<p>Hello! I have been admitted to Wake, and I love the school, but I'm concerned about what Winston-Salem is like. I'm mostly concerned about the bars, clubs and shopping (I.E. the only reasons I would leave campus.) I know Greensboro isn't very far, is it common for students to drive there on weekends for any of the above?</p>
<p>P.S. Definitely just realized I spelled WINSTON-SALEM incorrectly. Sorry, please ignore.</p>
<p>Hi - yes - it is. I was actually surprised to see how often my son leaves campus. Not to shop. But he goes to concerts, sporting events, movies, out to dinner, etc. Many students have cars. If you are worried about being “trapped” on campus - don’t - you won’t be.</p>
<p>Winston is definitely not a huge metropolitan town with lots to do, but with that being said it also isn’t a ghost town. There are good places to eat and icecream shops in town. The mall is okay, there are a few movie theatres around, and there is a performance arts center that brings in some good shows. HUGE concerts come to Greensboro/Charlotte, which are in driving distance. There are also awesome malls in both cities. Winston-Salem isn’t missing anything major, but it also isn’t NYC/DC. That being said, I like Winston and if you have any specific questions (i.e. is there a __<strong><em>, how far is </em></strong>) then feel free to ask!</p>
<p>PS: What other schools are you choosing between? I visited 20 schools so maybe we visited some of the same and I can give you some more insight?</p>
<p>For me Winston-Salem was the worst part of Wake Forest. I am sure some people will come on and comment on how much they enjoyed the city and how many things there are to do, etc etc. But honestly Winston-Salem is pretty terrible as a town. Yes, there are some things to do: decent restaurants, some decent shopping, and a few decent bars, but overall pretty dismal as a place. I was so happy to get out of there after my 4 years.</p>
<p>Wow. I would hardly call Winston-Salem dismal or terrible! There are terrific restaurants and a new outlet mall only a short drive away in Mebane. Greensboro is so close that you really have the benefit of two cities. As someone already said, it isn’t NYC, but it isn’t nearly as bad as some other college towns either! Some other big universities are in the middle of nowhere!</p>
<p>Agreed on Winston clearly not being “dismal”.</p>
<p>I really liked Winston-Salem, but I am not a big city sort of guy. Simply, if you want a city like New York or DC, apply to NYU or Georgetown. If you want a great campus community, surrounded by a small city, then Wake Forest is great.</p>
<p>I’m not really a big city sort of person either to be honest, but I do like to live in a safe, clean, easy to get around with options for things to do, places to eat, stores to shop in. Winston-Salem is definitely not safe, nor particularly clean and also not easy to get around at all. You could argue that there are lots of things to do, but that’s really a personal thing. I personally found that there was not a whole lot to do or places to go. Just my opinion though and I’m sure shared by some others as well. Just because you go/went to Wake Forest doesn’t mean you have to be a cheerleader for it about absolutely everything. There are some negative points about Wake Forest and W-S was one of them for me.</p>
<p>Having transferred from a school in a major city with a ton going on, I think I can provide some light.</p>
<p>Wake Forest is very much a campus-oriented school and community, and it’s something I really like…you have the rest of your life to live and work in a city. That being said, Winston-Salem is not that bad and I’m off campus a lot (lots of people have cars) to eat out, see a movie, see a concert (Zac Brown Band tomorrow night).
