<p>I'm currently making the (very difficult) between UF, FSU, and UCF. All 3 are wonderful schools, so now I'm looking more at the individual towns. I live in Orlando, so I'm familiar with the social atmosphere in this area, but I was wondering what others had to say about the social opportunities in Gainesville. Music venues, bars, events, etc. Any input would definitely be appreciated!</p>
<p>Gainesville is amazing! I know the feeling coming from a huge town to a little one, but it’s great to be here! Grant it the city itself as little to offer in comparison to Orlando, but the University makes it all worth it! </p>
<p>All the sports bars, random concerts, and school events keep the campus lively! In addition, there are SO many programs to participate here, you are bound to meet somebody new! </p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>there are more opportunities than anyone could ever ask for to get drunk. no disney, but other than that its got a pretty standard setup as far as fun activities and going out goes.</p>
<p>It’s a little lacking in upscale venues and non drinking stuff to do, but ultimately a pretty sweet place for students. Orlando is probably a “better” city, but UCF is a commuter school. Tallahassee sucks.</p>
<p>edit: By the non drinking stuff I mean the city doesn’t have have so much. There are plenty of opportunities on campus to have fun without drinking if you’re not into that</p>
<p>Let’s see if I can remember:
tons of Clubs
concerts
theatre/plays
sports galore
beach 1.5 hours away
lake wauberg
the North Florida springs are a blast in the spring and summer
clubs and organizations plenty to pick from
student body diversity</p>
<p>So what if the city is not huge? The city is the University. It is the focal point of everything in gainesville.</p>
<p>Trust me you need to go to UF if you get in. It is not even close.</p>
<p>Pretty much the whole town of Gaineville revolves around the University, which is really nice. It’s a really spirited little town and there’s such a liveliness to it. </p>
<p>For me, every time I’ve visited I just feel happy. Because it’s basically full of college students who are really into the school. Everything is orange and blue.</p>
<p>It’s truly an extremely fun and healthy environment to be in for college.</p>
<p>Ugh Gainesville* (:</p>
<p>I’m from Orlando as well. I’m actually on 75 going home now… I go to UF now. You gotta love Gainesville for what it is… A college town. Out door activities are Great here like biking trails the rivers. But… Midtown is whatever and downtown is like a .5 mile stretch of road. Tally is the same but grosser haha. You have to go to shows 
alesso came Tuesday tiesto was here in September with porter Robinson and the shows have all been great. You have to make your own fun here. Ucf is a town by itself. Such a commuter school. That’s why I didn’t go there.</p>
<p>lwoody–so you’re texting while driving?</p>
UF social life >>> UCF social life. From my experience as a UCF student and a UF transfer: UCF is a commuter school, majority of people go home to their mommies if they don’t already live at home. UF on the other hand is in the middle of nowhere(which I love) this allows for vibrant college town environment with great social life because a minority’s of people live at home at UCF. Also screw what people say about UCF having a better engineering program. It’s bs. Plus, people at UF are smarter and that is what makes the programs better
I’m really glad I saw your post because I’m actually from Orlando and currently attend UF. I have friends who go to FSU and UCF, and I was just talking to my UCF friend yesterday about the difference between our schools. UCF’s social life, in reference to the bars nearby, is not as fun as what you’ll find at UF. (Let’s just count FSU out of this, because boooo). My UCF friend and I discussed how the social life near her includes students who go to high school in Orlando and want to experience bars for the first time. There’s limited options, and they’re the kind that you have to drive to, where as at UF our social lives are pretty much constrained to a two-three mile radius of campus (downtown is just a short trip away from on-campus). We have midtown, downtown and the fraternity on-campus/off-campus parties. I think that overall, our opportunities to have any level of casual to club fun is available for students. I should mention that downtown is full of really interesting music/art scenes, such as High Dive which hosts outdoor food truck rallys and indoor concerts with its bar. You’ll find a mixture of students and young artsy Gainesville residents downtown. Another thing to consider is that UF students will put their studies first on a Friday night rather than go out to a bar and go wild. This means that there are always opportunities to have fun, but because people are so involved in their classes and organizations that you may not be going out as regularly. I hope this helps! I would be happy to answer any other questions you have about UF, I love it here and I think you would too!