UC Davis vs UC Irvine Living Costs

Gumbymom
Wed, 11 Apr 2018 22:03:00 +0000

Davis is 20 minutes from West Sacramento where you will find the usual shopping centers, entertainment/activities, restaurants etc… that you would find in any city/suburb of California, but within the town of Davis, you have limited shopping (no shopping malls) but instead small boutique stores, Target, several grocery stores, plenty of restaurants, a couple movie theaters, bars, coffee houses and easily navigable with a bike or the bus system. As stated above, Woodland which has more stores such as Best Buy and Home Depot can be accessed by bike or bus.

UCI has a large shopping center across from campus, but biking or taking the bus anywhere farther will be difficult. There will be students with cars on campus so you could always find a ride if needed and I am sure there are Zip cars for rent. Housing will definitely be much more expensive and you will be limited if you do not have access to car for groceries/personal items etc…

If you really like Davis, then I think that is a better option for you if you are not able to have access or cannot afford to have a car.

I am not sure where you currently live but the Northern California “vibe” is very different than the Southern California “vibe”. I can make all recommendations you want, but you are the one that will be attending school and living there for the next 4 years. You are the one that needs to be happy.