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Going out in the evening

(105 Posts)
Teetime Sun 21-Jan-18 10:38:04

We went out yesterday evening for an anniversary dinner and I confess I would rather have had a meal at home. As the restaurant is within 15 mins walking distance that's what we did on an very icy night thinking the exercise is good for us and then DH can share a bottle of wine with me. The restaurant was crowded and noisy- the food was good but not excellent and I was exhausted by the time we got home.
I'm thinking now that is this a sign of ageing not wanting to go out in the evening- anyone else sharing this feeling with me?

jusnoneed Sun 21-Jan-18 10:43:22

We were talking about this a couple days ago with sis/bro in law. We all agreed that when you walk out the door and it's cold or wet you think is it worth it, and then find out place is so noisy you cannot have a conversation properly. I'd rather stay home in the dry these days - cannot remember the last time I went out for an evening although my OH goes out a couple nights each week.

Teetime Sun 21-Jan-18 10:45:17

We are going to the cinema this afternoon - we normally go on a weekday morning but we couldn't fit it in this week.

henetha Sun 21-Jan-18 11:00:39

Definitely sharing the feeling. I hate going out on long dark winter evenings.

Nanabilly Sun 21-Jan-18 11:06:55

Me too , I would much rather stay in and if I can't be bothered to cook we will order takeaway.
In summer we love to do a bbq and eat outside or even cook inside and eat al fresco ,IF the weather is warm enough that is .
WE stopped going out when people still smoked in public places because of the smoke and my asthma but never restarted it when it stopped.
The noise irritated the hell out of me with my hearing problems too.
So no you are not alone and I am only just 60 so it's not an age thing either

Grannyknot Sun 21-Jan-18 11:08:31

It takes a lot to get us to go out in the evenings. Jerry Seinfeld does a very funny skit about the need to "go out".

Luckygirl Sun 21-Jan-18 11:17:19

Only the trip to choral rehearsal gets me out in the evenings. I hate driving in the dark and only do when absolutely necessary. My OH is not fit to go out (virtually at all) so day or night he is in the house - I stay with him as much as I can.

Eating out is something I do in the day time - the odd lunch with a friend. As I have lost interest in cooking, this is a good thing. OH eats very little indeed and cooking for him is a thankless (and somewhat exasperating!) task.

Chewbacca Sun 21-Jan-18 11:21:41

So many times I've made arrangements to go out to some event or other in an evening, only for the day to arrive and then I don't want to go. I used to be out and about several evenings a week but this winter I seem to have become a hermit.

glammanana Sun 21-Jan-18 11:26:02

This time of the year we like to be indoors of an evening we very rarely go out,we do go out to eat a couple of times a week during the afternoon for a lunchtime special or for me to meet up with friends for the afternoon.
I like to be cosy and in my pj's by early evening after a brisk walk with Poppy who curls up beside me for the night.

Witzend Sun 21-Jan-18 11:39:47

Similar here - too often expensive and disappointing. And I really hate noisy restaurants. We have two lots of frinds friends we meet up with just once a year, and after one unbelievably noisy place where we were unable to hear each other without leaning right across the table, we are very careful to check noise levels in advance.

My birthday is coming up and I know dds will want to take us out for lunch somewhere - very nice of them! - but to be frank I'd just as soon they came here - easier with very little Gdcs anyway - and I can cook. I never mind cooking, esp. for family - it's not often we see them all together anyway.

M0nica Sun 21-Jan-18 11:52:06

Having been shut up indoors with this wretched bug for three weeks, we went out for a meal on Friday evening. An upmarket Indian restaurant in an old pub in a local village. It was quite busy but customers are scattered round the pub in little rooms at many levels. There were only 3 tables in our room and only 2 were occupied. I couldn't see the occupied table and was quite surprised when I turned to leave that another table was occupied.

I think the problem with a lot of restaurants these days is the complete lack of sound absorbing materials. No curtains, no carpets, no table cloths. We used to enjoy eating at places like Ask, but no more, every branch near us is in an old church, chapel, Assembly Hall or similar; no acoustic panels, no soft furnishings, very low light and the noise is unbearable.

annsixty Sun 21-Jan-18 11:54:53

Oh we are all of the same mind although I can't go out in the evening unless someone is here for H. I can leave him for a couple of hours during the day.
The noise levels in restaurants and pubs has risen and risen and I can't cope with it.

ninathenana Sun 21-Jan-18 12:03:47

No thanks, I'd rather stay in especially in winter and if it means I have to change and smarten up, I CBA these days.
We used to go for a stoll on the prom with the dog on summer evenings. We no longer have a dog or the inclination to go out in the evening.

kittylester Sun 21-Jan-18 12:11:40

I think what Monica says about noise is very true but it's also the bad weather that stops us. And, I enjoy cooking.

