<p>Be honest. How much does Poughkeepsie suck?
I know, I've been told/read a million times that the campus makes up for everything Poughkeepsie lacks and the train ride to NYC is only an hour.</p>
<p>But, still, I want to know. How bad does it suck?</p>
<p>Honestly, Poughkeepsie isn't THAT bad, as long as you're not the sort of person who wants to attend a city school. It's nothing special, but it's nothing particularly terrible either in that there are actually some things to do and see in the area. Poughkeepsie features, for instance, a mall, movie theatres, a variety of restaurants, the Franklin Delano Roosevelt house and library, and the Culinary Institute of America. There are also oftentimes events held in the city: this week and weekend, for instance, there's a Greek Festival, a Hispanic Festival, a food and wine sampling held by a local chef, a Harvest & Art Festival, a Farmer's Market, Germania Oktoberfest, Guided Hikes on city-owned estates, and a pottery-soup festival. It's certainly not New York, but it's not the middle-of-nowhere either.</p>
<p>If you had to compare it to another city, what city would it be?</p>
<p>My parents compare it to Bellingham, Washington. I've never been there... but apparently it's like Poughkeepsie. The thing about Poughkeepsie and a lot of the surrounding towns is that they really lost their luster when IBM moved out of the area. It's really not that bad, though. I'm usually too busy with stuff on campus to even think about doing something off campus anyway, and that's the case for a lot of people at Vassar. Everything you need is there, and there's not a lot more than that, but campus makes up for it. You won't be bored at Vassar just because it's in a boring city.</p>
<p>I agree with everthing that has been said. Poughkeepsie is comparable to Glen Cove, NY. It is not that bad. The downtown is run down but Vassar is not in the downtown. Vassar is in the town of Poughkeepsie, not the city. There is a skating rink at the civic center downtown and concerts, etc. I saw some good concerts. There is a fairly nice mall comparable to others across the US with a best buy, sears, many trendy stores, a food court, etc. on route nine. the surrounding hudson valley is beautiful. breathtaking in the autumn. there is woodstock where the infamous music festival took place and lots of other interesting sites not too far away if you have a car. New Paltz is also fun to visit. I think Poughkeepsie gets an unfair bad rap. When I was at vassar I rode my bike all over the place on and off campus and never had a problem. I worked in poughkeepsie on semester for an internship and took the bus to and from without incident. good luck.</p>
<p>Actually the Three Days of Peace and Music which ended up being known as Woodstock, took place in Bethel, NY, which is right nearby the actual town of Woodstock. It's right off of the NYS Thruway and each time I've driven past it either to or from Vassar for visits and the move-in, I've had an itch to take that Bethel exit and check out it's most historic hillside, Max Yasgur's farm. I wasn't there for the historic weekend, but like most others my age it helped to define our generation and, as such, is a touch point whether you were there or not.</p>
<p>"I'm goin' on down to Yasgur's farm, gonna join in a rock and roll band, gonna camp out on the land and try and get my soul free!"</p>
<p>An Old Hippie Too Vain To Name Her Age!</p>
<p>:-D</p>
<p>I was actually there at Woodstock. Open for questions.</p>
<p>Hey mythmom,
MY DH had tickets for Woodstock and tried to get there. Eventually gave up because of the traffic, and went to the track instead. :) But, he did graduate from Vassar.</p>
<p>thanks to all of you for your information. I had this terrible vision of Poughkeepsie in my mind, but from what you've all said Poughkeepsie sounds better than the suburb I live in!</p>
<p>thanks again, and feel free to continue</p>
<p>I've lived in Poughkeepsie all my life and I have been getting tired of some of things I've read on CC about it. It's a nice place to live. There's a lot of construction in front of Vassar right now, because they are installing the third of 3 roundabouts, so the area is in a bit of flux until that's finished. But there are also possible plans for a new college bookstore and cafe just outside the gates of Vassar. I'm not sure why everyone thinks Vassar needs to be in a bubble. If you have a car and can explore the area, there's plenty of shopping and restaurants to enjoy. Entertainment too.</p>
<p>Ah yes, the roundabout/tilt-a-whirl. If only someone on the engineering team had purchased a level....</p>