<ul>
<li>better beer</li>
<li>very few drunken idiots stuck in that high school mentality of “i must drink as much as i can to be rad”</li>
<li>generally positive party atmosphere in general (people want to have fun, not alcohol poisoning)</li>
</ul>
<p>I don’t know anything about UPenn’s party scene and to be honest I don’t really care. All I can say is that there are a ton of ways to have fun; drinking makes things a lot more fun but it can also really screw with you and I think Chicago kids are more responsible than most about handling that. </p>
<p>We have like one of the least pretentious party scenes in the world, because everybody likes to have fun but DOES realize that there’s a whole lot more to life than getting drunk and rubbing against people on a dance floor. So you’ve got a lot of people who are just looking to have a good time, not prove a point about how much they can drink or how many people they can hook up with. Not only that, but there’s very little pressure on people who don’t drink. Overall, it’s a very positive atmosphere. It’s also a case of the experience being what you make of it - if you are outgoing and friendly you can have a great time and meet plenty of girls/guys, if you just hang out in the corner going “this party sucks!” you’ve got nobody to blame but yourself. </p>
<p>That being said, I remember the guy across the hall coming back from a week in Miami, where he went to a lot of clubs and UofM parties, and he said there’s really no difference between there and here (besides every person in Miami being unrealistically attractive). You’ll be at a good frat party, dancing with somebody, you can see maybe a foot in any direction because of all the sweaty drunk people dancing around, it’s dark except for strobes and colored flashing lights, the music is poundingly loud and awesome - I can’t imagine that parties anywhere else would be that much better.</p>