Vassar sophomore here! I wanted to share a bunch about the communities Vassar is in. My apologies if this is more than you were looking for!
Vassar is basically in the city of Poughkeepsie, but the little “town” across the street is called Arlington.
Poughkeepsie has a bus system that’s free for Vassar students, and takes you directly to the train station and down Main Street (buses go by Vassar campus). Train to NYC is 2 hours, $38 round trip (90 minutes if you pay more for the Amtrak). Most folks go down once or twice a semester – some way more, others never. Lots of Vassar students are from NYC and are happy to tour friends around! I’ve been to NYC a couple times with friends, and twice to see Broadway shows (paid for by the Vassar ticket fund!). Every semester, there’s a free bus to NYC paid for by the student government (the VSA). VSA also pays for Saturday shuttles to the mall (movie theater, Target, arcade, etc… also of note, it doesn’t seem like a “dying” mall either).
Arlington is cute. They have community days where they block off the street in the fall and spring. Every Vassar student gets $105 to spend at Arlington restaurants every semester. Within a 5-7 minute walk into Arlington, there’s a coffee shop, bagel shop, fusion South American, 2 Mexican, Thai, Dominican, a diner, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Sushi, 2 “american,” pizza, a Dunkin, an indie bookstore, a bowling alley. When you adventure further than a 10 minute walk there’s way more… Honduran, a couple places with soul food, a bunch more Mexican (specifically Oaxacan), sandwich places, pubs, bars, fancier places, etc. For Poughkeepsie’s size, there’re a TON of good restaurants – this comes from a combination of being a really diverse community and having the Culinary Institute so close! We’re always sharing new restaurants with each other.
I really like Poughkeepsie (admittedly more than most students) – there’s way more going on than most students realize. Us Vassar students don’t get off campus as much as we should… a legacy of pandemic policies on campus culture. I get the sense that this culture is changing though. I’ve volunteered in the public schools and help with English classes for a group of Spanish-speaking migrants every week. I have friends who volunteer with all sorts of different organizations. Our office of community engaged learning does a good job connecting people to projects and community groups.
Poughkeepsie has a few art galleries, a theater, a couple community spaces, etc. The Christmas lights cover Main street in December, and they decorate a few different trees around Poughkeepsie in some of the public parks. There’s a holiday parade, and throughout the year, there are tons of community events. In the summer, people sell icys and food on Main Street. Most of the waterfront by the Hudson is a public park – in the spring, there are people out there blasting music and having cook outs together. It’s a good vibe.
There’s a restored rail trail that runs by campus – students bike down it to get to the Walkway Over the Hudson and other public parks. Tons of natural spaces and parks in the extended area.
Most Vassar students don’t get off campus much, at least not to downtown Poughkeepsie. It’s a shame, but doesn’t have to be your experience; the opportunities are here! I really do love Poughkeepsie though – it’s a real city, not just a college town. The communities here in Poughkeepsie are truly diverse. I think someone already mentioned, it’s said that the largest population of Oaxacan migrants in the US lives in Poughkeepsie.