Lawrence, KS

[rhodochrosite]

Anyone been to KU, or is anyone going?

Housing seems pretty cheap, compared to my east coast frame of reference, but I have a few other questions: is Lawrence wholly university-centered, how green is it, how walkable/bikeable, how expensive is it to own a car there (insurance, registration, city taxes if they exist)? Will the effects of that recent storm be cleaned up by fall (ie will my lab have a roof)? How hard is it to adjust to living in a red state (if one is very blue), and just how much of a liberal bubble is Lawrence?

I've been admitted and am visiting soon, but am already growing weary of people asking why the hell I would want to go to Kansas. I need some ammo about what a cool place it is (if true) or a reality check if it isn't . I actually have a lot of options, but I'm very interested in the research at my lab and strangely drawn to the heartland.

[Guest Padraic]

Lawrence was a cool town, and it isn't TOO university centered, but that is the main thing that is going on there. The main drag is a few blocks and has some eclectic shops, bars, and restaraunts. I didn't care much for the nightlife myself when I visited KU, though. It was a little too college-like in that respect, though there is some decent live music. As a whole, it's pretty cultured for a town under 100,000. And the cost of living is cheap. I'm afraid I can't really answer your tax questions as I just visited, however.

Politically, it's a fairly liberal town. They even have an anarchist bookstore.

The campus is pretty, but the buildings probably need some refurbishing on the inside.

It's better than you would think for Kansas, but it is still just a small town. Though, as far as small towns go it's also cool. I preferred Atlanta to Lawrence if that's any point of comparison that would be useful. And despite the fact that it's cool, you still might feel remote being out in Kansas. I know I did.

[Guest bluwhisper]

I adore Lawrence, but I'm not much of a city person and have lived all my life in the midwest. Other people tell me that people here are friendlier than on the coasts, so I take their word for it. The campus is one of the most beautiful in the country.

Lawrence isn't wholly university centered, but a significant portion of the population is university students, university employees, or university alums. Other small university towns seem to have town-gown tensions, but in Lawrence they are fairly trivial. Most people who live in Lawrence choose to do so, and yes, it is much more liberal than the rest of Kansas. As far as arts and cultural events go, there isn't another town of it's size that can compare. Another good thing about Lawrence is, although it is in Kansas, it is about an hour from Kansas City. So if you're someone who would start feeling bored in a Lawrence-sized town, there are the resources and activities of a larger metropolitan area nearby.

As for walkable/bikeable, it is, but...if you want to walk, I wouldn't live more than 15 minutes from the center of campus, simply because the weather can be extreme. Some people bike to campus, but the hill is really steep and discouraging to many people who would otherwise bike (although, again, a few people do). However, other parts of Lawrence are flatter (except for west Lawrence) and are conductive to biking. There is public transportation in Lawrence, but it isn't terribly convenient or frequent. It's possible to live in Lawrence without a car, but I wouldn't recommend it. I haven't found car costs to be expensive, but I have a good driving record and an old car. You might be able to find car information online thru the DMV. Sales tax is 7.5%.

I've paid as little as $237 a month in rent, but I would guess that you could easily find something nice for under $500.

Although the damage from the storm was widespread, for the most part it was superficial damage (broken windows, missing or damaged roofing materials and signage). Only two buildings still are closed.

[Guest Mnemosyne9]

I wrote a bunch in the Cities without Cars thread- I am currently at KU, graduating in May.

Housing seems pretty cheap, compared to my east coast frame of reference, but I have a few other questions: is Lawrence wholly university-centered,

Pretty much, yes.

how green is it

Far more than the rest of Kansas. Recycling is not doorstep, but it can be done.

how walkable/bikeable

See my comments in the Cities w/o Cars thread

how expensive is it to own a car there (insurance, registration, city taxes if they exist)?

Not worse than anywhere else, insurance varies hugely, but registration is reasonable. (Around $50 for an old-ish car.)

How hard is it to adjust to living in a red state (if one is very blue), and just how much of a liberal bubble is Lawrence?

You will not believe how red Kansas is. Lawrence is a very liberal bubble, but KU is also beholden to the legislature for funding and they recently had a guest speaker in the legislature advocating the abolition of all women's studies departments. I am not kidding.

