<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I’m in the process of considering grad schools and was wondering the cost of living in Davis. Looking online, it seems everything but housing is near national levels, with housing being really expensive. Is it possible/easy to find cheaper accommodation on the outskirts and commute to campus, or live with flatmates to offset housing costs? The stipend they offered was $20-25k – obviously I’d not be making bank, but is this enough to live on in Davis for 9 months of the year? I tend to be very frugal on everything except for food (daily caloric consumption rests around 4000-5000 kcal, though 95% is cooked at home) and gas (I like to travel around a lot and would be all over CA on the weekends, but my car gets 50+ mpg so it doesn’t ever end up being too much).</p>
<p>Also, unrelated questions, but:
- What’s the nearby hiking like? I can drive wherever on the weekends but are there pleasant walks near campus for when I want something on a weekday evening?
- What equipment is there in the rec center? (ie what do the dumbbells go up to, how many racks/cages and benches do they have, are there platforms for floor lifts?)</p>
<p>Buying food in California gives more variety at lower prices than most places in the United States. From the Davis Farmers Market to the Co-op — to traditional stores of all types and Costco — to buying food from the animal science/plant science people on campus, you’re going to do great on price and variety. Most people spend $2000 -$2800 per year on food, but with your caloric intake, maybe plan on $3200- $4000. The all-you-can-eat food at the DC is quite good and varied, but is usually considered a bit expensive. But it might be a good occasional option for your needs. There’s a hundred places to eat in the college town right next to campus.</p>
<p>I’m most familiar with sharing apartments. You can get rooms in apartments from $400 - $800; so sharing a room would be half of that. Be advised that you’ll be signing a 12-month lease in most cases.</p>
<p>With a car, you’ll be in heaven on weekends; you’re within 90 minutes of just about any geographical zone except tundra and tropical. During the week, the campus is sprawling and flat, nice if not spectacular. The arboretum follows a meandering creek for miles. The adjacent town of Davis is an old-fashioned college town that’s nice to stroll. Of course you’ll have a bike for the campus and surroundings. Bike paths leave campus in a couple of directions.</p>
<p>Gas is about 50 cents per gallon more expensive in CA than in many states. As of today, it’s closing in on $4.00 per gallon.</p>
<p>If you’re getting a full tuition waiver and health insurance with your funding, I think you can do just fine.</p>
<p>Thank you for your reply! I do most of my shopping at Costco anyway so it sounds like I’d have that as a fallback if the farmer’s market is too pricey. How much does the AYCE run? I did intermittent fasting a few semesters ago and might try again if that’s the best option, only it’s hard fitting 3000 kcal into a single meal, much less 5000.</p>
<p>Is it easy to sublet for the summer months if I’m off in the field or bumming around or wherever? </p>
<p>I road tripped through CA last summer and visited Davis campus and did the arboretum walk, but I think my perception was clouded by the heat. Is there good seasonal variation there?</p>
<p>I think it’s full tuition and maybe health, I emailed them to find out. </p>
<p>I’ve another question though – what’s the outdoors community like? Are there clubs for hiking/backpacking/climbing/watersports and whatever else? Are people generally outdoorsy and keen to explore the state, or is the culture more indoor party oriented or a mixture of the two or what?</p>
<p>The DC AYCE, priced by the meal, is about 7 for breakfast, 9 for lunch, and 12 for dinner. A better deal is to buy a meal plan, [Welcome</a>, Dining Services, UC Davis<a href=“see%20the%20quick%20links”>/url</a>. I’m not sure if you would qualify as staff (as a TA), which has the cheaper meal plan pricing. BTW, there are other fast food and conventional dining options available at various places on campus.</p>
<p>You can sublet, but for about half the normal rate. Places go begging in the summer.</p>
<p>Yes, the summer is hot, hot. Not very enjoyable. But the coast and the Sierra are only 90 minutes away, for a huge temperature drop. Fall and Spring are beautiful. Winter varies from very cool to reasonable, with less rain than people think. Davis has only 13 in. of rain annually, compared with 25-50 in. near the coast?</p>
<p>People are very outdoors oriented. It is definitely not a party school, but people are very friendly and unpretentious. There are clubs, club sports, intramurals, and the locally-famous <a href=“http://www.facebook.com/ucdavis.outdooradventures[/url]”>UC Davis Outdoor Adventures](<a href=“Dining at UC Davis | UC Davis Student Housing and Dining Services”>http://dining.ucdavis.edu/)</a> . The best way I can say it is that there are about 30,000 generally-active students living a generally-outdoor lifestyle.</p>
<p>You might want to look at [Davis</a> Wiki - The definitive resource for Davis, California](<a href=“http://daviswiki.org/]Davis”>http://daviswiki.org/) for the inside (albeit dated) scoop on Davis.</p>