<p>My S is very interested in W and M. He has all of the essays done and the app is ready to go (RD). On paper, W an M is a great fit for him....intellectual atmosphere, serious academics, good spectator sports program, nice weather...
My question is, I know that the college is adjacent to colonial Williamsburg. But what is "regular" Williamsburg like? We can't visit unless he gets in (financial), and all of the research leads to colonial W. I'm just wondering what the town itself is like.</p>
<p>It’s nice, definitely not a party town. If you like history then you will like it here. It’s quiet and safe.</p>
<p>Colonial Williamsburg is certainly a prominant feature but far from the only one.</p>
<p>One of the nation’s two Busch Gardens is located a few miles from campus and they host a W&M night each fall (it was last Friday) and students go and take over the park for a Friday afternoon and evening.</p>
<p>We also have Jamestown Beach pretty close by.</p>
<p>There are also two new developments, New Town and High Street which are designed to be where the young residents of Williamsburg can hang out. They have student-friendly retail (Barnes & Noble, movie theater, etc) and dining and they’re only a mile from campus so students can access them easily.</p>
<p>Plus so much happens on campus that students rarely leave it. When they want to, campus is 45 minutes from Richmond and Norfolk and 2.5 hours from DC. </p>
<p>Here’s a bit more info: [William</a> & Mary - Williamsburg and the Area](<a href=“http://www.wm.edu/about/visiting/williamsburg/index.php]William”>Williamsburg and the Area | William & Mary)</p>
<p>thanks that helps. Does Williamsburg have the feeling of a college town, then?</p>
<p>I don’t think so. I mean, there’s plenty of students, and you see them everywhere, but it really doesn’t just feel “like a college town.” As step you step off campus, you either hit Colonial Williamsburg or the residential areas. </p>
<p>You can take public transport around anyway, shop, go see movies, hang out, go to Busch Gardens, and do things you’d do if you weren’t in college at all. It’s not really like the whole area is dedicated to just college students (though that’s probably where the revenue for many of those things came from, in part)</p>
<p>It feels like a pretty standard mostly rural-like area to me with some hot spots of activity thrown in.</p>
<p>-shrug- But that’s just me. I’ve been here for over a month now, and it just seems like your normal “city” (it feels more like a town to me) as soon as you step off campus.</p>
<p>The High Street and New Town areas are just like any suburban shopping center, just jazzed up a little architecturally and in size. Colonial Williamsburg begins at the foot of campus, and there is always stuff going on there. Merchant’s Square is also adjacent to campus and it includes plenty of shops and the College Bookstore (B&N). My freshman year I didn’t feel the need to ever venture beyond just walking distance from the campus. There is just so much that goes on every night that there is no reason to ever be bored.</p>
<p>depends on what you think of as a “college town” I guess… that is not how I would describe Williamsburg. It does have lots of places students can go though. IMO it’s lacking in the nightlife department compared to what I consider a “college town”. I would say that most of the things students do happen on campus, or very close.</p>
<p>W&M is not your typical college town because we are at the foot of a major historical landmark/tourist area. There are aspects of a college town (favorite bars/pubs/restaurants, etc) but most of the social life takes place on campus instead of a college town.</p>
<p>I would not however describe Williamsburg as rural. It is a small city but it is suburban. With Hampton Roads only 20 miles away (Hampton Road is 7 eastern cities that combined have well one million residents) and Richmond about 45 miles away I’d call Williamsburg suburban.</p>
<p>There are lots of tourists around, if you are near Colonial Williamsburg. We tried to convince my son that if he went to W&M he didn’t have to go to Colonial Williamsburg (he hated it- was traumatized by an earlier visit as a young child), but he didn’t believe us.</p>