<p>Gryffon, ROTFLMAO!</p>
<p>posterX, you are leaving out Berkeley and UCLA, both parklike and architecturally interesting campuses in vibrant, dense town settings.</p>
<p>posterx, do you work for the Chamber of Commerce? I’m fond of New Haven, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Ann Arbor and to list New Haven in a sentence with Cambridge and Boston is inviting deserved ridicule. As much as I love Mamoun’s …</p>
<p>BTW, the old story of Old Campus is that it was intentionally built to look like a fortress because of town / gown friction. Something to do with an old fable about the locals pointing cannon at the school. This story is false. Look at the history of the actual buildings and note that, as two examples, that Phelps was built later and so needed to fit in and that Bingham replaced the lovely Osborne Hall which had its main entrance as a wide, curved series of steps facing the corner of College and Chapel.</p>
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<p>What? I love New Haven. Some people don’t. Trying to define “New Haven’s deal” is silly; if you want to know whether or not you are going to like a place, then all you can do is spend some time there.</p>
<p>Yes. I lived there my entire life. Let me tell you, New Haven is an absolute dumb.</p>
<p>First of all there are museums and art galleries all over the place. Theatres. Yale Rep, Shubert, I mean there’s no escape. Stupid vegetarian and cultural food restaurants. Fair trade and non profit organizations stuffed with unique artisan goods or missions. Strange men who play guitar faultlessly in the park and on the street as you walk by. Kill the music, I say. Oh, and the diversity! I swear, it suffocates you! People from all over the world! Of all different economic statuses! And so many stupid events. Music festivals and concerts, orchestras, environmental talks, art showings. I mean, no one cares, even if they’re free. Ugly trees. Hideous historical architecture. Large cliffs no one wants to hike. Seriously who wants to stand above New Haven during a sunset from a clifftop. Dump Dump Dump. Don’t come here.</p>
<p>We’ve lived in Ann Arbor and Madison, very similar college towns, very white and unselfconsciously parochial. I’m with Virtus. If you must have a cold winter, give me all the arts and diversity of New Haven.</p>
<p>I agree with Wisedad. Those other college towns are incredibly overrated.</p>
<p>But in all seriousness:</p>
<p>Yes, there are neighborhoods around the Yale area that are unsafe to walk around in, especially at night, etc. However, you will find that in just about every city. Think. Make smart decisions. Don’t count your money as you walk around at 12am, or walk home from a bar drunk and alone in the wrong part of town. Yes, if you walk around downtown there will be homeless or very poor people who may ask you for money. But if you’re opinion of Yale is swayed by that, it is extremely unfortunate. I remember a conversation with my grandmother about the homeless, and how she apparently never saw a homeless person before. I mentioned that I see them all of the time, and she was like “Oh my goodness! There are homeless people in New Haven!? Oh no! Do they talk to you?!” It’s silly. They aren’t going to give you a hard time. They’re actually somewhat nice, if you do get to know them.</p>
<p>And just to emphasize what a unique/artsy place downtown New Haven is, there is actually a homeless woman who acts out Shakespearean monologues EXTREMELY well, (rumor has it she went to the Yale School of Drama but dropped out. I believe a Yalie did a documentary on her). She does it for money. Many Yalies have seen her before, and agree she is great. But if you are afraid of the poor, or people of many different backgrounds, New Haven is surely not for you. (perhaps reality is not either…)</p>
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Translation: Hey, at least we’re better than Durham.</p>
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Hmm … not so sure about that … I liked the area around Yale; it being not to spiffy actually helps with out a lot of student affortable restaurants and shops right off campus … but I wouldn’t place New Haven way above some of those other college towns</p>