<p>i went down to nashville this summer to look at the campus and tried to get an idea for the stuff to do off campus, but i think i might have missed something. I saw one road next to the campus with fast food (fridays, jack in the box) and on the other side there was a small street with coffee shops and the pancake place. but i was surprised i didnt see more shopping or stores. is stuff mostly on campus or did i miss it?</p>
<p>The fast food street is West End, which has several places to eat within walking distance. Across the street from Towers Dorm, there’s a Schlotzskis, Jimmy Johns, Fridays and I think it’s either a Dominos or Papa Johns and there might be one or two more that I can’t think of.</p>
<p>Pancake pantry and the coffee shops is 21st and there are several places to eat along that road. </p>
<p>What type of stores are you specifically looking for? food, clothing, grocery, etc… I’m pretty sure the closest large grocery store, Harris Teeters, is like a 1/2 a mile from campus off 21st.</p>
<p>Elliston and Hillsboro Village probably have more of what you are looking for…</p>
<p>Hillsboro Village is home to many restaurants along 21st street and several of the side streets. There are a couple of little boutiques as well called POSH (very overpriced) and Pangea to name a few. There is also a neat indie theater called the Belcourt and a few bars.
For major shopping trips, you would need to catch the bus or a car and head south on 21st/Hillsboro Rd (it changes names) to the Green Hills area. There is a major mall with anchor stores of Macy’s and Dillards as well as JCrew,Coach,Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Cache, Lacoste, BCBG, Bebe,Victorias Secret,Gap, Betsey Johnson,Apple computers,Ann Taylor, Restoration Hardware, Pottery Barn and many other stores. Also has Cheesecake Factory, Starbucks, Panera Bread,Ruby Tuesday. A bit further south is an outdoor mall called the Hill Center with Anthropologie, Whole Foods,Whole Body, West Elm, another POSH, Jigsaw, Swoozies, Pei Wei, 5 Guys, Zoes, California Pizza Kitchen,etc. There is also a Trader Joe’s and a really nice Kroger grocery store there too.</p>
<p>ocean, although Vandy is not Columbia or UPenn in terms of urban status, you will be hard put to find a major university with connected hospitals in a nicer setting. My son has been there a week and enjoys jogging in Hillsboro Village or in Centennial Park. There are very good places to eat on West End and in Hillsboro Village steps away. The Elliston area is also home to a few good places to eat. There are little trendy new areas where you can eat or get your haircut or shop near the Commons (not there in my day in Nashville)…on Edgewood at about 12th…and around the area where the Station Inn plays bluegrass in the evenings up on 12th. Downtown is a breeze to get to, although many places there require you to be 21. Nashville is host to many festivals that are fun to go to and Nashville hosts just about every touring band in the country…so your weekends are generally pretty full. There is much less stress involved getting around than in Atlanta, a city I also love. I like the location much more than Duke’s where my eldest son graduated, and much more than Emory’s where I once was employed because there is much more to do sans car and on foot. Rice has a great village for students (Rice Village) steps away and Rice also has a great location…so I would say Rice and Vandy have the happiest marriages with town/gown re location of major research universities in the southern states. Obviously, Nashville has huge shopping malls that require bus or car to get to but they are very good when you need them.</p>
<p>What she said above.
I know this is off topic but since the Vanderbilt medical center is in the immediate area, this is also additional information for prospective students.
Just when I thought I was done with caring for an 18 year old, I got the middle of the night call from her in the dorm with a minor medical emergency necessitating a trip to the ER. At 3:30am, the staff was polite,helpful,compassionate and surprisingly we breezed through and got her evaluated and treated in a little over an hour! I can’t say enough good things about her care there. Yes, we are a local Nashville family!
It should be reassuring to parents who aren’t local to know that there is such good health care so close to campus! The Commons security officers were great and made sure we made it to my car and they even have valet parking in the middle of the night for free at the ER door!</p>
<p>My D had some health issues last semester, and the student health center was wonderful. She was able to get excellent care. It’s free to go to the health center, and they were great about working with our out of state managed care plan when she had to be sent for an MRI. Most colleges have very limited health care clinics for their students … at Vandy, students can see doctors for all of their health issues without cost (girls can even get gyn care). If you need a specialist, that is not included … but they are very good about working with your insurance company to coordinate care.</p>
<p>Vandy health care is very good, although not free. Like most other universities, its cost is included in the tuitions. However, to go back to your original question, there is tons of restaurants around Vandy. As for shopping, everything around it is quite pricy. The closest mall would be Opry Mill. I don’t know which transit connect the university to the mall, but a cab ride would bring you there.</p>
<p>Like most other universities, its cost is included in the tuitions. </p>
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<p>Not quite true. “Most” other universities do not have the level of care Vandy has — the school where I work doesn’t do much more for its health center fee than give out bandaids. The rest has to be done elsewhere. While the cost is included in Vandy’s tuition, it’s still something to consider when making choices.</p>
<p>I should have added “like most universities that have a medical research center.” Private or public. In your previous post, you said it was free, I simply pointed out, that the service is not free. But you are right, it is comforting for a parent to know that our child will be well taken care of if sick away from home.</p>
<p>Opry Mills is NOT the closest mall. It’s actually kind of far. Green Hills is by far the closest and most convenient although the majority of the stores are more upscale.</p>
<p>^^Right, and the nearest standard suburban mall is Opry Mills (about 12 miles from campus), though the Mills malls don’t really count as mall IMO. The nearest malls after that are Rivergate Mall in the northern suburbs and Cool Springs Galleria in the southern suburbs (both are about 15 miles from campus). During my time there, Hickory Hollow Mall was a place to avoid. I don’t know if it’s changed.</p>