Is Occidental really an urban college?

When I ask whether Occidental College is an urban college, I mean “urban” in a good way. I’m not interested in the crime statistics for Eagle Rock. What I want to know is this: does going to Oxy enable you to interact on daily basis with LA? If you go to Macalester, you’re always in one of the nicer urban neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. If you go to Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Yale, Michigan or Wisconsin, you’re right in the middle of some pretty interesting urban neighborhoods with typical urban amenities – downtown Providence, the Upper West Side of New York, Harvard Square in Cambridge, downtown New Haven, downtown Ann Arbor, and downtown Madison. If you go to Beloit College or Lawrence University, I’m told, you’re in the middle of downtown Beloit and downtown Appleton; I’m not sure what those places are like, never having been to them, but they appear to have a few coffee shops, bars, restaurants, etc. Saratoga Springs is hopping and can be reached, if you’re willing to walk 50 or 10 minutes, from the campus Skidmore College. Even Grinnell, Iowa, Oberlin, Ohio and Northfield, Minnesota – all of which are pretty small and not really urban (though Oberlin has some funky bars and restaurants) – are easily accessible on foot from pretty much anywhere on the Grinnell, Carleton and Oberlin campuses.

Day in and day out, what LA destinations do Oxy students visit on foot?

That’s an interesting question, AmazingBlue. And you already seem to have an insightful understanding of some of the best college town environments in the country.

I know about what you seem to know re: college towns, and what I can add is that I’ve spent some years in LA. I would think the Occidental campus is pleasant enough. It is also easily within reach of LA. But … within reach is not the same as walking to State Street from the Wisconsin campus, or walking through Cambridge on a break from classes, etc. etc. LA’s infrastructure being what it is, I don’t personally think it’s the easiest thing to travel from Eagle Rock to various locales. Truthfully, living within LA itself can prove quite difficult getting across town to do something, without wasting some hours in transport. And that presumes either car ownership, or maybe a direct subway line (which are sporadic). It appears there is something called the Bengal Bus from Oxy. But … without a direct train line, it’s not ideal. But also do-able. It would certainly be more accessible than the Claremont system.

I don’t think this should dissuade you from considering Oxy if it’s a good fit. But I don’t think the access, all things considered, is as ideal as some of the others layouts you’ve mentioned. LA itself may not be the ideal setting, and it could be more a function of that overall infrastructure, too.

Maybe there are some positive Oxy people here who can bring more insight. My observations aren’t meant to discourage the college at all. Though I would add that some colleges on LA’s periphery may have better access (e.g. Caltech, because Pasadena has more integrated transport lines now to LA). And there are other colleges on the LA periphery that might prove even less accessible.

Let me try a different approach.

Hey Oxy students, did you walks to any restaurants, bars or coffee shops in the last 2 weeks? Which ones?

My daughter tells me that she walks to coffee shops quite regularly and especially likes York Ave. She and friends also walk to taco trucks and seem to have favorite eating spots.

It’s important to remember that LA is combination of neighborhoods, Eagle Rock being one. From what I can tell (Facebook etc.), our daughter seems to get around the LA area. Eagle Rock, Pasadena, and Glendale are all in close proximity of the campus. Remember, however, that the traffic is brutal and that public transit is not the best.

I would bet that a large number of students from CA espeically bring cars with them to school. If you have a friend with a car the whole city is yours to explore. It looks like you can get zip cars right on campus and Uber and Lyft are really popular out there. I see alot of bus stops along York Ave and Eagle Rock Blvd that are just around an 11 minute walk from campus.

Now that I’ve seen it, I would say that Oxy isn’t in a very walkable area. The campus is surrounded by a residential neighborhood, which is ringed by some commercial streets. There are several nice places to go on those commercial streets but it seems that most people get to them by car. It also seems that there are three auto body shops for every restaurant. Walking all the way from Oxy wouldn’t be particularly pleasant. The commercial part of the neighborhood has more of what I think of as busy suburban feel than an urban feel. It doesn’t feel like a college town.

But Pasedena is only ten minutes away and LA has plenty to offer if you don’t mind driving.

That would be my overall impression, too. I’d recommend Oxy if students like the academic and campus atmosphere mainly, which can provide a very nice education with enough proximity. Also, Pasadena within reach is a really nice, relatively safe option. For some people, LA may not really be the best city atmosphere, save for specific events which you just attend and come back home – cultural, sporting, etc. LA is very spread out, expensive, and can prove isolating at times if you’re not established there.

I’m speaking as a parent of a senior at Oxy, and as someone who lives near New York City. To me, none of LA is very walkable – it’s so huge and sprawling, and really just a collection of neighborhoods (there is a downtown LA, but that isn’t really where people go). That said, there are definitely stores and coffee shops in Eagle Rock. http://auntieemskitchen.com/home is just one example. And as people have mentioned, Pasadena is great for walking, but to get there you’d need to take a car or uber. Uber has been a great advance for life in LA! For exploring more around the whole LA area, my daughter used zipcars at first, and then we ended up leasing her a car. She definitely has enjoyed exploring LA – she seems to go all over, to the beaches on weekends, Koreatown, etc. One reason she chose Oxy over Pitzer was its proximity to the city.

Just came across this thread - hope it’s still active.
LA has a long way to go yet before it’s possible to get around without a car as in New York, but the City is making major strides. The General Manager of our Department of Transportation is a protégé of Janette Sadik-Khan, the former Transportation Commissioner under Mayor Bloomberg. Our Mayor and City Council have embraced her push for Vision Zero - extending curbs and putting streets on “road diets” to make the pedestrian experience safer, if not more pleasant. All of which is to say that by policy and design, LA is embracing a multimodal approach as a response to projected population (traffic) growth.

Christopher Hawthorne, the LA Times’ architecture critic and Oxy faculty member, has written extensively about LA’s storied boulevards (e.g.the eastward shift in energy from Brentwood to Echo Park). He’s written and organized colloquia about the “Third LA” on Oxy’s campus. It’s actually an exciting time to be in LA. I would never say that LA is a pretty city or an easy one to love, but for students of urbanism, economic development or public policy, LA is compelling. Eagle Rock/Highland Park is ground central for some of these seismic shifts.

Plus, the sheer concentration of artistic talent in ER/HP is leagues better than in almost any other city in the country. The comedian Maria Bamford lives here, and regularly does live shows in local venues such as the Pop Up Bookstore.

The former Mayor of Pasadena and currently the City Manager of Santa Monica, Rick Coles, is an Oxy grad. Google his account about how he and his friend starting exploring the environs as students, taking buses across the City - journeys which shaped his prodigious career.

yes, the museums, events, hills, beach are all accessible. While at Oxy, one can ski and surf, intern for film companies or museums, paint or survey geological sites. The professors make a good effort to take advantage of the amazing things LA has to offer.