Anyone else live near a college town?

[trebor44]

Have lived in multiple "college" towns. Nothing much has changed over the decades. Just expect the worst behavior on the part of the 'emigrants' will be prevalent until the snow flies and then things will settle down a bit.

[Handloader109]

It is one of the main reasons we moved about 20 miles from our previous abode. Was on outskirts of Fayetteville AR, population is 90,000. Uark has roughly 30k to 35k students that in person attend.
We would have to pass by south end of campus to get to anything or go 5 more miles out of the way, and even then things can get really stupid. Traffic and otherwise. So we now go south once in a great while. I try and stay away......

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[Riverpigusmc]

Try working at UF and driving a state van through the phone zombies. I've seen smarter ping pong balls

[beezapilot]

Small private college, Stetson University (yep, the hat guy of western fame),catering to the wealthy- 3 miles away on the north end of downtown. Small population of students by comparison to real colleges. (PRE COVID) Nice to go to the football / baseball games and the music department had a series of performances each year that were very well done. The kids keep the brew-pubs alive, the parents keep the good restaurants going. Very scenic campus to drive through that adds to the ambiance of downtown.

[higgins]

If I lived in a college town I would do some serious scavenging at the end of the semester. No telling how many microwaves, lamps, desks, other furniture, books, hotplates, and other miscellaneous appliances are set on the curb, by the dumpster, or elsewhere for the taking. Most college-age people are not into saving money so reusing something that they will have to haul home doesn't occur to them; everything has to be new, and mom or dad will oblige them next year.

[BJK]

A college is about 10 miles away that caters to the wealthy out of staters, but it's not all that large (Colby College WTVL, ME) so no I don't notice it. Maybe those are the folks who act like they've never seen snow every year?

[farmbif]

moms and dada just dropped off chidden at school, its Friday night, a little bit of beer and spirits, just about right

[Wayne Smith]

Let's see. Regent University across the interstate from us, ODU, Norfolk State, Eastern Virginia Medical School, ECPI and lots of smaller ones you've probably never heard of. Friend of mine teaches at Southern University, another teaches at Regent. Lots of opportunities for culture - but basically Norfolk is a Military town and Virginia Beach is a Military town as well. Lot more military than students, and those up from the south don't know how to drive on snow either!

[megasupermagnum]

Most college-age people are not into saving money so reusing something that they will have to haul home doesn't occur to them; everything has to be new, and mom or dad will oblige them next year.

False. I don't think there is a stronger group of people into saving money, than college kids.

[Kraschenbirn]

If I lived in a college town I would do some serious scavenging at the end of the semester. No telling how many microwaves, lamps, desks, other furniture, books, hotplates, and other miscellaneous appliances are set on the curb, by the dumpster, or elsewhere for the taking. Most college-age people are not into saving money so reusing something that they will have to haul home doesn't occur to them; everything has to be new, and mom or dad will oblige them next year.

We live just outside Urbana, IL, home campus of the University of Illinois (approx. 52,000 enrollment) and for the last twenty years have volunteered time to the University YMCA's annual "Dump & Run" project that collects as much of the abandoned goods and furniture as possible, sorts and culls, and then holds a community garage sale in August to to raise funds for student activities. This year, even with the university's Covid restrictions, we raised over $17,000 and diverted several tons of materials from the land fills. (And, btw, this was the lowest dollar amount since the project began; we normally pull in around$25K or better.) While we get much of our merchandise from the local community, a great deal of what comes from the campus shows very little use/wear...like clothing and shoes bearing original price tags...and very little of it what I'd call 'inexpensive'.

Anyway, they're back and the fall semester is underway. Day before yesterday, I was headed home from the southwest side of town and, without thinking, cut through the campus area; took almost a half-hour to get here.

Bill

[Kraschenbirn]

False. I don't think there is a stronger group of people into saving money, than college kids.

Some are, some aren't. For the most part, the young folks I'm involved with at the student YMCA are heavily involved in environmental/social justice issues and quite frugal; more over to the other side of 6th street...the traditional fraternity/sorority zone...and it's a different ball of wax. In the last five or six years, the trend in off-campus housing has gone to high-rise aprartment buildings that run $800-$1200/month per occupant...built-in big screen TVs, wet bars and fitness centers with saunas for the tenants. Of course, the ones who graduate are leaving with $100k+ of student debt but they figure that, sooner or later, the Dems will write that off for them.

Btw...my wife and I are both U of I alumni who graduated without debt: she had a pretty good scholarship and worked p/t as a lab assistant; I had the GI Bill and worked second-shift as a fill-in machine operator/welder in a plant making truck bumpers.

Bill

[rbuck351]

I do not live near anything that amounts to lots of people and that's the reason I moved here. I live 2 miles outside of a small town of 1200 people and about 65 miles from the " big town" of about 30,000. I don't even like going to the "big town"
so I limit that. I don't need the hustle of the "big town" let alone a real "big town".

One son lives in Saratoga Springs UT and when visiting him I like to spend the extra couple of hours driving down the west side of the Salt Lake area rather than the freeway through town. I hate big cities and ant hills of people. Before retirement I lived in a couple of College towns and didn't like it. Now that I don't have to live there, I don't.

[Idaho45guy]

If I lived in a college town I would do some serious scavenging at the end of the semester. No telling how many microwaves, lamps, desks, other furniture, books, hotplates, and other miscellaneous appliances are set on the curb, by the dumpster, or elsewhere for the taking. Most college-age people are not into saving money so reusing something that they will have to haul home doesn't occur to them; everything has to be new, and mom or dad will oblige them next year.

That is especially true here where we have a large number of Asian and Middle-Eastern students. I've never done it, but the younger guys at work have some epic stories of stuff they've scored.

One I especially remember was one guy was driving up to a dumpster in one of the nicer student housing complexes, and he sees an Asian student carrying Keurig coffee machine and about to throw it away. He stops and manages to get the machine before it's damaged by getting thrown in the dumpster. Then he starts chatting with the student and ends up getting a display rack full of samurai swords.

Turns out, the kid gets full use of a credit card while at college, but doesn't want his parents to see all the frivolous things he bought, so he and other rich students just throw them away, then replace them when they come back after the summer.

Reminds me of the time I had to run off an Asian kid from our company property who was driving a newer BMW crossover. X2, I believe. $50,000 SUV. It's last November with a foot of snow in the forecast, and I walk up to this car and first thing I notice is a giant dent in the rear driver's side from him cutting a corner too sharp and hitting something. Then I notice his tires are bald. I mean, bald. Cords showing on one side on the front.

Daddy obviously gave him this new BMW for college, and the kid can't drive and has no concept of vehicle maintenance.

He speaks almost no English and after I tell him he's on private property and needs to leave, I try to tell him he needs new tires. He did a lot of nodding, but I don't think he understood 90% of what I was saying.