When I worked in Cambridge (UK), during my early 20s, I discovered a great British institution called "the local" - every little village, town, or general gathering of anymore than 10 houses seemed to have a local pub, somewhere that anyone in the surrounding area could walk or ride a bike to conveniently. In "the local" you would find an intergenerational group of people from the area that all knew each other, drank, talked, debated, argued/fought and learned to live with each other. People even brought their kids to talk to the old men and drank soda and juice. I thought it was one of the best parts of British culture, and as a side benefit this institution greatly reduces driving to go drinking.