We walk to the good restaurant in our village when the weather is nice but that's about it. Theatre and concerts seen easier because we usually go for a meal before, at about 6pm, so are already 'out'!

pensionpat Sun 21-Jan-18 12:19:02

We do our socialising during the day whenever possible. We only went out in the evenings over the years because we were at work during the day.

Christinefrance Sun 21-Jan-18 12:20:41

We don't like going out in the evening either. Much prefer to socialise at lunch time.

TwiceAsNice Sun 21-Jan-18 12:21:53

I go to a book club once a month. It's fine in the light evenings but DD2 who lives in the next street drives me and picks me up in the winter as don't like driving in the dark. We went together to the cinema one evening this week, first time for ages, but I enjoyed it because I was with her and she drove, so we had a nice time. However would prefer most of the time to either be settled in for the night in front of the tele, or doing the same thing at daughters because they both live so close I can walk there literally in one minute. I think it is a bit of an age thing ( although only 64) I used to be out a lot more when I was younger.

BlueBelle Sun 21-Jan-18 12:22:40

I am booked for a local community theatre evening next month but most of my friends don’t like going out at night so it’s kind of passing me by now I do feel a bit useless sitting around every evening with just the tv but Chewbacca I m a bi5 like you it seems l8ke a good idea at the time then the nearer it gets the more I go off the idea

wot Sun 21-Jan-18 12:26:18

I like spending the evenings in bed, alone except for doggie on the top of the bed, with electric blanket on....bliss! I was once a party animal!!

Iam64 Sun 21-Jan-18 12:32:12

In my 30's I'd often go out at ten pm, to enjoy last orders at the local with friends. These days I'm rarely not in bed with a good book by that time.
We do lunch out, cinema and if possible theatre matinees and keep evenings out to music and the book club. Who'd have thought we'd all begin to enjoy a quiet night in and avoid noise and late nights smile

Nannylovesshopping Sun 21-Jan-18 12:35:01

I rarely go out in the evenings because I live in a residents parking only street, with too many residents and not enough street, my permit allows me to park up to three streets away, but am wary of walking home alone in the dark, unless of course I am with the spaniel, who's not welcome in restaurantsgrin I go out much more in the lighter evenings, roll on springtime

M0nica Sun 21-Jan-18 14:37:13

Going out at night doesn't really bother me. I currently go out to an evening class and DH has rehearsals or committee meetings several nights a week. As we live in a village going out generally means by car.

Sometimes if I come back late and everything is quiet and the sky is cloudless I feel really tempted to walk round the village in the dark, even though I probably wouldn't take to the country footpaths. Mind you in winter months when DGC and parents come to stay, we do go out for long twilight country walks, that usually mean returning in the dark. It is really fascinating to walk in the dark and be more dependent on our ears than our eyes.

suzied Sun 21-Jan-18 14:50:54

We avoid going out more than 2 nights in a row, too exhausting. We do like going to concerts and theatre, possibly about once a month, we like eating out, but my OH has hearing problems so noisy restaurants are out, prefer to entertain at home or go to friends for supper. I have a circle of friends, and we like to go to different places for lunch, to exhibitions and galleries. One of the great things about retirement, you can do all these things during the day.

Bathsheba Sun 21-Jan-18 14:58:59

A few weeks ago we went out to dinner simply because we had a Dining Out voucher that was nearing its expiry date. (That in itself says a lot about our 'going out' habits, doesn't it?!).
We booked the table for 8.00, had a meal and a drink and decided it was too noisy to want to stay for coffee, so we left. We were home by 9.15. I'm not sure that even counts as 'going out for the evening' grin

Ambergirl Sun 21-Jan-18 15:07:27

Agree with all here! I was a real party animal....but have been there and done that! I too like to see people and socialise in the day and then be at home. I am lucky and not affected at all by dark evenings, in fact I positively love them! Nothing I like more than snuggling down, lighting the fire, with a bit of TV/Radio/surfing the net. Eating out, the food is never as good as I could cook, and I get fed up of waiting for a table or food...So staying in gets the vote for me!