Hello All!
Now some of you who are planning to attend UAT might be wondering what living in Tempe is like. When I was interested in UAT at first, I really wanted to know what was around the area or generally what it was like. I'm from Maryland so I also wanted to make sure that the place I was going to, was nice. I can say, after being here for about a year and a half, that Arizona is much better than Maryland.
Just around UAT there is plenty to do. For all of your basic needs we have a Fry's Grocery, Subway, Little Ceasers, China Town, and Sonic across the street. For your other emergencies there is a Fast Med Urgent Care, as well as a Goodwill in the same shopping center. Now if you're like me and sometimes like a midnight snack but don't want to walk across the street there is a QT (Quick Trip) less than a 5 minute walk from the school. This particular QT has a Kitchen where you can order food to be made. This is really nice but it's unfortunately only open until around 9 PM so plan ahead! If you're from the north east you'll probably be reminded of a Wawa.
What about fun things?!
Just down the street (maybe a 10 minute walk) there is the Arizona Mills Mall. This mall has all of the essentials for a UAT student. There are a whole bunch of fun things to do at this mall! The closest GameStop is located here, as well as other great stores like F.Y.E., and Hot Topic. In this mall there is a Harkin's movie theater (which also has an IMAX theater), Rainforest Cafe, and even an Aquarium! Currently there is a carnival in the parking lot of the mall. They have a whole bunch of rides out there for anyone and everyone to enjoy.
If you were ever inclined to go further into Phoenix to have fun, remember that Phoenix is a great college town. Due to Arizona State University and The University of Arizona, Phoenix is almost always busy. There are a whole bunch of shops, bars, restaurants that are maybe a 10-15 minute drive from UAT. A great place that my friends and I love to go to is a place called Ramen Republic. This place has literally the best ramen I have ever had! Their bowls of ramen are so huge only a couple of my friends can finish the bowl.
A lot of the time when I'm giving tours I get asked about if a student would need to bring their own car. I personally brought my car. I walk to most of the places I go and only drive when I need to. Everything is close enough to walk to so having a car is not necessary to get around Tempe. What's really convenient about Tempe is that it has a great bus system. Anyone can walk over to the Fry's across the street and buy a day bus pass for only 2 dollars. This bus pass will allow you to get on any bus in the Tempe/ Phoenix area. If you don't know already, Tempe and Phoenix are set on a grid. Every street either goes east/west or north/south. By taking the bus you can get to pretty much anywhere you would need to go.
As you can see there is a lot to do while in Tempe or even Phoenix. We have museums, lots of shopping centers, and a great college town atmosphere that lots of people enjoy. If you are interested in coming to UAT and you're from out of state, you now know a little more about the area and what it's like to live here. :D
That's all!
Karina
