekend.

You‘re out, just going with the flow, bouncing club to bar, pub to lounge.

What club should you go to next?

I mean, you want to make the most of your night out, so how can you quickly decide which place is the best to go to next?

Here is my quick quiz that I use to answer this question for myself:

Where am I – what’s close?

So this question is important but not the whole story. But it is important. Why walk across town or spend $20 on a cab when there might be a really good option within a block or two. Make a short list of the clubs that are close by.

Where will I know people?

This is a big one for me – and it goes both ways – If I want to chill with just one two mates or I want to dance like a honey badger then I want to go somewhere where I won’t know many people. If I’m riding solo and want to get in on the party, then I want to go to a club I know my peeps go to. If you have a smart phone Facebook places or 4square can help you here as well – use it!

How busy will it be when I arrive?

Oh man, people get this wrong more than any other key consideration. You need to know whether you want room to move or to be in a mosh pit. And then once you decide that, you also need to ask how long the wait might be to get in. If its midnight, don’t head for the hottest club in town. You’ve missed your window. Go to a cool club or bar that’s not so ultra popular and then head to the uberclub around 2 when it’s not so busy. That being said, if you want to be somewhere busy to get amongst it then really think about it – where will be full but not crazy busy in say half an hour (when I arrive!).

How much money do we want to spend?

This is important, especially if you are leading a group. Remember that taking 20 of your mates to a cool club with a $20 cover charge when you don’t have manes on the door list is going to suck $400 out of the groups cash reserves before you even get to the bar. Be realistic, especially if you haven’t organized special treatment before you headed out!

What am I doing later?

This is a big one as well – be strategic. Its midnight. You want to go to that oh so cool club that you went to last month that was packed with great people and had awesome tunes. Then you want to meet up with your special guy or girl at a lounge after that.  It will be an hour line up to get in to the super cool club now – what good options are in between here and there geographically? Maybe you can check out some other bars that you have heard about that are along the way, or you can pop in to a pub where you know some of your mates will be drinking. And message your girl or guy to see if they want to meet you at that awesome club at 2 – then you can dance there and head to a lounge after that!

So these are my big 5. Going out without a plan can be great fun so long as you take a moment to figure out where is best to go next between clubs!