<p>Is the area immediately around the campus of ASU urban or suburban? Can someone describe what is there (fields? saguaros? shops? nice houses? scummy apartments?)</p>
<p>The campus is in downtown Tempe, which is a suburb of Phoenix. The main shopping/dining area of Tempe is next to campus.</p>
<p>So I guess a country boy can survive (there).</p>
<p>Downtown Tempe (which is a fairly low-density commercial district with government offices, retail stores, restaurants/bars) borders the west side of the main ASU campus. To the north is Tempe Town Lake – an artificial lake 2 miles long and 1/4 mile wide – that provides recreational opportunities and hosts many special events such as music and art festivals, sporting events like marathons and triathlons, charity events, 4th of July fireworks, New Years Eve Block Party, etc. The east side of the campus is a commercial street, Rural Road (a definite misnomer!), that is lined with businesses and many off-campus apartment projects. To the south and southwest are older residential areas of single-family homes.</p>
<p>The thing about Tempe is that although it’s a suburb, it’s not actually seperated from Phoenix. All of the Phx metro area is one big indistinguishable blob. If you get bored, - you shouldn’t - go to chandler or mesa, or phoenix, or scottsdale (not quite phx metro area, still worth the trip for sprinkles cupcakes.), or gilbert , or wherever. </p>
<p>The HS I attend right now, is literally on the border of two cities. If I step off in one direction, I’m in a different place. </p>
<p>Personally, I dig Tempe Marketplace it’s a nice (mostly shady) outdoor mall with some good events goin on often. Tempe clubing is notorious, and if you want crops/fields you’ll have to go to farrrrr gilbert. I consider it to be an urban area, because it’s largely so close to phoenix. But it’s south-western urban, not quite NYC or even like LA… </p>
<p>We have cacti. It’s a given. ^^ The highways are mostly beautiful because there are rock patterns or wall patterns everywhere. It’s very reddish adobe here, but there is still green. It’s just not always on the vibrancy of say, the NW. We have typical suburban houses, stunning mansions, cute houses, scummy apartments (downtown phoenix/chandler anyone?) </p>
<p>Of course, there is more than one ASU campus…</p>