When choosing between college life in the city, and college in a town of itself-personal preference is all that is needed to decide which is the right fit of you. No one can tell you which is better because it solely depends on where you want to be and what you want to be surrounded with. It’s easy to tell if you’re in a college town or not, and it is definitely a blessing and a curse.
1. At the beginning of the school year, the one Target/Walmart is completely picked over
Easy Mac? Gone. Toilet Paper? Gone. Hangers? Gone. With only a week or less of having your parents in town, every student is in search of anything and everything they could possibly need while mommy and daddy are still paying. Shelves become empty, and everywhere is sold out of every necessity you could need.
2. The local churches, pharmacies, stores, etc. all put up signs for game day
Your mascot is on every building and all the businesses around campus make sure to let their customers know they love the school and the students in it (oh, and of course the money the bring in). They make sure to hang up school colors, paint their windows, or change their signs out front to show their support.
3. There’s more bars than real restaurants
What’s college without bars? Senior bars, freshman bars, bars you can eat at, bars with the best drinks, every kind of bar imaginable to suit every college student’s needs. Of course bars are essential to a college town.
4. All the stores sell school spirit items
Walmart, CVS, the boutiques, everywhere promotes your school and make sure that you can always represent your school.
5. To get to a real mall or next big city, you have to drive at least 45 minutes
Living in a college town means the town is based around the needs of college students which means if you’re looking for a Saks or a good steak house, most likely you need to go to the next town over because neither of those are normally found in a college town.
6. During breaks and summer, everywhere is a ghost town
College towns turn to ghost towns even over long weekends. With so many kids choosing to go out of state, many of them choose to go home for the weekend or to a friend’s house who lives nearby. If there’s no school in session, you can expect the town to be empty.
7. College kids work at every store, restaurant, bar, etc.
College kids serving college kids. Everywhere you go you’ll notice that college kids run the town. Most students work part time and that’s why it is primarily who you’ll see behind the counter.
8. You see kids from your classes while you’re out
You’ll notice students out by their school gear, their Greek letters, or just by their age group. You may even notice the boy from your econ class, or the girl from your geography class. There’s only so many places for everyone to go, so you’re likely to notice someone while you’re out.
9. You feel at home in your town
With a smaller population that big cities, and most students surrounding the same popular restaurants and bars, you feel at home in your little college town. Every store, and person, and even their cars are all in favor of your school and you feel as if you’re right at home, despite being on a huge campus and in your own town.