Good luck!

[Guest Mnemosyne9]

Whoops, pardon my HTML in the previous:)

[Guest michelle830]

I visited Lawrence recently to check out the program I had been accepted to. I have to say, as someone who has lived in or very near a big city her entire life, I was expecting the worst. I was very pleasantly surprised by how cool the town was. There are good local restaurants, as well as all the chain stuff you would expect in a college town (Jimmy Johns, Chipotle, Qdoba etc.). The bars seem very much my style (I've always liked dive bars/live music and hated clubs). Very excited to move to a town where bars/restaurants are smoke-free! Stupid Chicago. All of the people I met were great and seemed very happy there, even people who had moved there from big cities. I don't know if I would want to live there for the rest of my life, but it certainly seems do-able and even enjoyable for the duration of a PhD program.

[whentostop]

I don't actually live in Lawrence, but in Kansas City (a 20-30 minute trip, depending on your velocity). Lawrence is okay, if you like college towns. For many years I thought it was a destination (grew up in a small town in the middle of all three of the cities mentioned in this post), but after living in Columbia, MO, it annoys me how alike the two "college towns" are. Moving to Kansas City, I figured I would spend more time in Lawrence, because they used to draw some good music and I have friends out that way, but usually they prefer to drive into KC. There is more to do, and well, the fascists haven't outlawed smoking here...yet. Lots to do in KC, but none of it is ever as exciting as true big cities sound. Hopefully, given some favor from the grad school gods, I'll find something out about another region soon. *crossing fingers*

[whentostop]

Kansas City is about the size of Seattle, if you have ever been there (probably a little smaller). Public transportation is awful, as all places in the Midwest that I've seen. You will need a car, unless you are happy not being able to really get around. There is some wonderful food here. If you are actually coming, may I suggest the dining along 39th street, the westport area, and some stuff in Brookside/Waldo. City developers have been working hard on the downtown area, but it is still largely under construction and a bit more trendy than I can usually be (both in person and in funding). All of those areas are easily reached by a google, I imagine. Music is okay, if you like Jazz and Blues. There is some small grunge/emo-metal/indie things going on, but I doubt it could be much different than anywhere else (largely existing in house parties and the like...) We get some touring bands, but often we miss big names. We had Billy Joel; Bruce Springsteen skipped over us. (I like folk music, so my examples tend that way.) For middleweight performers, we get some (Lucinda Williams, 311, The Killers, just some concerts that were around recently, or perhaps last summer, sheesh I notice nothing when I'm in school), but again, often we get jumped, or we have to drive around a lot. In the last year, I've been to Iowa, Lawrence, Columbia, and Nebraska for music. KC just isn't a big enough magnet, but the area usually gets hit. Night life is okay. Over half the bars close at 1:30, but some are open until 3 (special permit situation). If you are into it, we have three disc golf courses, several regular golf, three theatres that show non-mainstream movies (Tivoli cinema is the best!). I'm trying to think of other things... If you have direct questions, I could answer. There is a lot to do, just not everything to do. We visited NYC this summer and I was blown away. That place doesn't stop. We aren't like that and our arts leave a lot to be desired. The Nelson-Atkins museum has some nice collections, and there is a sort of new thing called the Crossroads district starting up, but it doesn't amount to a great "culture" feeling, if you know what I mean. What I do like about KC, there are a lot of good people, specifically in the midtown area, and while the community is not as apparent as other places, it is there. But indeed, it takes some poking around to find it. Yeah, if you have interests, I have been here a while and would be happy to give you more details that are tailored to your specifics.

[whentostop]

Oh sorry. KC is twenty-thirty minutes due East of Lawrence. All I-70. If you get lost, I don't know what your doing applying to grad school. Small toll going both ways (Kansans don't believe in taxes. You use it, you pay for it. Don't bother me about your amenities. They are a little bit endearing sometimes, if not completely terrifying at others.).

[dmh26]

Hey there,

Where in Lawrence would you suggest grad students live? Any good streets and neigborhoods.

