Twenty-eight in a college town feels like ripe old age, but there’s still tons of fun to be had.
I’m twenty-eight and grown up, a fact that usually doesn’t occur to me, and when it does occur, it doesn’t faze me. I love being grown up and independent: able to rent my own cars, pay my own bills, sign my own leases, and generally be independent. Best of all, I still feel young and energetic.
But living in College Station near the massive Texas A&M University campus, I truly felt my age for the first time in years. For the first time, I sensed a disconnect between my priorities and undergraduate priorities… a difference in my lifestyle and an undergraduate lifestyle. This year’s incoming freshmen are ten years younger than me – I almost fell off my chair when that little nugget hit me.
So, given my adult status among thousands of younger students, I realized my perspective on College Station would be a little bit slant. At first, I doubted whether I’d find anything to do in a college town. I was incredibly lucky when I first got to town to find Prashant, an Indian engineer who, at age thirty, had been figuring out this problem for several years. A social, fun-loving personality, he took me under his wing and thanks to him, I discovered life hacks in College Station and Bryan that I never would have been clever enough to find on my own.
Here are a few favorites:
Coffee:
You truly have to know where to go for coffee in College Station, especially if you’ve developed a grown-up taste for quality coffee. Service in the town generally is a bummer because college students are worried about graduating, not about the quality of your brew. Starbucks on East University Drive was a delightful exception. The staff there is amazing! They make truly good coffee and have a beautiful work ethic. I enjoyed every time I went there.
Burgers:
I usually work in major cities, trendy hot spots where cost of living is high. I loved being in College Station for the insanely low prices. It’s been a long time since I felt like I was going out and eating at an affordable price. Top favorite: Carney’s, where burgers are $4 at half-price on Friday. It’s a more mature crowd there, perhaps because it’s away from the town’s main bar scene.
Craft cocktails:
Northgate is the place for College Station night life, but tucked away at one end of it all (the west end) is the West End Elixir Co., a more mature experience. For a little bit higher price, you can get an actual craft cocktail, carefully mixed and garnished. The bar is staffed by veterans who wildly exceed the area’s normal levels of service.
Tacos:
People in College Station are serious about tacos. I didn’t like tacos when I got to town (hard shell tacos are like eating shredded lettuce on a tortilla chip… how disappointing), but then I found Fuego’s, which is basically Waffle House with tacos instead of waffles. It’s greasy, it’s satisfying, it’s so Texas.
So, you ask, why do all of these things have to do with food? Simple: Texas. Is. All. About. Their. Food. It’s that simple. Every time I come to this state and work, my friends and coworkers try to feed me, feel concerned when I express hunger, plan meals days in advance, and ask seriously for the details of what I ate for lunch. I love the people I’ve met here and their love of food, and I’m working on seeing food as more than the time-consuming exercise of eating.
Prashant and I never got to Messina Hof (the area winery), or to Hopdoddy (a burger chain from Austin). But we found good times everywhere we went. It was good to be together, embrace the moment, and be adults in a college town.
~ The Dauntless Princess ~
