A Quick Introduction
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Welcome!
Given the circumstances of the past year, learning information that you would otherwise get by visiting campus may be hard to come by. Because of this, PASA (Practicing Anthropologist Student Association) decided to create a quick guide to some questions you may have before accepting the offer from UMD’s Department of Anthropology. As the graduate student organization in our department, PASA wanted to create a introductory guide for some questions and information you would have (or still will) probably pick up in one-on-one conversations or over your time as a student.
This is by no means a definitive answer to any questions. So if you have any further questions about moving to the area, what it is like being a graduate student here at UMD, etc., please feel free to message one of the current board members of PASA or any fellow students of your prospective adviser.
Antho+ 2021, Graduate Student Happy Hour (4/2/2021)
This is a reminder that we will be having our 11th Annual Anthro+ on Saturday, April 10th, 2021 from 9am to 4pm. Please feel free to come! It will be over Zoom, and Nadine or a PASA board member will be sure to send out a link to you all.
We will be having a Graduate Student Happy Hour next Friday (4/2/2021) at 4:00! This will be sent out to all of the current graduate students as well and will be a great chance to meet us all and ask any last minute questions.
Housing Options
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Map of the DMV
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Thinking about where to Live
One of the huge benefits of living in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) is that there is so much around us, but that also means that the housing situation can be a bit confusing. When it comes to housing think about price, ‘walkability,’ how you plan on commuting to campus, and other priorities.
A lot of our fellow anthropology graduate students have lived with other graduate students during their time here. UMD or DMV housing groups on Facebook are great places to find fellow grad students or young professionals to board with. Also, feel free to reach out to your fellow cohort members! Older cohorts are sometimes looking for roommates as well. PASA will encourage our current graduate students to email your (the new) cohort with any housing options they are aware of.
Discussion of the different areas to live
The best bet is to look in southern Montgomery County, Maryland (i.e. Silver Spring and Takoma Park) or Prince George’s County (i.e. College Park, Berwyn Heights, Hyattsville). Not only will you find cheaper housing in this area, but it is all fairly close to campus. Transportation is key in the DMV, and while you might find a cheaper place in say Bethesada or Northern Virginia you’ll have to drive or be on the metro for an hour+.
DC is a bit more expensive, but if you have lots of roommates or are living with a loved one it might be a little more ‘reasonable.’ The three listed DC neighborhoods tend to be the best for price and accessibility to UMD’s campus.
All of the points on the included map are places that graduate students have lived before, or would be a good place to start looking. However, there are plenty of other places to check out! This is just to help narrow down the wide focus, and to visualize it for you all.
Housing Websites/apps
Craigslist (Can find cheap places, but always visit first! Scams are more plentiful.)
Transportation
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An Overabundance of Transportation Options
Multiple options are available, and it all really depends on where you live. Make sure to plan how you want to get to and fro before signing a lease! If you don’t mind driving then gladly live further away, but if you are green or don’t want to pay for transportation make sure to check the various maps first. Many of our Anth graduate students can walk to campus if they live in Berwyn or Old Town College Park, for example. But there are plenty of other options.
Parking on campus is also available, and you can find more information about it here. You’ll have to buy a parking pass (rates have changed a lot due to the pandemic, so not sure what it will run next year.) Also, in the before times parking was pretty brutal, but it may slowly trickle back to ‘normal’ over the course of next year.
There are a number of bike trails throughout the Maryland suburbs of D.C. that make biking around the area a whole lot easier. The rumors are true, traffic is awful here and the drivers are typically just as bad. However, these scenic bike trails allow you to miss most of the traffic! They run through parks, woods, and historic neighborhoods. Consider the green commute, and become a ‘Green Terp!’
The metro is a great way of getting to and from the city, and some graduate students use it to commute from Washington D.C. or Maryland/Virginia suburbs on one of the lines. The UM Shuttle also has a line that goes out to the metro that adds fifteen minutes to your commute at most (at least in the before times). There is a purple line “coming” at some point that will run from Bethesda to the current College Park stop, but that will probably take a while.
The UM Shuttle Service is wonderful, and really opens the housing options up. There are 10+ routes, and they all tend to run smoothly. Go to Shuttle-UM Website for more information. Oh, and it is included in your fees. So it is “free.”
Bike Trails
Bike Trails Around College Park
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Metro
Metro Map
Shuttle-UM
Silver Spring Shuttle Route
Things to Do, Places to See around UMD
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UmD’s Campus
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Local Spots for Food
These are all areas that are walkable to campus where you can pick up coffee, food, or unwind between classes. There are also plenty of chain restaurants nearby, but we wanted to primarily highlight local businesses. This is just a small collection of the options, but these are all places that we would suggest!
Takeout Place around Campus
Aroy Thai
Ledo Pizza
Marathon Deli (Gyros and Subs)
SEOULSpice
The SPOT MINI (Broadly Asian Fusion? and Boba Tea)
Taqueria Habanero
Hanami Japanese Restaurant
Coffee/Breakfast
Bagel Place of College Park
Vigilante Coffee (Cute little spot, and although it is pretty small it is a good place to study)
Non-Local options include STAMP (on campus) Starbucks, and two Dunkin Donuts within walking distance.
Watering Holes
Looney’s Pub (A lot of our Graduate Happy Hour’s have been here)
Cornerstone Grill (Classic college bar, can be a little “Fratty”)
Town Hall (Local spot, it is a bit grimy but it is unique)
There are a lot of breweries in the area as well, such as Denizens, HellBender, and Atlas. However, they all would require transportation from UMD’s Campus.
Grocery Stores Around UMD
Lidl (It is the best store in College Park, and it is the closest. Life altering.)
Mom’s Organic Market
Shoppers
Target
And there are plenty of other stores around the area!