If you go to school in what is basically a college town, meaning it’s mostly populated by college students going to school there, you’ll notice that come summer it turns into a ghost town. Campus is quiet. You can find parking anywhere. The local bar scene is dead even on a Saturday night. This can make summer life in town kind of boring. Most of your friends have left and it can seem like there’s nothing to do, but there are also some great perks to living in a college town over the summer as everyone else empties out. You just gotta know how to live it up.
If you’re like me you basically sit around all year waiting for the weather to turn warm enough to lie outside at the pool. But then when it’s finally warm enough, the pool is flooded with a ton of other college students looking to do the same thing. You can’t find a chair anywhere and sometimes even the pool is too crowded with other people to enjoy yourself. It’s rough. Come summer? Not a problem. Most of the people are gone, and with them your rival pool-goers. If you’re living in a college town over the summer, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to catch some rays or go for a dip without having to worry about claiming your spot amongst the masses.
Just because all of the college kids leave town for the summer doesn’t mean the town stops functioning. There are tons of cool summer events that happen each year in most towns that students miss out on when they leave for home. I know Columbia has a huge crawfish festival every year in May right after most students move out for the summer. Besides that, there are things like baseball games and farmers markets, activities you don’t see so much during the school year that you now have total access to.
Even if the activities you’re interested in trying out happen during the school year, a lot of times you just don’t have the time or energy to do them. Columbia has an awesome bingo night, but I can never go because it’s always on Wednesdays when I work. Now that it’s summer my schedule is different, so I can go whenever I want. The options may not even be straight up events you’re missing out on. Maybe it’s a park you always want to explore, but never do. Maybe it’s the local bowling alley. Hey, don’t hate. Bowling can be fun. Whatever you pick, keep in mind lots of places have special deal nights each week, some even for students. Read online so you’re not going to bowl on Tuesday, only to discover the student discount happens every Thursday. There are some awesome discounts you could be taking advantage of this summer.
Just because your main crew isn’t in town doesn’t mean you’re totally lost. There are always some people you know who stay behind at school over the summer, and everyone is in the same kind of bored, kind of lonely situation, which means everyone wants to hang out. Summer is a great opportunity to spend time with people outside of your regular crowd. You can either better get to know people you’re only kind of familiar with, or you can get much closer with the fringe friends you like, but only interact with in large groups. Once school starts back up, you’ll have made a great connection you wouldn’t have otherwise thought to seek out, and you can continue on hanging out during the year.
Okay, if we’re being real, this is the best part of living in a college town over the summer. The world is your oyster! Want to hit up that trivia night that’s always so packed you can never get a spot? Show up right before it starts and you’ll still get to play. There’s no one in town and no. lines. Want to grab brunch at your favorite place on Sunday, but you woke up too late? Go anyway. You’ll still be able to get a table. Less students means less crowds and way more opportunity to hit up the most popular places without much of a wait. Maybe you don’t want all of those other people to come back after all.
So yeah, it’s not all bad. Actually, in reality, it’s a lot of good. Sure most of your friends are gone and that’s a bummer, but let yourself be distracted with all of the cool summer possibilities still around you. Break out of your routine and try new activities with new groups of people. Embrace the liminal space. You’ll be back to your old, typical, busy school year routine soon.
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