I like how @UTmeritseeker thinks although I’ll disagree that w&L is not as nice as Richmond.
Not an Arizona alum but like the campus a lot as does the poster. Ha ha
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How did Hampshire College not make the list?!
Are you asking me or telling me?
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The city in which the campus resides must impact the overall impression. Not really. The neighborhoods surrounding UW are pretty nice, as home prices would indicate. As you get closer to I-5 things can get a little spotty but not that bad.
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You see plenty of the above in any direction in Seattle. Also not really. There are still pockets here and there right in the urban core, and some scatter. But Seattle is a stunningly beautiful city with waterfront, views and parks in every direction. This dystopian Detroit narrative of Seattle and Portland comes as much out of political rhetoric as it does reality on the ground. We had people from all over the place, many from Philly, in town last summer for our D’s wedding and they all loved Seattle. The metro pop is about 4x that of Tuscon’s, so not surprisingly it’s hard to compare them.
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UW is beautiful but the grime and crime of Seattle encroach. Interestingly enough, it does not. Even when University Avenue “the Ave” had more of a homelessness problem, for whatever reason the campus proper was never affected. Even though the university does not police the campus all that aggressively, for whatever reason the urban surroundings to the west don’t make their way on campus. To the north, you have nice neighborhoods, to the south you have a nice neighborhood and eventually the Montlake Cut, and to the east you have Sand Point Way and the many affluent neighborhoods along its corridor, and Lake Washington itself. To the west, depending on how close you are to Lake Union, you have nice neighborhoods though as you approach I-5 you have a little more urban grit, which as far as they go isn’t really that bad.
Laurelhurst, Windermere and Sand Point are affluent areas. Much of Ravenna is too.
Wallingford is a mix of what you might expect to see of a residential neighborhood in a very urban area but mostly good. I would have no problem living in Wallingford. Madison Park and Washington Park are very affluent, especially the latter. The UW Arboretum right next to those areas. That whole area to the south of the UW is pretty swanky old Seattle, but yes it is also not that far from some areas that are more challenged.
Overall, no, I would not say UW suffers from its urban location. When things were at their worst, sure, there was some “encroachment” as you say. But this “every direction” comment is wholly inaccurate.
Not only said it wasn’t as nice as Richmond’s but also that it was unspectacular and had some specific criticisms. I’d say you and the poster probably diverge in your aesthetic sensibilities more than you think.
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Yes - it was just the U of A comment - but if I recall correctly, they didn’t go to UW - because no Utah Merit Seeker would go to UW.
And lots of homelessness in Seattle a few years ago - I don’t know if it’s gotten better. We walked from our hotel N of downtown to the cruiseport. It was like 3 miles - past many fine areas…but many homeless camps too. I don’t know if that’s today. Breaks your heart, honestly.
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I know Seattle quite well, thank you. Students who live in the U (niversity) District and around the Ave have to deal with car prowls / breakins…constantly. There is still a homeless problem in the area. Sure U Village is nice and the campus. It is beautiful but the criticisms are fair. No doubt it will “clean up” for the World Cup.
Well, that depends on the criticisms, doesn’t it? Needles, graffiti tag, homeless encampment, or pile of trash “in any direction” is just simply wrong. Where in Laurelhurst, Windermere and Sand Point are you seeing these things? Where in Ravenna for that matter? There is some in parts of the Wallingford neighborhood, I suppose, but nothing to really write home about. From the Ave over to I-5, sure, more of that kind of thing, especially the on and off ramps, but you’re well away from campus and are leaving the U District at that point.
I’m not sure about constantly, but yeah, Seattle is a major metropolitan city, not a big small town. Those things come with the territory, especially if you are living near the Ave.
None of this has anything to do with the beauty of the University of Washington’s campus, though. There are parts of the Seattle downtown core that are more and less challenged with the sort of things you listed. Conflating those areas with the greater University District is, from the perspective of someone who lives near the university, works downtown and drives in the greater area almost every day, not quite right.
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Much better than it was a few years back. The closer you get to Covid, the worse it was. Seattle has always had a bit of a homelessness problem, truth be told. It didn’t detract from the city aesthetically as powerfully as it did in the early 2020s though and seems to have improved. Certainly around me, it has.
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UNC first to hold classes as a public university. Georgia the first to be chartered as a public university. W&M is oldest U.S. university that is now public.
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Because the reviewers had to use the word “Beautiful”. Not gorgeous, not unique, not spectacular. Beautiful.
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I commented in this thread a couple of months ago that UCLA was the nicest campus I have ever seen. At that point, I had no idea where my son would end up. UCLA was always his dream, but there is a low acceptance rate and lots of factors come into play/we are from cross-country.
Turns out, he got in and is going, so good thing we all love it!
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5 posts were split to a new thread: Most Dangerous Campuses
Congrats!
When you have this all that really does not matter. https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1389423849898766&set=pcb.1389427589898392
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My good friend got married at the church there. Had the campus to ourselves on a summer weekend, more flowers than people. Was going to drive down from LA last year to show my daughter, but we were afraid she would not look anywhere else after that.
OMG, now Barnard’s doing it.
Somebody in the legal department at UW needs to get on the copyright bandwagon here and start charging. Geez.
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Please use this thread: Most Dangerous Campuses to discuss dangerous campuses. This thread is about beautiful campuses! TIA
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