To drive or not to drive
For my social studies methods class, our final project is to create a geodiary about our community and it got me thinking about how my physical community broadened significantly after I got my car this year. So, I realized that this could be an important blog post for prospective Vanderbilt students: do you bring a car to Vandy or not? I’ve boiled all of my brainstorming down to a list of pros and cons:
Pros
- I can explore fun restaurants and locations in Nashville…Whether it’s a drive to East Nashville for Jeni’s ice cream or to the Bridgestone arena for a Taylor Swift concert (which I’ll be doing in September—more info on that later!), this is my number one car perk.
- I can interact more with students from other universities…Nashville is called the Athens of the South because of the large number of universities here. What’s wrong with mingling? I spend many of my days over at Lipscomb University because that’s where my boyfriend and several friends attend.
- I can go see mainstream movies…Freshman year I missed out on many different movies because I couldn’t drive and didn’t want to spend the money on a cab. True, Vanderbilt provides a movie of the month and the Belcourt theatre has tons of rare indie movies, but sometimes you just want a good old Hollywood Blockbuster.
- I can drive myself and others to practicum…As a Peabody student, this suddenly makes you an indispensable asset to every class.
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There's a replica of the Parthenon in Centennial Park (not far from campus) to commemorate Nashville's title of "Athens of the South". I can get to a grocery store…If you are not buying food on meal plan, Vanderbilt’s food can be pretty expensive and the nearest grocery store is about a mile away. With my car (and more limited meal allowance), I can go to the grocery store whenever I find the need.
Cons
- Parking is expensive…Since Vanderbilt has so many students, they forbid freshmen from parking their cars on campus. I had some friends who brought them and parked them elsewhere freshman year, but it was a hassle. For the same reason, sophomores are highly encouraged to not bring their cars by having a larger bill than the rest of campus.
- Parking is far away… No matter where you park your car, you can be sure it’s a farther walk than you’d expect. Because I didn’t get my permit until partway through the semester (I bought my car in October), I had to park in Kensington Garage, which is about a 10-15 minute walk from my dorm.
- I have to pay for gas…Oftentimes if you really need to get somewhere off-campus, there are others who suffer through the cons to keep their cars. That means that you could really just hitch a ride and not have to pay for gas. Who needs to spend that extra money?
Overall, I’m glad that I brought my car to Vanderbilt and love the freedom it gives me to decide where I go and exactly how much time I spend in the Vanderbubble (which is probably why my list of pros outweighs the cons). However, I also had the added pressure of my family living in Switzerland to back my decision. Since they’re abroad, I have no family car to bring me up north at the end of the semester or a way to get to work during that time. So, I totally understand people who want to tough it out for a few years and simply hitch rides. :)
…Until next time!