Is Tempe a good college town? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: home, schools, university)

[Blingnjkbling]

Thinking about going to college at ASU - and just curious how is Tempe overall?

Is there a lot of stuff to do? Is it walkable, or is there good public transportation,etc?

Thanks for any info!

[Bondurant]

Yes on all counts. Tempe is a great place.

[SluggoF16]

Agreed. And it's gotten even better than when I was a student at ASU. Great college town with the diversions of Phoenix nearby if you want them. The city itself is spread out, but the weather and streets are good for biking.

[SubconsciousMe]

I guess it all depends on your major.

I go to ASU if you have questions.

[PoppySead]

It's really a fun college town. Lot's to do, close nit, transportation, great for bikes, walks, bands play, bars, eateries, grocery, everything around you. Make sure you get as close to the college as possible. Those are the best areas. To far away from ASU and Tempe is a different story.

[azriverfan.]

Tempe is a nice city. ASU has a great campus. Can I say it's a great college town? No

When I think of great college towns, i think of Columbus, Ann Arbor, Norman, Gainesville, Eugene, Madison, Baton Rouge, Austin, Berkley etc.

I think a big part of the problem is ASU doesn't do enough to invest into its sports teams and culture. There is no excuse why ASU shouldn't have a top 15 football team every year. It's the largest university in the country. It has an amazing campus with great weather. It has a fun student body. Yet the university shoots itself in the foot with it's beyond mediocre sports. I really miss college sports and travel during the year to other states to watch college football and basketball. I wish ASU and Tempe offered competitive sports. If they did, I think Tempe would be a better college town and have more of a "culture" if you know what I mean.

[Finger Laker]

The thing that also goes with that is unlike those other cities, Tempe isn't really it's own entity .... in those places the college is the city

In Tempe it would be true that for the most part the college is Tempe - but Tempe isn't the city .... the city is the phoenix metro which is massive and Tempe is a part of that

So it will come down to what you want in a college town ....... it's not that picture perfect campus from which all activity starts and stops

However, being a massively large school it's impact on the area is undeniable, there are all the conveniences you are looking for and you can have an excellent college experience there with larger city amenities nearby

The campus has more of an urban feel than you will find in other large state schools

Take a visit - you'll either love it or you wont

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by Finger Laker

The campus has more of an urban feel than you will find in other large state schools

Take a visit - you'll either love it or you wont

Not true at all. Mill has slowly eroded over the years being replaced by Tempe Marketplace. There were so many vacancies as stores and restaurants relocated elsewhere or folded. Even their music scene disappeared. I remember Long Wongs on Mill and the live bands and that entire thing disappeared.

If you walk through downtown Austin on 6th street, that is a real urban feel or even Ann Arbor. Even Evanston, Illinois (Northwestern) has more of a downtown feel than Mill in my opinion. I don't think you've been to a lot of college campuses because you would disagree if you've been to places like Harvard Square or downtown Berkley or Baton Rouge. Again, part of the problem is ASU is spread out with campuses all over the Valley and the development isn't focused to one area. If that was the case, Tempe would have more of a college feel.

A lot of ASU students will go to Old Town Scottsdale and venture to other parts of the Valley. Sorry, I would like to agree with you but I have to be honest.

[Finger Laker]

Mill is not ASU - it's a part of it, but it isn't it ........ in places like Ann Arbor, Evanston, State College you'll get more of that "downtown" feel in the "college town" because there needs to be ....... they aren't a part of a metro of over 5M people

Many of those schools you'll have the campus with the pretty campus, open spaces, courtyards and that real college "feel" ..... then you'll have a downtown as well as another area or two that will serve the students (and some other residents) and then as you move away from campus you'll get the rest of the city

I'm not a huge fan of UT-Austin and agree that it's probably more urban on the whole

With ASU you are in a very large metro and it feels like you are in a very large metro ... you don't have an idyllic enclave with a pretty campus and a bustling downtown area where all the students congregate

It doesn't have that "college town USA" type of feel to it

It's a large school in a large city with a lot of different options within reach - you can go out to the nightlife in ASU, or you can travel a very short distance to old town or grab the light rail to downtown for other nightlife, sporting events, concerts, etc ..... all in addition to what may be happening in tempe itself

ann arbor isn't that far from Detroit - but if you want to catch a MLB game it's a solid 40 miles (a lot more than from tempe to downtown)

evanston is close to chicago - but evanston isn't home to the major state university ...... that's 2 1/2 hours away in champaign/urbana

state college is hours from both pittsburgh & philly

it's a trek from athens into atlanta

U of MN is fairly urban as it's located in MPLS

UT Austin is the capitol as well

UW is very close to seattle, but it's like another world ..... berkeley is a little bit further out, but also feels like another world

the ASU campus just doesn't have that same kind of setup and college type feel ..... my opinion though ..... i think a little bit is just word play, honestly ......... you say tempe isn't urban because it doesn't have that real campus feeling, downtown main street type vibe ....... i say it is urban for the same reasons ....... i think we both agree that it does lack that type of vibe though

[ReadyFreddy]

Can I say it's a great college town? No. When I think of great college towns, i think of Columbus, Ann Arbor, Norman, Gainesville, Eugene, Madison, Baton Rouge, Austin, Berkley etc.

ASU is a great school and Tempe is a great city. Who cares about those other towns, except as a semantics lesson on "college towns"?

I think a big part of the problem is ASU doesn't do enough to invest into its sports teams

And thank god for that. Like we need more money poured into sports. It's a &#^%@ game.