<p>i just started my college search and i was looking at lehigh. the only thing is i'm more of a city person and its in a really small college town. what is there to do during the day for fun? is there any good shopping nearby- stores like forever 21? and what are the people like there? any help would be appreciated- thanks so much!</p>
<p>There are a series of small shops that are near Lehigh, but not your traditional chains, like Forever 21. </p>
<p>However, the Lehigh Valley Mall is about 20 minutes away by car and has some decent offerings, including Forever 21. First-years/freshmen do not have cars, but you can probably make friends with upperclassmen and LANTA runs from Lehigh over to the mall, but it will obviously take longer due to stops.</p>
<p>[Lehigh</a> Valley Mall](<a href=“http://www.lehighvalleymall.com/stores.php]Lehigh”>http://www.lehighvalleymall.com/stores.php)</p>
<p>As far as students, while there is some diversity (both ethnic/racial and socioeconomic), the student body is overall quite homogenous. Many students come from more affluent backgrounds.</p>
<p>The Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton) is a metro area of about 1 million people - so a fairly large and increasingly sophisticated region. Since there really is not one “city” but three, activities are scattered with Allentown, “the big city” more focused on sports and entertainment with the big regional mall located in its immediate suburbs, Bethlehem for boutique shopping and dining and Easton, the smallest city, a little more artsy. Closest upscale shopping area other than main st in Bethlehem is the Promenade at Saucon Valley, a very nice lifestyle center (LL Bean, Brooks Bothers etc, great restaurants)</p>
<p>The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley is about 6 miles from Lehigh. The Promenade Shops at Saucon Valley is nestled at the base of South Mountain in Center Valley, Pennsylvania (in between Allentown and Bethlehem) - just off Route 378 and Route 309 (close to where Interstate 78 and Route 309 converge).</p>
<p>Not as big as the Lehigh Valley Mall but nice shops, awesome movie theater, Starbucks and Red Robin.</p>
<p>Some of the student bloggers at Lehigh’s [Student</a> Life](<a href=“http://www4.lehigh.edu/connection/studentlife.aspx]Student”>http://www4.lehigh.edu/connection/studentlife.aspx) web site discuss the town and its surroundings.</p>