Not to knock Bates, because it’s a decent little school, but having grown up in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine I can say with 100% certainty that it is about the worst place anyone could pick to attend college.

Brian makes a valid point.  It is a good school, but there’s not much going on around there.  My son had friends that went there and one stuck it out, but a couple others transferred to a more lively area.....of course, for a parent, Bates is a good choice!!

Kate, are fluorescent bulbs as hard on your eyes though as overhead fluorescent lights?  Anytime I have worked anywhere that used overhead fluorescent lighting, I would have some of the tubes taken out because I would get horrible headaches.  Someone one explained to me why (and I won’t even try here), and said it is very common????

Well, I’m curious now to hear what he thinks about Lewiston. My sense, so far, is that he wants to avoid a city or large town. How small is Lewiston? I know from my own experience that spending two years going to school in a town with one gas station, one general store, and one diner can feel like living on the last outpost on earth. But this is a kid who still thinks he wants to live in Alaska. I dunno. Might be good training for him. ;)

Cyn, I have a hard time in an office with overhead fluorescents, too. The light bounces and jitters and makes my eyes ache after a couple of hours.

Compact fluorescent bulbs are very steady and I have never had the slightest problem with headaches or tired eyes. They seem to be a very different kind of fluorescent light.

I’ve used them in various places for several years, but last spring I swapped out all the remaining incandescents with the little spiral compact fluorescents. I’m not entirely happy with a couple of them in terms of light color (they tend toward yellow light), but no problems with eye strain or fatigue.

That’s why I’m looking to replace those with the new generation of compact fluorescents that are called Full Spectrum. I’ve seen a couple in action and they give off a very pleasing light that make colors true and bright.

If you’re unsure, get one that’s a *warm white* (that info should be listed on the package)—KMart and Home Depot have been selling them in packages of 3 for about $6—and try one in a lamp that you use for reading for a week or two. If you don’t like it, switch the bulb to a fixture in the basement or someplace where you need light, but not for close work. But I think you would find they are very easy on the eyes.

My mother has one of those coiled fluorescent bulbs in a reading lamp clipped to the bookshelf next to her bed.  It is on about 12-14 hours a day, and she hasn’t expressed any discomfort from it.

Looks like Bates is still the first choice and Hobart is the second choice. Hobart would be a good place for a young progressive to go.

Lewiston is about 45,000 people, and Auburn, right across the river, is about 25,000.  That makes it one of the three primary “metro” areas in Maine, such as it is.

It’s just such a charmless place.  It’s a pair of mill/shoe towns that went bust 75 years ago and have never quite been able to make anything better of it.  The population is mainly lower working class, lots of drugs and petty crime, and not much for the college age folks to do except hang out in the one or two bars where they’re welcome.

The college does offer some cultural activities—they’ve always had a nice theatre program.  It’s just not much of a college town.

I don’t remember picking colleges being this difficult back in the day. Sheez. Hobart sounds better and better to *my* ear as does something Boston-ish.