Tell me everything about Athens, Ohio and OU :) (Columbus: rentals, how much)

[Anne2009]

Hey

I'm considering Ohio University for my MA next year (haven't even applied yet, so it's a long way off) and I know nothing about the school or the town.. Not even about Ohio, to be honest.
I am originally German, but live in England at the moment. I have lived in the states before and travel there quite frequently, but I've never been to Ohio.. So I wanna know everything, really

Like..

What's the climate like?

What is Athens like in general? I am not exactly sure if I wanna be in such a small town, because I love metropolitan areas, but sometimes I think a college town might be pretty nice also.. Does it have restaurants/bars/shopping?

How far is the closest mall? Can you get there by public transport? I guess there is no opportunity to shop for clothing brands within Athens itself?

How far is the nearest airport? This is important as I will be getting visitors from Europe/go home for the holidays.. So ideally I would need one that can easily be reached..

Is Athens pedestrian friendly? I won't have a car..

Does Athens have a movie theater? Sorry if that's a stupid question, I was just wondering if it's too small even for that

And two more things: I'll be taking my dog, so is it a dog friendly place? (lots of greenery etc..)

and... how much do you think I'll need to estimate for rent? Are small appts available or is the only option a shared house?

Sorry I've got so many questions, but if you know the are, I thought they might be quite easy and quick to answer.. I don't have that much experience with small town America, my main concern is that it will either get really boring and you'll feel cut off from the rest of the world or that people are really conservative?! But I've heard that's not the case with Athens? I want to be in an area where it is easy to integrate and make friends and ideally one that is nice to look at (not a shabby, ugly place :P) as well...

Uuuh.. Alright, I'll leave it here for now, thank you so much if you can answer any of these questions!

Oh, another thing, what OU like? Is it a decent school?

Thanks

[NicePolishBoy]

Athens and OU is way, way out in the country. There isn't a whole lot going on outside of Athens, which is a nice big, college town. I wouldn't really call it a city as you might think of it, although technically it is.

Overall, OU is a good college but what program is it?

If you are a native German, you might prefer the bigger cities, which will have a German heritage in parts of them.

Public transportation is pretty limited in Ohio except for the largest cities.

It is in a conservative region of the state but the university helps in terms of diverse views.

[Fletchman]

I went to OU, and I definitely enjoyed it. That being said, OSU gets more attention in Columbus.

Athens is a nice college town, but after my first two years I was pretty sick of it. The residents of Athens and OU students do not get along very well.

Climate wise, it is generally warmer than Columbus and gets less snow. That being said, there were two or three big snows in the four years I was there.

OU has been improving the campus with a new student center and new academic buildings. It's an up-and-coming university, in my opinion.

[gvmesun]

I will try to answer as many questions as I can. My husband and I both graduated from OU in 1981; our oldest son graduated there in 2006, and our other son starts there next week! We only live 30 minutes north of Athens.

First - the climate. As Fletchman replied - they do get snow, but probably averages 5 degrees Fahrenheit higher than Columbus.

The town - first of all, the campus is beautiful. Lots of red brick buildings nestled in the rolling hills. You can walk from one side of campus to the other in 10-15 minutes. There are parts of town that you really could use a vehicle to get to. I think Athens has a small bus service, but don't know anything about it. There are plenty of small restaurants - some with ethnic tastes - not too many nationally known restaurants. There are LOTS of bars on Court St. -- about 14 bars in four blocks. Shopping? Um, not really. There are some unique small shops, nothing major. You would have a hard time shopping for clothing items. Art galleries. Novelty shops. College clothing.

The nearest international airport is Port Columbus. It is probably about 1.5 hours away. Almost a straight shot on Rt. 33 to 270.

Pedestrian friendly? Yes. As I said, you can walk all over campus. There is also a bicycle path that will take you out to East State St. where there are a few restaurants, a Wal-Mart, etc. It is too far to walk to Wal-Mart unless you REALLY like to walk.

Athens has a movie theater.

Athens is dog-friendly. You obviously can't take your dog into restaurants and bars. However, it's not uncommon to see a dog attached to a parking meter outside a coffee shop.

I really can't help you with the housing question. My son shared an apt. with three other guys. Check out The Athens NEWS | Athens County Ohio's Only Locally Owned Newspaper for classified ads. You can actually search for apts. on there and get a good idea what the rentals cost.

I personally LOVE Athens. Yes, it's a small town. The college students come to town and get a little wild. OU is known as a party school (#5 in the nation). It's also known as one of the best schools for their journalism school, their College of Osteopathic Medicine, and many other areas of study. Their new student center is absolutely beautiful.

If you choose a larger school in a more populated area, you have to worry more about crime. Athens is a very laid back community with nice people. The student population is by no means considered conservative.

I hope this helps. The Athens News link will give you a great idea of what Athens is all about. It's their liberal free paper. The Athens Messenger is their more conservative paper.