Very few people can say they actually go to a city school (BU, NYU, GWU, etc).</p>
<p>I think it’s a very personal opinion on Winston. If you want a big city at your disposal, W-S is not it, but you will in no way feel like you are missing out because you’re in the middle of nowhere, you’re definitely wrong. (W-S has 200,000 people…its not a small city).</p>
<p>Lastly, I really like the location of Wake and Winston. It’s easy to get to stores and stuff, but I really enjoy just staying on campus for a week or whatever, and I don’t get bored. Also, we’re close to the mountains, 4.5 hours to the beach and close to other cities (I’ve been to High Point, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Charlotte and Greensboro all this year and they aren’t too far away)</p>
<p>I personally don’t like Winston-Salem. The metropolitan area’s population is pretty sizable, sure, but there’s not a ton going on in the city itself. It’s a pretty bland place.</p>
<p>I don’t mind Winston. I don’t think it’s that unsafe either…yeah I’m not a big fan of going over to the east side of town after dark, but other than that, it’s really not that bad. I really think one should be fine with using common sense and not walking alone after dark, securing belongings, etc.</p>
<p>In my opinion, my view of the city changed once I graduated (I am still in town as an alum.) I don’t exactly have a ton of free time right now, but I find myself taking advantage a lot more of the cultural events/festivals/etc around town, which I never would have done as an undergrad. In general, I’ve observed that undergrads tend to move in “packs” off campus and don’t really want to associate with the “townies” as much (not an absolute by any means, but I have noticed this on multiple occasions). I’d just really encourage students not to write if off until they’ve made an effort to really break out of the Wake bubble and see what opportunities there are in the city.</p>
<p>Of course, Winston pretty much has what you need store wise - every big box store/mall place you can think of is here. The bar scene is decent. I think most people usually go to Greensboro to go clubbing.</p>
<p>Take this with a grain of salt, as I’m originally from a small rural town and obviously Winston is going to offer significantly more. I’m not totally drinking the Kool-Aid and saying it’s the best place ever, but I don’t dislike living here either.</p>
<p>If you are looking for restaurants, movies, traditional bars, shopping, etc.–Winston is fine. The downtown area is actually pretty cool (with shuttles from campus on the weekend). Greensboro as the “clubbing” destination is probably also apt.</p>
<p>I also think students will be pleased when Ziggy’s (a music venue) reopens in its new downtown Winston-Salem location. It plans to reopen in June, I think.</p>
<p>W-S has a population of over 225,000. It’s hardly a remote outpost. I think it offers a pretty high quality of life.</p>
<p>“I’m not totally drinking the Kool-Aid and saying it’s the best place ever, but I don’t dislike living here either.”</p>
<p>Agreed with this.</p>
<p>I chose between Wake & NYU so clearly Winston isn’t super impressive for me … but it’s also not like you’re going to UConn where you’re literally in the middle of nowhere :)</p>
<p>Best advice - Revisit Wake and go downtown for lunch/walk around/drive around a bit. Just like NYC and any other city for that matter, there are bad areas, but if you’re going to go here you’re probably going to stick to campus, streets right around campus, and downtown Winston.</p>
<p>Wow, you guys are a tough group! Winston-Salem is hardly the dregs and it has been acknowledged that there are decent restaurants, shopping, bars, movies etc. What else do you really need? Is it Ann Arbor or Charlottesville? No but it is a nice mid size metro area that is fairly accessible to larger cities such as Charlotte and Greensboro. Getting to and from Wake by air is pretty convenient also. The weather is decent, the people are friendly. My own experience taught me to choose the college or university first, then look to the surrounding area. I spent four years in South Bend in the snowbelt of Indiana. All I heard was how terrible South Bend was, how it was in the middle of nowhere and a terrible, terrible college town. Well I came to enjoy living in the MidWest and we were never at a loss for things to do in town. I go back now and all our old haunts have been torn down and replaced with all the typical restaurants and stores that you will find in any college town. Very generic. I have said that some of the nicest and friendliest people I have ever met were from Indiana. And then my son went to Wake and I often get that same feeling from the people I have met in Winston-Salem. I have lived on the East and West Coast and the Mid West and if I had to spend four years in Winston-Salem, I would be just fine with it. Be sure to visit and see for yourself.</p>
<p>Definitely agree. Whether you go to NYU, Southern Cal, UVA or wherever, most of your time will be spent at school and on campus, so I definitely think that is more important than the city.</p>
<p>I think all of W-S’s cons and pros have been covered.</p>
<p>To the OP…where are you from? And what other schools are you looking at?</p>