<p>So I recently visited friends in Connecticut, and according to them New Haven is a "dump." Also, I work at a lab with a scientist who worked at Yale, and she told me that she wouldn't feel safe walking alone around campus at night (but this was "by the medical buildings," which is apparently in a separate area). Current/past Yale students, can you please give me a real picture of what Yale's neighborhood is like?</p>
<p>i love new haven. sure there are neighborhoods that i wouldn't recommend hanging out in, but thats the same as any city. the area around the campus is perfectly safe, with people associated with the university mulling around at all hours a day. the city completely caters to the student population, and i think its a fantastic college town.</p>
<p>Agree with huskem. It's a GREAT college town. I feel comfortable walking alone around the areas close to campus at night.</p>
<p>Come on guys, I know that this a Yale forum but a small dose of realism is very healthy and adds credibility. New Haven IS a dump. It is really not that safe and one of the first things that I was told during my visits was "not to stray away from the campus"....</p>
<p>Unfortunately, Yale shares with Columbia (which is in a very depressed area of Manhattan) and Penn (in crime ridden Philadelphia) the misfortune of being one the ivies located in bad neighborhoods. Harvard, Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton and Cornell do not have that problem.</p>
<p>After all, where did the light bulb joke came from? : How many Yale students does it take to change a light bulb? None. New Haven looks better in the dark.</p>
<p>you must be looking at outdated college guides. morningside heights (the neighborhood where columbia is in) is one of the safest neighborhoods in all of manhattan.</p>
<p>i'm a paranoid petite white girl and have spent the past few years walking alone at night around the yale and columbia campuses and have felt perfectly safe</p>
<p>i'm the mom of a paranoid petite white girl who is looking at Columbia and Yale, so thanks for this input, huskem.</p>
<p>As the mother of a white suburban girl (not paranoid, but she is skinny ;)) who is now at Yale, I can assure you that both New Haven and Morningside Heights are safe, if one follows normal urban precautions. I grew up in NYC in the 1960's and 70's, and my best friend went to Yale, and believe me, both places are now paradise in comparison to what they once were. My D feels very safe in New Haven and also travels a couple of times a semester to NY to visit friends - two of whom just started at Columbia. Either one is a wonderful place to go to school.</p>
<p>OH and YALE ROCKS, so you should obviously just definitely come here. :) Kay thanks.</p>
<p>The area around UPenn has improved massively as well. Lots of chichi restaurants moving into the area, hip stores, good bars, etc.</p>
<p>I find the town of Princeton to be a bore. Haven't been there in years, but remember it as having very few bars and cheap restaurants for college students that were in easy walking distance from campus.</p>
<p>Ithaca is a great college town, but isn't it about a mile from campus? Yale has everything at your doorstep.</p>
<p>I could go on, but hate to put down any of the schools. There are pros and cons to all the Ivy campuses, but the part of New Haven that you're in as a Yale student is not as described by Movie Buff in my experience.</p>
<p>Yup..that's why everyone recommends always to stay "within the college grounds"...at Yale. </p>
<p>I am glad there are so many petit girls and mothers of petit girls who are so brave. Just make sure you carry your petit maze spray with you. Just because you feel "safe", it does not mean the area... IS. </p>
<p>New Haven does look better in the dark. To the OP, the best way to find out, is to visit the town the next time you are in Connecticut. I love Yale, but I do dislike New Haven. I just did not want to spent 4 years there.</p>
<p>AA, the OP asked about New Haven..... the town. The Yale campus is beautiful.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yup..that's why everyone recommends always to stay "within the college grounds"...at Yale.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Not quite. The recommendation is to stay within a certain perimeter of streets, but these extend outside the actual campus. The same is true at Columbia - wander too far afield and you can be in a sketchy neighborhood. </p>
<p>I went to Princeton, and loved it there, but there's no question that it's a boring place compared to New Haven.</p>
<p>riverrunner,
You could always tell your "paronoid, petite white daughter" to take her "paranoid, petite white **" to Wellesley or Bryn Mawr.</p>
<p>oouuuuchhhh</p>
<p>datdude, there's no call to be rude. We're here to exchange information and help one another, not to be snippy.</p>
<p>huskem55 don't know where you come from but Columbia is in a great,safe and beautiful area.Please do not give out info about which you have no knowledge.My S is currently at Yale and while the area that surrounds Yale seems to be fairly safe and busy, New Haven is not the safest place to walk around alone at night</p>
<p>Booklady
[quote]
I went to Princeton, and loved it there, but there's no question that it's a boring place compared to New Haven.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What does that have to do with the price of rice in China? The OP asked about New Haven being bad, not whether Princeton was in a boring place or not compared to New Haven. But since u mentioned that...</p>
<p>The only bad thing about Yale, is New Haven. Everyone knows that. It has been like that forever and the area is not getting gentrified fast enough. Give it another 100 years..maybe. </p>
<p>If someone wants to go to an ivy and does not care about the town, then Yale is the answer, no doubt. There is more undergraduate focus than at Harvard which has Cambridge as a big plus. Dartmouth in Hanover is a bit isolated for a lot of people who enjoy some city life. U Penn and Columbia, well Phili and Harlem.... enuf said. Ithaca is quiet and peaceful just like Princeton. Brown, with a very strong undergraduate focus also, is in Providence which is ..artsy, quaint and like a mini Boston.</p>
<p>It was a bit out of my character to submit such a post. I just want to know, what does "paranoid," "petite," "white" or even "girl" have to do with anything. If my post served no other purpose, it should be a wake-up call to naive people who believe victims of street violence and criminal acts have to fit such a profile. Crime victims come from all walks of life and I just don't like the undertone of riverrunner's statement. Do you recall the recent slayings of the three Delaware State students in Newark, N.J.? They were all from that area of Newark and probably felt pretty safe. Now even by my own admission, Newark can be very dangerous (I live about 15 mins away), and although I can "blend in" in that area more so than, say, riverrunner's daughter, I promise you, I am very leary about where I go in that city, particularly after dark. No, I didn't have to be snippy, but if riverrunner feels that way and her daughter fits that stereotype, maybe Wellesley or Bryn Mawr would be better for her.</p>
<p>MovieBuff,</p>
<p>
[quote]
What does that have to do with the price of rice in China?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I thought it was tea. ;) I was simply responding to AdmissionsAddict's "I find the town of Princeton to be a bore." Threads on CC often wander about a bit.</p>
<p>datdude,</p>
<p>
[quote]
I just want to know, what does "paranoid," "petite," "white" or even "girl" have to do with anything.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Because if you're afraid and a small female (although the color of your skin makes no difference) you'll often be an easier target than if you're large and male. Of course not having street smarts makes you the most vulnerable of all, no matter your size, gender, race, or state of mind.</p>
<p>
[quote]
No, I didn't have to be snippy, but if riverrunner feels that way and her daughter fits that stereotype, maybe Wellesley or Bryn Mawr would be better for her.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>One of the great things about going to college is experiencing a completely different way of life from what you're used to. I grew up in NYC and wanted a bucolic, quiet campus, so I went to Princeton. My D had the opposite situation and chose Yale. But no one has to feel unsafe at any urban campus if they use common sense.</p>
<p>What exactly do you mean about Philly and Harlem MovieBuff? Don't you have the courage to say what you really mean or are you not articulate, knowledgeable and honest enough to say something and not put your foot in your mouth in the process?</p>