<p>How is it in the city of Princeton? Can you find things to do easily without having a car on campus? How accessible are the nearby big cities?</p>
<p>Princeton has its own train station right on campus; from there you can easily get trains to Philadelphia and New York City. The city of Princeton can be described as quant, a lot of small shops and restaurants</p>
<p>very very expensive from all account :S</p>
<p>It's not a city. It's a town, an affluent, pretty town. Some things are expensive. However, there are reasonable places to get Thai or Indian or Chinese food, nice sandwiches, or ice cream; there is a CVS pharmacy, etc. There are law offices and a medical center for students interested in "shadowing." Princeton is a very safe place to walk around. Students tend to go there for dinner or ice cream, or to the florist before formals. There is a ton to do on campus, from theater to music to the art museum to comedy to partying at the eating clubs, as well as a wonderful professional theater <a href="http://www.mccarter.org%5B/url%5D">www.mccarter.org</a>. There is a bus to Route 1, the commercial strip that is five minutes away, and some students drive; you'll find all the malls you want there. Nearby Trenton is much poorer and some students go there to do service projects. And, as 22frets says, in an hour or less you are in NYC or Philly. The university sponsors very inexpensive trips to Broadway shows -- around $20 for good tickets, dinner, and bus -- and students go into NYC to have dinner, research their art history papers, etc.</p>
<p>I hope someone goes to the florist for me someday : )!</p>
<p>But in response to the OP, it's a wealthy area, but there are definitely places catering to us penniless college kids and all our needs.</p>
<p>The history of the area is also worth mentioning.
A 2 street walk from Nassau Hall will bring you to Princeton Cemetery where the grave of Jonathan Edwards can be found (famous theologian and third President of Princeton). Also Grover Cleveland is buried there as well.</p>
<p>On a sweeter note don't miss T Sweets for great ice cream on Nassau:)</p>
<p>Also Landau's for Princeton Sweatshirts.</p>
<p>Paul Robeson's birthplace, in Princeton, is currently being restored.</p>
<p>There is soooo much history in the area.
I believe that Nassau Hall was used as our nation's capitol for a short time.
Here is a timeline that shows important dates in the history of the University:</p>
<p>1756 Nassau Hall completed; College of New Jersey moves from Newark to Princeton.
1757 Johnathon Edwards becomes third president.
1759 Samuel Davies becomes fourth president.
1761 Samuel Finley becomes fifth president.
1768 Rev. John Witherspoon of Scotland becomes sixth president.
1769 American Whig Debating Society is formed.
1770 Cliosophic Debating Society is formed.
1776 President Witherspoon signs the Declaration of Independence.
1777 George Washington rids the British from Nassau Hall.
1783 Continental Congress meets in Nassau Hall; Princeton becomes the nations capitol from June to November.
1795 Samuel Smith becomes seventh president.
1812 Ashbel Green becomes eighth president.
1823 James Carnahan becomes ninth president.
1826 James Madison, former graduate and president of the U.S., becomes the first president of the Alumni Association of the College of New Jersey.
1854 John Maclean Jr. becomes tenth president.
1868 James McCosh becomes eleventh president.
1876 "The Princetonian" is published for the first time.
1883 Triangle Club is founded.
1888 Francis L. Patton becomes twelfth president; Princeton University Art Museum is founded.
1893 Honor system established.
1896 Name officially changed to Princeton.
1900 Graduate School is established.
1902 Graduate Woodrow Wilson is elected thirteenth president.
1905 President Wilson establishes a system of preciptorials by junior faculty.
1906 Carnegie Lake created by Andrew Carnegie
1912 John G. Hibbon elected fourteenth president.
1913 Graduate School dedicated.
1914 Palmer Stadium Completed.
1919 School of Architecture established.
1921 School of Engineering established.
1928 Princeton University Chapel dedicated.
1930 School of Public and International Affairs dedicated.
1933 Harold D. Dodds becomes fifteenth president; Albert Einstein becomes life member of Institute for Advanced Study.
1940 Program of Annual Giving established. Undergraduate radio station established.
1948 Firestone Library dedicated.
1957 Robert F. Goheen is sixteenth president.
1962 53 million dollars is raised under Goheen.
1964 Ph. D. degree is awarded for the first time to a woman.
1969 Trustees vote to admit undergraduate women.
1970 Council of Princeton University is established.
1971 Third World Center is founded.
1972 William G. Bowen. is seventeenth president.
1982 System of residential colleges established.
1986 The "Campaign for Princeton" raises 410.5 million dollars.
1988 Harold T. Sharpio is eighteenth president.
1996 The University celebrates is 250th anniversary.
2000 Graduate School celebrates its 100th anniversary.</p>
<p>Thanks guys for all your replies.
I'm a city boy and to me it's important to still have some of that city life wherever I go. I've still not decided whether or not I'm applying to Princeton, but I'll definitely keep your input in mind when I make my decisions. Thanks!</p>