| Who says you need a huge Greek scene to have parties and events that are fun, crazy, chill or outrageous in any combination thereof? Greek parties are easily the lamest option out there, at least in my experience. Yale is very social - and Greek-provided alcohol doesn't even begin to cover all the ways in which you can be social and enjoy yourself.
New Haven is not "pretty dangerous, at least relative to most places in the country". It's an urban area with a mostly "minority" population hovering around the poverty line -- a fact that does not equate to it being an instanteous death sentence for anyone that dare go beyond the safe confines of campus. Which you don't have to, and most Yalies don't. The bars and restaurants of downtown New Haven are great, and I've never had any safety issues enjoying them at any time of day I want to. It's not a suburban refuge. It's not the SAFEST place to hang around, but that being said, it's definitely not a particularly big issue if you use common sense, either.
If it wasn't for New Haven being a real place with real people not connected to Yale, I sometimes wonder if I would've enjoyed my Yale experience as much -- it's nice to get out of the bubble sometimes. Who knows, maybe I would have liked Boston better, but New Haven is not by any stretch something that makes me any less in love with Yale over other options. |