I will be spending most of my time in the History Department, and I am not sure how large the campus is and wanted an apartment on a bus line or with parking?

Any suggestions would be a great help

[Gara]

I'm getting ready to accept an offer from KU, and I wanted to know a little more about the area. Any info is appreciated, but I have a few specific questions:

-Are some housing areas near campus quieter? (i.e. more geared toward grad students?)

-Is on-campus housing something I should consider, or is that not a great idea?

-Is there a diverse bar scene, or is it mostly college bars with sticky floors and drunk undergrads?

-Can you park on campus?

These are just a few of my zillions of questions, so if you have other insights or advice, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

[JustChill]

Ok, let's see what I can tell you about Lawrence.

Overall, I have hardly ever met a person who spent more than a few days there and didn't love the town. Both grad students and undergrads love almost everything about it.

There aren't that many apartment complexes within walking distance of campus -- there might some up north, but they tend to be older apartments and there will be a lot of undergrads living there. One popular apartment complex, which is very nice and clean and fairly new, is Meadowbrook apartments, but I think mostly undergrads tend to live there. However, most of Meadowbrook (it's very large) is right on the KU bus route or walkable to campus.

I don't know much about on-campus grad housing. Stouffer Place apartments tend to have a better reputation for quietness and less partying than the Jayhawker Towers (which house a strange mix of grad students and athletes), but as far as I know neither is very new (but that doesn't mean that they're not in good shape, of course). Obviously, the big plus about these two places is that they are very close to the main campus buildings, so that's convenient.

There are plenty of bars around Lawrence. Most of the typical college-town-type places are on Mass street, but there are some nicer (dare I say, more sophisticated?) places like the Yacht Club in other parts of Lawrence. You will be pleasantly surprised to find a lot of grad students at a lot of these, even on Mass. I was an undergrad there, not a grad, but we always saw a lot of grad students hanging out in some of the same bars as us. I think Henry's, the Red Lyon, and maybe the Tap Room tend to attract more grad students.

You can't park on campus, and you can't even drive through it during the day Monday-Friday.

Something that I should mention now that I am looking at different towns and cities for my own grad program is that Lawrence is very, very safe (which I now realize too many of us took for granted), and very (but not overly) liberal compared to the rest of Kansas. Another great thing, which I'm sure you know, is that Kansas City (Missouri) is only 45 minutes away.

[Gara]

Ok, let's see what I can tell you about Lawrence.

Overall, I have hardly ever met a person who spent more than a few days there and didn't love the town. Both grad students and undergrads love almost everything about it.

There aren't that many apartment complexes within walking distance of campus -- there might some up north, but they tend to be older apartments and there will be a lot of undergrads living there. One popular apartment complex, which is very nice and clean and fairly new, is Meadowbrook apartments, but I think mostly undergrads tend to live there. However, most of Meadowbrook (it's very large) is right on the KU bus route or walkable to campus.

I don't know much about on-campus grad housing. Stouffer Place apartments tend to have a better reputation for quietness and less partying than the Jayhawker Towers (which house a strange mix of grad students and athletes), but as far as I know neither is very new (but that doesn't mean that they're not in good shape, of course). Obviously, the big plus about these two places is that they are very close to the main campus buildings, so that's convenient.

There are plenty of bars around Lawrence. Most of the typical college-town-type places are on Mass street, but there are some nicer (dare I say, more sophisticated?) places like the Yacht Club in other parts of Lawrence. You will be pleasantly surprised to find a lot of grad students at a lot of these, even on Mass. I was an undergrad there, not a grad, but we always saw a lot of grad students hanging out in some of the same bars as us. I think Henry's, the Red Lyon, and maybe the Tap Room tend to attract more grad students.

You can't park on campus, and you can't even drive through it during the day Monday-Friday.

Something that I should mention now that I am looking at different towns and cities for my own grad program is that Lawrence is very, very safe (which I now realize too many of us took for granted), and very (but not overly) liberal compared to the rest of Kansas. Another great thing, which I'm sure you know, is that Kansas City (Missouri) is only 45 minutes away.

