The USC Village officially opened two days before I moved in. Needless to say, I had no idea what to expect but was so excited to be one of the first to live in brand new dorms. The Village is conveniently located across the street from campus and has soo many cool things to explore. There are delicious restaurants, my favorite being Cava which is like a mediterranean Chipotle. (As far as I know there’s no Cava on the east coast so I literally want my friends from back home to come visit me just so I can show them the deliciousness of Cava. ) There’s also an Amazon store which you can order items on Amazon to, and get same-day delivery. This has been super convenient for when I need materials for projects. And for a general healthy lifestyle there’s the Village Gym open for free to all students, a CorePower Yoga studio, and a turf soccer field which I should probably take more advantage of…
For my building (Building 9) specifically, I’m right above the Trader Joes and Target. I’m in a two person suite, so I share a room with my roommate, which is separate from our living room and kitchen. Additionally, we have our own bathroom inside our room that is way bigger than I expected it to be. I pretty much use Trader Joes (TJs) as my fridge since it’s so close. Instead of buying groceries for a month, whenever I feel like cooking I’ll stop by TJs and only buy the ingredients I need for what I want to cook. Right outside my window is a huge field (I think they’re calling it the “Great Lawn”) which is where the soccer/football field is as well. There are always people playing frisbee, throwing a ball around, or on a really good day, there will be really cute dogs with their owners running around.
What I like most about the Village is that while it’s still really close to campus (and basically an extension of it), there’s still a separation between where I live and where I study. There’s no classroom buildings in the Village, so for me it allows me to enjoy a break from my classes in a new setting, while still feeling connected to the culture and feeling of USC. Overall 10/10 would recommend.
