<p>I've heard good and bad things about the town--anyone want to clear it up? Is it completely dead, or are there things for students to do?</p>
<p>Williamsburg will not be confused with a big city, obviously.</p>
<p>That said, there is stuff to do. Student groups bring performers to campus. Student groups put on their own shows / performances. There are a few bars that are frequented by the 21 and over crowd. There are frat parties. There are house parties. There are sporting events. There are movie theaters. There are ice cream places. There are burger joints. There are a million breakfast places. There are go karts. There is mini golf. There is DOG street. There is Merchant Square. There are outlet stores.</p>
<p>I often find myself having to choose which events to go to because there is simply too much going on. My little brother visited the other weekend and we went to a play, a concert, and a comedy skit from around 7pm to 1am - and that was all on campus. The city has a few (free) events throughout the year, as does nearby Yorktown. Colonial Williamsburg also has quite a few cool events, like Grand Illumination, which is coming up soon. I know that just me and one of my small organizations has brought quite a few notable speakers to campus in the evenings. There are always groups or AMP (Alma Mater Productions - the College sponsored student group which puts on the big concerts and new release movies, if you don’t want to go to the movie theater) that bring musical groups, comedians, documentaries, speakers, or movies to campus too. Visiting the Muscarelle Museum or anything in CW can provide hours of cultured entertainment as well. I have particularly enjoyed speakers series and symposiums that the law school puts on.</p>
<p>Off campus, there is the shopping center at New Towne which has every store imaginable (and this is coming from someone who comes from the city with the second highest amount of retail space per capita), buses run around the city and across the peninsula constantly, a new dance club is being finished up right next to campus, there are 3 “delis” right next to campus too. They are basically Williamsburg’s version of bars (and they have really good food by day too. John Stewart prefers the Cheese fries at Paul’s Deli. The other two are the College Deli (known for being a bit cheaper) and the Green Leaf, which I prefer). Merchants square is basically a 4 block area across the street from the Wren building which has tons of shopping and eateries like Aroma’s Cafe (great coffee and drinks), Retros (for good and reasonably priced all American food), the Peanut shop (free samples and they make great gifts), the Cheese Shop (I recommend the $1 bread ends with a small case of the house dressing), and many many other places.</p>
<p>Sorry for rambling on, but I hope it helps!</p>
<p>I agree with Here<em>to</em>Help. Not only is there a lot going on on-campus but the city of Williamsburg has really amped itself up over the past several years. In addition to New Town there is another development called High Street with a dine-in movie theater, a 5 Guys, and other restaurants/shops to come soon. There are tons of off-campus local eateries and Virginia Beach and Richmond are each only an hour away. Students don’t go there often but it’s nice to know there are larger metropolitan areas nearby.</p>