<p>I have been trying to decide between UCSD and UCI. I know that UCSD is more well known academically but I also want my college experience to be fun. I dont want to be stuck in my dorms all day. I visited both schools and there doesnt seem to be much around UCSD and I wont have a car next year, so i was wondering if there were places you can go around UCSD (restraunts, shops, movie theatres) that are walking/biking distances away.</p>
<p>Nobody really walks anywhere (c’mon, it’s California) but you can get pretty much anywhere with the public transit options. As a student, you have free bus service to areas surrounding campus: [Public</a> Transportation Serving UCSD](<a href=“Transportation Services”>Transportation Services). That’s sufficient for heading to UTC (local Westfield mall), the shopping centers at Nobel/Villa La Jolla (look up on google maps to see what stores are there), and downtown La Jolla (higher-end boutiques, fun to browse).</p>
<p>And lots of other people will have cars. You’re probably not going shopping on your own even if you have a car, just go make friends with someone who does.</p>
<p>I’m curious, is it possible to get to UCI via public transportation from UCSD? My girlfriend is going to UCI, and I’d like to visit her without having to drive every time.</p>
<p>google maps, ucsd to uci, public transit option</p>
<p>Yeah, but you’d have to take a train. Take the 101 towards Oceanside to the Solana Beach Amtrak Station, then take Amtrak to Irvine.</p>
<p>Also, I should mention that the public transportation system is unreliable, cumbersome, and stops running at really inconvenient times. I had to rely on it my freshman year and I hated it. You can, however, use it to get to downtown San Diego, which is where there are a lot of things to do.</p>
<p>I’m a second year at UCSD and I’ve visited and walked around UCI as well. Both seem to have fairly accessible places that are walking distance away from the campus–unless you’re lazy, but that’s your problem and shouldn’t be holding you back from having fun and whatnot! UCI has a shopping center very close to campus with some restaurants and other stores. UCSD (I can be more specific about here because I go here) has the La Jolla Village Square that’s walking distance away, with restaurants (BJ’s, TJI Friday’s, etc), a movie theater, Ralph’s, Trader Joe’s, Starbucks, Sprinkles, Whole Foods. If you get tired of that, you can take the 201 bus to UTC shopping center via Gilman and Myers bus stop located at Price Center which is in the middle of campus. Beyond that you can reach the Del Mar Fairgrounds via the 101, Fashion Valley Mall via the 41, Downtown La Jolla via the 30…downtown San Diego is a pain to get to via public transportation, but it’s doable. However, like astrina said, you’ll probably end up making friends with cars anyway. </p>
<p>Suggestions aside, you’re likely to have fun your freshman year wherever you end up going. Just don’t be a social hermit and stay in your dorm all day; it’s really on you to make friends with or without cars no matter where you go. Make friends with similar interests, and you’ll end up having fun even if you DO happen to end up being stuck in your dorm one weekend.</p>
<p>Zipcar! MUCH cheaper than owning a car.</p>
<p>@ Comp Sci Guy: Do you know if ZipCar still counts hours when you park it at another campus? For example, if I drive it to Irvine, can I just rent it for the hours I take it, and park it at the zipcar place at irvine, and then just request another car back to ucsd.?</p>
<p>zipcar charges you for the entire reservation block, regardless of the car’s location. the car could even be parked in its “home” spot and zipcar will happily siphon your money as long as you reserved it for that block of time.</p>
<p>(the setup you pose wouldn’t help you out either; what if you parked it on ucsd’s campus and someone took it for a few days and left you stranded there?)</p>
<p>but yeah, zipcar is great. i’ve been a member for 5 years and have rented their cars in SD, chicago, NYC, and SF. the convenience factor makes it completely worthwhile.</p>