<p>I'm a student from Manchester in the UK, and i'm looking at ND as a potential grad school. But i don't know much about the social life there... whats the area like? is it in the middle of nowhere- a rural area or near a town? Whats the music/club scene like- if there is one! any info would be welcomed!</p>
<p>I went up there this summer and South Bend seems like a very nice town. It has plenty to do, and I'm sure it has plenty of clubs. There's an Amish community not too far away, too.</p>
<p>ok, as a student, i can safely say that south bend is not the focus of notre dame student's lives. most stay on campus as there is always something to do here. some may venture off campus to party on weekends and others go off campus to do shopping. true, notre dame is right outside the second biggest city in indiana, but sb isnt really a big deal.</p>
<p>Not that it matters at all, but South Bend is the 4th largest city in Indiana <a href="http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108211.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0108211.html</a>. I just had to look it up because it would have amazed me if we were number 2!</p>
<p>Yes, we definitely live in a bubble here. Especially the freshmen without cars, I've only been out into South Bend twice since I set foot on campus about a month ago. It's kind of weird at first, but there is so much going on campus there really isn't any need to leave unless you have some shopping to do.</p>
<p>speaking of cars....what percent of the frosh have cars?</p>
<p>Pretty much everything you need is on campus, and that's not a bad thing at a place as beautiful as Notre Dame. Social activities are geared towards dorms and your dorm becomes like a family when you're there and you do a lot of various activities with them. If you do need to go off campus, South Bend is alright but I'd prefer to drive down the road (Edison Avenue, I believe) a couple minutes into the Mishawaka/Granger area that is much nicer.</p>
<p>Freshmen are not allowed to have cars in their first semester but they can have them second semester if they make good academic progress. Not many have cars.</p>
<p>ive been told that it gets to be a hassle, especially if friends drive your car alot and you end up having to pay alot in gas.</p>