Are you a first-year looking for a way to spend your extra time? Are you bored out of your mind, but new to Raleigh and have no clue where to go or what to do? Well, you’re in luck!
For most first-year students, Raleigh is a new adventurous surrounding. Students from other counties and states and from Raleigh alike sometimes have difficulty finding their way around, and that along with the responsibility of college life can become a pain in the neck. Not-to-worry, help is on the way.
Many amazing and exciting places exist all over Raleigh, more importantly downtown! Downtown Raleigh provides many attractions consisting of: museums, hotels, amphitheaters, a convention center, restaurants/cafes, churches, salons, markets, galleries, and retail stores.
More common hangouts such as Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Red Hat Amphitheater, Chic-fil-A, Marbles Kids Museum, Mellow Mushroom, Art Space, First Baptist Church, and Hampton Inn, are always buzzin’ and within walking distance from campus.
For those you who are looking for the comforts of home, downtown also offers plenty of “mom and pop shops” like the Mecca Restaurant, Crema on Fayetteville, and Isaac’s Men Store.
And, for all you art freaks out there, Raleigh also paints your taste with Designbox, Visual Art Exchange, and the Mahler.
So now you know about plenty of things to do downtown, but, “How am I supposed to get there with or without a car?” Easy! If you have a car, you can easily download any map GPS app on any smart phone. And, for those of you who don’t have a smart phone, your local PDS teacher -all college students have regardless of the year- can provide you with a map.
Alas, those who don’t want to drive always have the drastic option of walking, but, let’s be honest, who really wants to do that? Worried about what to do if you don’t have a car? Well, not to fear, the bus lines are here.
The R-line is a free and eco-friendly bus line that runs routes every 10-15 minutes. Specifically designed as a pick up line for us college kids who need to get somewhere without the toll of gas money or not having a car. The bus runs from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, from 7 a.m. to 2:15 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. This bus schedule is perfectly made to fit our chaotic college schedules – a perfect freshman solution and, remember it’s free!
For a change of pace, you might also try the one dollar Capital Area Transit, or, as we young adults like to call it, the CAT bus – e-mail your PDS teacher for more information. Of course you can always call a Ricochet to come pick you up.
So now that you have a better understanding about all the places you can go to in downtown Raleigh, aren’t you ready to quench that thirst of boredom? You have all the information right here at your fingertips all you need to do is to go out and do it.
Raleigh, though as big as it may seem, has many places to fill in that gap of extra time! So stop wasting away and go have a Raleigh adventure!
