Stanford University - Local Atmosphere

College Prowler Take

Student feelings about Palo Alto range from neutral to unsatisfied. It’s a yuppie town with restaurants and activities to match. Students are happy with the food offerings and the safety of Palo Alto but don’t think of it as a college town. Campus is large and isolated, so you either need access to a car or the patience to endure public transportation in order to explore. Still, if you manage to get out of the bubble, the Bay Area has a lot to offer. There’s San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose, as well as many beautiful nature preserves. People also venture to Tahoe or Yosemite National Park.

As freshmen, most students are happy with the local atmosphere. Going into Palo Alto is a special treat reserved for a couple times a month. You’ll be happy eating most of your meals in the dining hall and finding your fun at campus events. Plus, the standard freshman experience involves trips to San Francisco, Tahoe, Yosemite, Half Moon Bay, and
other areas. Despite the natural beauty and pristine cities of the Bay Area, many agree that the region is currently experiencing a downturn. Any time of day, you will notice huge amounts of traffic. The region is so nice that everyone wants to be here. There were plans to make BART (the region’s subway system) come all the way down and around the Bay. This would do wonders to help the traffic problems, but in Silicon Valley, and especially around Palo Alto, local pressure has prevented these developments.

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Students Speak Out

Anonymous says:

We live close to Palo Alto, a... We live close to Palo Alto, a relatively affluent town boasting clean streets and elegant restaurants. Most students complain that Palo Alto is too boring, though, and that there is nothing to do. While Palo Alto may not have the liveliness of a more traditional college town, it has its unique charms. I must concede that Palo Alto is not cheap. Meals cost about $10–$15, but most people do not mind so much because they eat in the dorms most of the time and come to Palo Alto only once or twice a week, due to the demanding nature of their studies. You may not find raging parties or cheap, hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Palo Alto, but you will find a safe and elegant setting to go to for a quick break from your studies. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

We live in a kind of bubble here... We live in a kind of bubble here at Stanford, which is both a positive and a negative thing. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

Palo Alto is a great place to be,... Palo Alto is a great place to be, and it’s only 45 minutes away from San Francisco, so that’s cool. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

All I can say is that you need a... All I can say is that you need a car around here. Palo Alto is expensive, so if you don’t mind blowing $15 a night on dinner when everyone wants to go out, then you’ll be fine. Otherwise, you have to drive a bit to find most movie theaters, cheaper food, the beach, nightlife, and other amenities. After a year at Stanford, you’ll think the city of Berkeley is college heaven. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Anonymous says:

Palo Alto is definitely not a... Palo Alto is definitely not a college town! There is a dire shortage of 24-hour places, although more stores are gradually extending their hours. There is a plethora of good restaurants on University Avenue, but they are by no means cheap. Shopping at Stanford Shopping Center is pricey, too. In other words, Palo Alto is an affluent town, and the shops cater to residents, not to college students. You’ll have to go to Berkeley to get a college-town feel. 12345 Local Atmosphere Report

Facts

Did You Know?

5 Fun Facts about Stanford:
• Stanford’s campus is a whopping 8,180 acres, only a third of which is heavily developed.

• Prior to becoming a university, Stanford’s land was a stock farm used for breeding horses; hence Stanford’s nickname, “The Farm.”

• In addition to 25,000 trees, a lake, and 670 buildings, Stanford’s campus is also home to its very own 49-megawatt power plant.

• Stanford contains a winding network of underground steam tunnels. Most of the openings have been sealed off, but it is a popular undergrad pastime to find the few unsealed manholes and explore the system illegally at night.

• Stanford’s land contains SLAC, a two mile, linear accelerator operated by Stanford for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Local Slang:
Hella – “Very” or “really,” as in “These pants are hella tight.”
Frisco – A shortened word for San Francisco; locals neither say, nor approve of this phrase
Dank – Marijuana

Famous People from the Bay Area:
Ken Kesey, Jerry Yang, Allen Ginsberg, Steve Jobs, Robert Frost, Jerry Garcia, William Randolph Hearst, Sidney Howard, Jack London, George Lucas, John Steinbeck, Teri Hatcher, Alicia Silverstone

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