College life is true freedom

There was so much to campus life that just felt natural and just ridiculously, offensively, convenient.

Practically everyone is roughly the same age as you, and that group is thousands strong (depends on where you go).
Just drop in on dorm rooms and say 'hi' to friends, whenever.
Dining is usually very close by.
Lots of entertainment options, most days of the week.
Included access to showers and fitness facilities (varies).
Free bus travel with student ID (varies).
Student ID discounts at some retail (varies).

The fact that we refuse to build communities outside of school with these features, just boggles the mind.

I'll add that this is practically impossible to replicate in adult life until you get into a "retirement community". And like college, those are ridiculously expensive too. If you're an undergrad and barely old enough to drink: I urge you to please live these days to the fullest. It's tragic but you really won't get another moment like this again.

Dating too. You'll never have a group of so many single people the same age as you again, and college selects for people with similar life experiences and goals.
If there was one piece of advice I could give to young adults in school, it would be to not be afraid to start thinking long-term. There are lots of adults who graduate and get stuck in the work/home/sleep cycle for years, then wish they had prioritized this before it got more difficult.
- Exactly. I met my SO at college, and we got married before finishing school. It was so much better having a reliable roommate who was up for... breaks... to get through the tough parts of the school year.
- Ok but also as an adult, don’t let yourself get into that cycle. Find reasons to get out of the house and meet new people. Even when you’re married. I’ve seen so many adults let themselves become isolated because it’s easy, but ensuring you have hobbies that get you out of the house and talking to people is so valuable
I'll add that this is practically impossible to replicate in adult life until you get into a "retirement community".
Small disagreement (that shows how possible it is if effort was made to make it happen): I'm in the military, live in military housing (sizes of which are largely based on family size, up to a certain point... 3 bedroom for my wife, 2 kids and me, but 4 bedroom for the families with 6 goddamn kids omigod I can't imagine), walk to work and the galley (cafeteria-type place for meals, including for dependents), am surrounded by families with similar lifestyles and kids, have two workout spaces on base (as well as access to off-base gyms and pool through my work), and am a short walk to downtown with plenty of entertainment (and most decent sized military bases have similar situations on base itself).
So it's possible, you just have to sign your body and will away. Or, like, convince a developer to make a civilian equivalent you can just buy into, like an uber-HOA.
Outside of the age thing, those points all still ring true for many cities that did not buy into the whole carbrain thing.
Under the guise of the "freedom" cars being, they have taken away community, third places, affordable housing and infrastructure, and my more things just for the sake of making everywhere accessible via car.
It’s important to remember that living in this kind of utopia is highly unsustainable and everyone comes out of it with heavy debt that can take half a lifetime to recover from.
- Because they're young people who are also paying for a service. The debt has relatively little to do with the community model, you could absolutely build it around jobs or production in some fashion.
- Eh, I worked my way through college so I didn't have any debt at the end. I worked part-time during fall/winter semesters, and worked full-time during the summers, which was enough to not need any loans whatsoever.
  I think it's still possible today, but I haven't run the numbers recently. I had a roommate that ended up with a ton of debt though because they didn't work much through college, so it was still an issue even when I went.
- Take a look at the finances of automobile-oriented development. "Highly unsustainable" and "heavy debt" are the bywords there. As long as we're spending that kind of money, shouldn't we at least make ourselves happy?

My favorite place to nap was in the Art building. Not only was it a huge open space, literally no one would bother you. Moreover, there was always someone practicing an instrument or working on some form of music. One time before their exam I heard a girl warming up her voice and hoooooly shit there was no way she got anywhere below a 100% or however they grade. She was so good I nearly decided to go find her and express my gratitude for an amazing performance. haha

All of the art buildings have a certain smell too. It feels comforting.
- yeah, arts can be smelly
- Is it weed?

Sadly, this is until security checks your ID, and the last University I went to had Hostile Architecture anywhere and everywhere the administration(or some student project... 🤮) could come up with the slightest(or no) excuse, indoors or out.

It really do