Considering Transferring To UO, What to Expect? Would I Fit In Here?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Oregon
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So I was accepted to UO and am highly considering going. I’m not the typical college student though, I’m 26 and haven’t been in school since I was 21. I took nearly all my base classes those first few years of school and would be entering as a “late sophomore” and would have a little over two years left before I graduate. I’d be majoring in Linguistics.

Originally, I’m from New York, and am very politically left and have more of a “do” attitude then a “say” one. I’m very into hiking, music, art, games, and am overall very social. I was in Americorps for two years and traveled most of the country and have in turn seen a lot. Currently, I live in southern New Hampshire and genuinely dislike it, people are rude compared to other places I’ve lived, and it is devoid of culture in my opinion. Though from my research, Eugene doesn’t seem like that.

I am paying for school myself and have basically gotten by in life on my own but am not one of those people who tries to act big because of that. I’m the type of person that likes to get along with everyone, and almost never have issues doing so, but have had a few issues in the past getting along with rich “hippy” types. I read that you’ll find more people like that in Boulder or Portland though.

After a lot of research, the school and program seem like a great fit for me, and I for it, but these are my questions:

Because of my age, would I make people uncomfortable?

Would my age affect my social experiences at school?

Would my “do” attitude make it hard for me to get along with people?

I’m from Queens, and I know Eugene’s downtown is no NY/Portland/LA/Denver/etc, but is it fun in it’s own right?

Will I meet a lot of people with a fondness for hiking or are the trails kinda dead?

Ideally, I’d like to live with people a little closer to my age, preferably other students, is it difficult to find non-traditional student housing or grad students to live with?

Is it really that hard to find a part time job in the area?

This question is less important since I’ll be visiting the area soon, but is the area very scenic and pretty?

I love the scenery and all the outdoor activities there are to do in the Boulder, CO area; to those that have been to both areas, how does Eugene compare?

Those are all my questions currently, thank you to anyone that took the time to read this and answer some of them. Of course, academics are the most important part of college, but these are important factors for an enjoyable school experience.

-Jim

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I don’t know much about the linguistics department, but the computer science and business courses I’ve taken often have other students in your age range. I highly doubt your age would affect your social experience very much. 26 really isn’t that old, and you’re probably more fixated on your age than any one of your classmates will be.

As far as politics go, most students are left-leaning. Not sure what you mean by a “do” attitude unless you’re talking about the activities you mentioned. There are a lot of political activism groups you could probably get involved with if that’s your cup of tea. Regardless of political affiliation, everyone is really easy-going and I have yet to meet somebody that I genuinely disliked.

Hiking is really popular here and the bike paths along the river are well frequented. All in all Eugene is a pretty nice place for a college town. The beach, snow-capped mountains and big lakes are all within a 1.5 hour drive in either direction.