Awesome, thanks! That's really helpful information. I've been hearing positive reports about the town from a lot of people, so that makes me feel a little calmer about accepting an offer from a school I don't know very much about. Good to know that Lawrence is a safe town, too, as this will be my first foray into living alone. I really appreciate the help!

[Reynolds]

I'm going to visit KU tomorrow and Tuesday! I'm looking at their math department, but I'll be sure to report back with the feel I got for the town.

Anything in particular I should look out for while I'm there?

Edited March 28, 2010 by Reynolds

[Reynolds]

So I'm definitely going to KU in the fall! I'll be in the Math PhD program. When I visited Lawrence seemed like a pretty cool town! The whole downtown area was a lot bigger and nicer than I was expecting. Having a car definitely seemed borderline-necessary. There were lots of buses going around to the campus, and they run pretty much constantly. However, the town spreads out pretty far away from the campus, and if you have any intentions of ever leaving the town of Lawrence - and driving the 40 minutes over to Kansas City seems like something you'd want to do from time to time - you're definitely going to want a car.

Up next: Finding an apartment!

[psych21]

I love Lawrence. Will start their Counseling Psych PhD program in August. I also heard a car is necessary--even though finding parking on campus can be a nightmare.

[janitor]

I'm a second-year PhD student in English at KU. Welcome to KU! I'll add my voice to the fray and agree that you'll most likely love Lawrence. It's a wonderful town, and I think KU is a great school.

A couple things that might be helpful:

Re: parking on campus. It's not entirely true that campus is closed to parking. The main drag through campus (Jayhawk Blvd) and one cross-street are closed to through traffic (except certain vehicles and KU on Wheels buses) M-F 7:30 to 5. But there are side-streets you can drive on to negotiate around and across campus, and lots of parking lots in areas that I would still consider "on-campus." You might have to hike up "Mt. Oread" but it's definitely within walking distance.

The KU on Wheels system is really quite excellent. I personally have a Park-and-Ride parking pass because I live in south Lawrence, close the the Park and Ride lot. These buses run more frequently during the school year than some of the neighborhood buses. So it's pretty easy to get onto campus without a car. But you are right in saying that you'll probably want a car if you want to get into KC, for example.

There are some decent neighborhoods with apartments to rent in houses, for example, in the area north of campus (kind of in the indiana to mississippi/11th to 6th st corridor). But it's mixed...you might have some absentee landlords renting out houses to undergrad partiers there, too. I have a family, so we rent a duplex in south lawrence, which is not walking distance at all but offers pretty big places to live at relatively low rent (we pay $850/month for a three-bedroom with a yard, garage, air conditioning, etc.).

Hope this was useful!

[Reynolds]

I'm a second-year PhD student in English at KU. Welcome to KU! I'll add my voice to the fray and agree that you'll most likely love Lawrence. It's a wonderful town, and I think KU is a great school.

A couple things that might be helpful:

Re: parking on campus. It's not entirely true that campus is closed to parking. The main drag through campus (Jayhawk Blvd) and one cross-street are closed to through traffic (except certain vehicles and KU on Wheels buses) M-F 7:30 to 5. But there are side-streets you can drive on to negotiate around and across campus, and lots of parking lots in areas that I would still consider "on-campus." You might have to hike up "Mt. Oread" but it's definitely within walking distance.

The KU on Wheels system is really quite excellent. I personally have a Park-and-Ride parking pass because I live in south Lawrence, close the the Park and Ride lot. These buses run more frequently during the school year than some of the neighborhood buses. So it's pretty easy to get onto campus without a car. But you are right in saying that you'll probably want a car if you want to get into KC, for example.

There are some decent neighborhoods with apartments to rent in houses, for example, in the area north of campus (kind of in the indiana to mississippi/11th to 6th st corridor). But it's mixed...you might have some absentee landlords renting out houses to undergrad partiers there, too. I have a family, so we rent a duplex in south lawrence, which is not walking distance at all but offers pretty big places to live at relatively low rent (we pay $850/month for a three-bedroom with a yard, garage, air conditioning, etc.).

Hope this was useful!

