I have always been interested in attending and I am often in town when many of them happen. But, I just think it would be.... weird since I am only 18: I can't even get into a place that serves alcohol.

So what type of demographic do DOs they generally attract? Would I be completely out of place?

Cheers,

Come to the Krak�w do. There won't be any such problems. ^

I met stockmanjr at the 2001 San Diego Do. Think we was in high school back then, and flew all the way from New York City to attend. You'd certainly be welcome at any FT event.

Demographics...young to old. I've been to a few DL DOs with younger people there.

The one's I attended seemed to be close to 50% M/F

Many ethnic groups represented

not too young
not too old
never too young
never too old
just DO it and have fun

...paging Lucky9876coins.....

DO's are for everybody. Although the < 21 crowd is pretty small, I do recall some 18-20 years at CO DO II (didn't attend I or III) & the NW DC-10 Retirement. They fit right in. I wouldn't worry about it.

Most dinner activities are at restaurants that also serve alcohol, rarely at bars. The bars we do spend time at tend to be in open areas in our hotels -- as long as you don't put yourself in a position to be asked for ID, you're unlikely to be hassled.

Alternatively, you can go to a DO that takes place somewhere in the developed world.

That was CO DO, as in Continental DO, not COW DO.

However, COW DO is on my must DO list for one of these years.

Ah, excellent question!^

First of all, I am in your age range and have been going to Do's for nearly three years now, so the simple answer is YES.

Before attending my first Do or meeting my first FT'er I asked myself the same question- is this really something I want to do? Wont the age difference be weird?

Over a dozen Do's, four continents of meeting hundreds of FT'ers later, I can most certainly say the answer is a resounding no. Actually, I think you'd be surprised by the size of the under 21 population here.

FT really is a diverse place with people of all backgrounds, ages, etc. Definitely give a Do a try, and if you don't like it (which I find hard to believe), at least you tried!

sadiqhassan... there is no rule that to attend a Flyertalk Do that you have to drink. Not all dos are in bars. There are Flyertalkers old and young who don't drink at all (except for water or Pepsi... )

In fact, one of them coming up on Dec 21 is right in your neighborhood: NY, NY. And it's not in a bar but a little French Bistro called La Bonne Soupe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=731332

If you are around come join us. It's a good mixed group of world travels and locals and a Cat Hair covered Host.

I was apprehensive abouta ttending my first do in Boston almost ten years ago. (Oh my god! Is it really almost a decade!) I met some nice people and, over time, met one Flyertalker I call my Big Bruddar and one of my bestest friends.

If anything you can get a few traveling tips and maybe make a new friend or two.

Good luck!

I joined FT when I was 22 and was worried that meeting people would be awkward. But the opposite was true-I've always had a ton of fun with FTers and I'm not a big drinker at all.

I still haven't made a big dinner or DO due to schedule conflicts, but I'm looking forward to it! I love sharing my passion for travel with others, and who better than a FTer to share it with!

It took me a while to connect the two, but then I finally realized you have to be 21 to drink legally in this country. You have my sympathies...

nor NZ or many other countries ...

In Austria you can drink alcohol at age 16 !!!