Brunswick has a New England feel with antique stores, boutiques, and restaurants dotting Maine Street, and the town is filled with tree-lined streets, open parks, bed and breakfasts, nice stores, eateries, and much more. Like much of New England, Brunswick boasts an amazing fall with the changing colors, cool refreshing temperatures, beautiful sunsets and sunrises, and an amazing sense of serenity. Maine also has many natural offerings for Bowdoin students. In warmer weather, swimming, surfing, hiking, and boating opportunities are easily accessible, and when winter arrives, students take advantage of skiing at Sunday River, Sugarloaf, and Saddleback Mountain.
Bowdoin’s campus is adjacent to the downtown area and is close to hospitals, shopping, and the ocean. Students coming from larger cities comment that, at times, the town doesn’t offer enough variety to complement their busy lifestyles, but the opposite can be quite true for students coming from more rural backgrounds. Whatever the case, Brunswick is consistently modernizing and encourages college students to engage in local shopping and activities. A number of amazing restaurants exist along Maine Street, and bigger stores are clustered together at Cook's Corner. Student-resident relations generally depend on which organizations students choose to join—programs like Bowdoin Book Buddies or the host family program foster positive relationships. However, interaction with the world outside of the Bowdoin Bubble can be nonexistent or even negative, like when residents call Security to complain about a house party getting too rambunctious. But, in general, Bowdoin does a lot to give back to the community, and on the whole, students have a healthy relationship with Brunswick and often take the five-minute walk downtown for a cup of coffee or a nice sandwich or to find a cozy study spot off campus.
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Local Atmosphere at Bowdoin College
2wilight
Liberal Arts and Humanities '14
3.8
B+
Just Enough to Keep You Entertained, Not Distracted
Brunswick is cute. And I'm not saying that in the generic, can't think of any other word to say so I'm using "cute," sense of the word. I mean that it's cute. You've got stuff to do, but for the most part, the town relies on the campus in terms of event offerings.
Maine street is literally right off of campus and covers all of the essentials--supermarket, Rite-Aid, and a ton of restaurants (all catering to different tastes and having a variety of food represented) and quaint shops that are filled with unique items, so you always have a some variety without having to travel too far from campus. Beyond downtown Brunswick, you've got your movie theater and bigger department stores in Cook's Corner.
However, Brunswick can feel a little constricting after a while, for which an immediate escape to either Portland or Boston is highly recommended.
Feb 18, 2012
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Local Atmosphere at Bowdoin College
A
Tons of Great Restaurants
Brunswick is small, but there are almost fifty restaurants within a mile radius of campus, most of them on Maine Street. Not that anyone's looking, because the food on campus is already awesome! Also, The Gelato Fiasco is unique to Maine and undoubtedly has some of the highest quality gelato in the country. Town-gown relations are good, Bowdoin is well known in the area and respected; another plus.
Jan 23, 2012
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Local Atmosphere at Bowdoin College
B+
Better Than Expected
Coming from the suburbs of a relatively big city, I was honestly expecting Brunswick to be pretty lame. The reality, however, is that it's actually quite a nice town with more to offer than you'd think. Literally right off campus is a downtown area with a large grocery store and plenty of shops and local restaurants. A short, cheap cab ride will get you pretty much anywhere else you might need to go in Brunswick or the surrounding towns, including the movie theater, bowling alley, or big-box retailers.
Nov 26, 2011
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User rating for Bowdoin College - Local Atmosphere is
4.6 out of 5
based on 25 user reviews.
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