do UVA students hang out in DC? Forum

[swtlilsoni]

I don't want to be isolated in a small town. I like having a big city environment because there are things to do, and mostly because there are people to meet. Rather than just hanging out with those in my school I would be able to socialize with people from other schools (like GW) and just people that are working in DC, etc. I don't mind living in small town if there is a city close by to go there on the weekends and stuff. That's actually preferable because its the best of both worlds - beautiful small town life and the opportunities of a big city. I know DC is 2 hours away from UVA, so I was wondering...

For those of you that go to UVA, do students go hang out in DC often? Just for parties or to hang out with people there etc? Or is it too far for that..

[Gecko of Doom]

I don't know anybody who hangs out in DC on a regular basis. I mean, some people head out there every once in a while (maybe once a month or so), especially those with significant others in the DC area. But it doesn't seem common for people to do it just to hang out.

2Ls/3Ls might do it more often, but I really don't know. I'll let them speak to that.

[joeshmo39]

The short answer is no. Sometimes we go to DC for interviews and a lot of people have friends and family in DC so there's that. A lot of UVA students grew up in NOVA.

However, it's rare/unheard of for a group of students to say "hey, let's go up to DC for the weekend and party!" Probably because there's stuff to do in Charlottesville, DC is far, it's expensive(ish) to travel, and law students aren't made of free time. Sometimes people will go up to party with non law school friends from college or something though. The thought that you'll spend a few weekends a semester in DC for fun will quickly vanish when you get to school though.

[BruceWayne]

The thought that you'll spend a few weekends a semester in DC for fun will quickly vanish when you get to school though.
The short answer is no. Sometimes we go to DC for interviews and a lot of people have friends and family in DC so there's that. A lot of UVA students grew up in NOVA.

However, it's rare/unheard of for a group of students to say "hey, let's go up to DC for the weekend and party!" Probably because there's stuff to do in Charlottesville, DC is far, it's expensive(ish) to travel, and law students aren't made of free time. Sometimes people will go up to party with non law school friends from college or something though. The thought that you'll spend a few weekends a semester in DC for fun will quickly vanish when you get to school though.

Exactly. You don't have time to make that kind of a trip regularly as a 1L. We take 4 doctrinal classes and LRW as 1L's first semester--that's a bitch.

[desertlaw]

JoeSchmo, you, me, and Doritios should totally take a trip to DC to party this semester just to prove your post wrong.

[Cavalier]

Who wouldn't want to drive two hours to DC just to pay three times as much for drinks?

[yngblkgifted]

People tried to make the trip but it never happened. I don't think it was because there was no time to go there, it's just that it was never properly planned. First semester first year may be harder just because, as 1Ls, we feel that we need to be studying all of the time. But if you really wanted to make the trip, I don't see why not.

[paulinaporizkova]

no one really hangs out in DC, but you'll never want to. our class gets along great and I also don't know why you'd want to meet other law students from other law schools. law students are insufferable in general and the only reason you can tolerate your own class is because you're all going through the same shit together. if anything, go to downtown cville and hang out with the hipster townies or with other UVa grad students

[JoeMo]

DC is not as close as you think to UVA. It looks close on a map but there's no easy way to get there, it's just a long country road for a very long time.

[tarp]

It's not a country road... it's a rural divided highway with occasional stoplights. It has four lanes, speed limit mostly 60, and tons of speedtraps.... then when it gets closer to Northern Virginia it starts to have lots and lots of stoplights, the speed limit goes down to 55 and it gets really congested for a good chunk of the day with traffic from Warrenton and Gainesville commuters heading to job centers in NOVA. The last leg of the trip to D.C. is on I-66 which is practically always a parking lot. A trip from Charlottesville to D.C. to "hang out" necessitates a hotel room for sure, and probably takes more like 2.5 hours under optimal conditions and more like 3.5 on average.

[JoeMo]

It's not a country road... it's a rural divided highway with occasional stoplights. It has four lanes, speed limit mostly 60, and tons of speedtraps.... then when it gets closer to Northern Virginia it starts to have lots and lots of stoplights, the speed limit goes down to 55 and it gets really congested for a good chunk of the day with traffic from Warrenton and Gainesville commuters heading to job centers in NOVA. The last leg of the trip to D.C. is on I-66 which is practically always a parking lot. A trip from Charlottesville to D.C. to "hang out" necessitates a hotel room for sure, and probably takes more like 2.5 hours under optimal conditions and more like 3.5 on average.

Oh, maybe I went another way. I was on a country road and took about 3 hours.