<p>It is a very suburban area, not really a town. Mercer County is not an industrial area like the stereotype some people have of New Jersey. The school is right off I-95, about 20 minutes from Princeton. The area includes affluent towns, and Trenton, the state capital (a poorer city) is also in Mercer County, close to the school. (The school was renamed TCNJ from Trenton State College a few years ago.) It is about one hour from New York City by train and a little closer to Philadelphia, to which you can also take trains. There are malls and shopping areas within a few miles of the school, but I am not sure exactly what, if anything, you can walk to without a car.</p>