Ah, cool. Thanks! I've been trying to figure out where to live. If I am looking at any specific apartment complexes would you have possibly heard of them/known people who have had good/bad experiences with them? Obviously on their websites all of these places make it sound like their apartments are the place you want to live.

[janitor]

Ah, cool. Thanks! I've been trying to figure out where to live. If I am looking at any specific apartment complexes would you have possibly heard of them/known people who have had good/bad experiences with them? Obviously on their websites all of these places make it sound like their apartments are the place you want to live.

I'd be happy to give you any info I have about apartment complexes, although I don't know a ton about them. You might also see about talking to other grad students in your department; generally people are pretty willing to share their experiences.

[StellaG]

A parking tip: there are some side-streets right next to campus where you can park on the street for free. I can't remember their names, but one is by the Fiji house on Edgehill road. Not guaranteed places, but it usually worked for me. The other was past the fountain and bookstore, on Spencer drive and around in that residential neighborhood. Both are only 5 min. to campus and used to have parking spots anyway (I'm from Lawrence but it's been awhile since I lived there).

[morthia]

:::BUMP:::

Has anyone visited Lawrence recently?

[HyacinthMacaw]

:::BUMP:::

Has anyone visited Lawrence recently?

Yes! Just returned from a 3-day, 2-night trip to meet with profs and grad students in the social psychology program. I loved it! What would you like to know? (Granted, I was only a visitor.)

[psych21]

I live in Lawrence and absolutely love it.

[Weitz]

Just visited KU and their EEB program, and I thought Lawrence was pretty rad for its size. Keep in mind, I'm a Berkeley student and a SF native, so I can be quite critical about quality of life comparisons. Knowing that KU was smaller, I was still pleasantly surprised. Massachusetts street was awesome and there was decent food, book stores, music stores, and live music venue (live music, especially indie rock and folk seems like a big part of Lawrence, actually). I hear that w hen it's not freezing-ass cold outside, you get a lot of buskers (street musicians) outside. I absolutely *need* coffeeshops to be happy (I like to study in them), and there seemed to be plenty of non-starbucks coffeeshops. Even a nice, albeit not-so-great-for-studying, bar/coffee shop combo called the Bourgeois pig where they infused their own vodka and gin.

Having Kansas City nearby seems pretty rad. My PI, who had been to both Berkeley and New York City says she and her husband will often drive there for specific things they can't get in Lawrence, and it isn't all that far away.

I would say, yes, you do need a car. I'm going to be driving mine down from San Francisco. I'll also have a bike though, as I don't want to use my car unless weather is terrible or I'm getting groceries. Compared to Berkeley, KU seems to be a heaven for parking. There's no such thing as 2 hour residential parking, so you don't need a garage or a paid parking spot for your car. Be warned, if you have a fancy, expensive car, you'll probably want covered parking. Because of hale.

As for parking on campus, it seemed pretty possible to me. You'd probably have to be smart about it- I hear parking on west campus and taking the pretty frequent bus is the best option.

As for apartments, I absolutely detest modern apartment towers (both school owned and independent) in a small city like Lawrence, which has beautiful grand houses where they rent by the room or have subdivided them into studios. I'm looking at renting a room in a house or getting a one bedroom. Beware of land lords that have basically thrown up more walls and crammed their now-ruined houses with students. Look around for something nice. If your stipend is decent/you have some outside money/you're staying for at least 5 years, you should consider buying a house, putting down the ten percent, and paying the morgage and renting the spare room (s) to other students. It might make more sense.

I want non-bio friends! New KU grads should get together

[HyacinthMacaw]

I was impressed by the number of independent/mom-and-pop stores in Lawrence. I could hardly spot any chain stores or restaurants in the downtown core, keeping the somewhat quirky, progressive character of the area intact. You can still shop at Walmart or Target if you would like; both of these big-box stores have locations in Lawrence, albeit far from campus or downtown. So everyone is satisfied.

Forgive me for asking, however, can someone please discuss the danger of tornadoes? I have never lived in the Midwest before, and my stereotype of Kansas is, well, Dorothy and Toto getting swooped up in a vortex. Another poster mentioned hail--are there hail storms often? And if there is a tornado warning, is there anything I can do besides pray?