<p>I've got a D who's a rising HS senior. Her older sister is at is at a campus where the younger D loves the adjacent sidewalk scene. It's urban / suburban with a college town buzz, the opportunity to step off the campus and be in a different, but still active, environment. What would she likely think of the Rice neighborhood? Is it bustling or in a "bubble"?</p>
<p>A little of both. Rice is a pretty self-contained environment, but the Rice Village that is just off-campus is nice. Rice is too small for a significant college-town atmosphere to spring up around it; instead we have the Texas Medical Center.</p>
<p>I'm guessing by your username that your older daughter is at UGA? Houston is not very much like Athens. Athens is a town that was created because of the university; Rice is a university that was created because of the town. There is a significant shopping and dining scene just off-campus--one of the best in the country, if you ask me--but it won't be dominated by students. The Rice Village is mostly used by people who live in River Oaks, and Rice students go there on the weekends, too.</p>
<p>I can't say for sure what your daughter would think of Rice's atmosphere. My friend, whose sister just graduated from Boulder, often complains about the lack of a bustling college town around Rice. But we do find plenty to do off-campus on the weekends--there just isn't an abundance of divey coffeeshops and independent record stores.</p>
<p>Also, you have to take into account the trade-offs. If your daughter is looking for a smaller school, she's not going to find a school that's in a town like Athens or Boulder, because the school's not large enough to sustain the town.</p>
<p>The features that lie directly adjacent to the campus (in different directions) are the Texas Medical Center (the world's largest med center), Hermann Park (which contains the Houston zoo, a nice pond, and a place for concerts/theatre), Rice Village (an overpriced yuppy shopping/dining center with some ammenities cheap enough for college students), and upscale housing for rich doctors. About a block away, but not adjacent to campus, is the museum district which contains art museums, natural history museums, etc. There is also a metrorail stop outside of campus that can take you dowtown or just about anywhere that you would seriously want to go to, really, and it's free to Rice students (as are the museums, the zoo, and several other features with the "Passport to Houston). Suffice it to say that Rice is in the "nice" part of town.</p>
<p>Great descriptions - thanks! Rice Village sounds something like downtown Princeton, NJ if you've ever seen it? Since the typical Rice student lives on campus for 3 of 4 years, how hard is it to find a local off-campus place for the fourth year that is close to campus?</p>
<p>Rice Village is pretty similar to the area next to Princeton. It's a little bit more of a hike because it's located on the far side of campus past the football stadium, though. Here's a link to a description of what's there. <a href="http://www.ricevillageonline.com%5B/url%5D">www.ricevillageonline.com</a>. I also understand that it's pretty easy to find a decent place to live close by. There's a link on the Rice website to assist in finding off-campus housing. Maybe someone can provide you with it.</p>
<p>Also Rice students are able to use Houston Transportation (MetroRail and Bus)...so it's really easy to take a trip to the Galleria Mall or head downtown.</p>
<p>Off-campus housing is pretty easy to find and, despite Rice being in a fairly upscale part of Houston, is actually pretty reasonably priced (especially if you compare it to any other major US city). </p>
<p>Though just to clarify, not everyone has to move off campus for a year. Few of the colleges kick off more than half of whichever class they decide to kick off.</p>
<p>I have been to Rice Village and to Princeton, and I agree they are not unlike each other. Except Rice Village is bigger than the entire town of Princeton, probably (I seem to recall walking by most of the major attractions in just over an hour). Also it feels a little more...Parisian, i suppose? Seems kind of like there is more sidewalk space/bistro style settings, perhaps. Sadly there is no Bent Spoon in Houston, though (or anywhere in the world).</p>