IS THE LOCATION REALLY THAT BAD

123wombat
Mon, 30 Mar 2015 02:38:17 +0000

The town isn’t terrible, but I definitely found it depressing. The atmosphere of a college matters a lot to me, so location is a big enough factor to deter me from attending. I visited many small, semi-rural LACs (Oberlin, Whitman, MHC, Kenyon, Colby, Middlebury, Dickinson, etc.) and I greatly preferred their towns (or lack-thereof) to Grinnell. Grinnell felt desolate and didn’t have any spunk. It wasn’t thriving. No one seemed particularly happy to be there.

The town consists of two-three main streets with shops. None of the shops are hip or incredibly enticing (with the exception of the wonderful bike shop). The food, however, is quite good. Prairie Canary is by far the best restaurant in town, and is not unlike nice restaurants in bigger cities. The town is nicest by the college and looks a bit run-down closer to the main road that takes you out of Grinnell (the section with a McDonald’s, a hardware store, and gas-stations). The one thing that struck me was how empty the town was – it almost felt deserted. As was mentioned, the major grocery store and the Walmart (ugh) are far enough away that you’d need a car. I think a car could really alleviate the sense of isolation. Lastly, there seems to be a bit of animosity between the town and the school, which is not uncommon for rural LACS.

The main problem with the school’s location is its proximity to other towns. Iowa is very spread out, unlike states in the Northeast, so you have to drive a fair distance before getting to a desirable city. Des Moines is the cleanest and quietest big city I have ever encountered (and not in a good way).

That being said, the neighborhood surrounding the college is beautiful, well-kept, and grand. The streets are lined with wonderful old homes and large trees.

Bottom line: Come to Grinnell knowing that the main draw is the campus.