Whenever I go out In Liverpool, it always amazes me how much better the night-life is. From the traditional student dives, to the wine bars, to the ****tail hang outs, jazz venues, and mamba rooms, it seems that every taste is catered for. They have venues like walkabout and mood dedicated to keeping the cheese/chav/R'n'b lite crwod away from the rest of the clubs populace, so everybody knows to go anywhere but there.
Whenever I go to Southampton however, it seems to be that the only venues above tiny or small levels are either Ikon, diva or their scaled down clone alternatives. I mean, Unit 22 and Nexus were hardly my choice of night, but at least they offered something different. And before anyone chips in, I regard orange rooms/mono etc. as somewhere to go for a drink at the start of an evening, not the end.
I honestly think that if Southampton followed some of Liverpool's leads on night-life, (as well as how to put your city on the map for the right reasons http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2017912/How-the-Chief-Constable-of-Merseyside-Bernard-Hogan-Howe-cut-crime-again.html
http://www.liverpool08.com/) people could be proud to announce their location again (I'm actually born and raised in Winchester, but you get the picture, and besides, not many people North of Basingstoke know where Winchester is