The first time I went to Kitchener was by mistake.
It was in first-year and I had never been on public transportation before in my life.
I got on the 201 bus attempting to go to the Conestoga Mall but accidentally ended up on the southbound bus. I had no idea I was approaching the (the now closed) Charles Street Terminal.
Stepping off the bus, I realized I was absolutely in the wrong place and was luckily able to quickly hop on the northbound bus and take the longer ride up to the mall.
The second time I went to Kitchener was less memorable (COVID really messed with us all).
It was early March 2020 and (blissfully unaware of what was to come) I went to Dallas Nightclub with some friends for the first time.
It was a weird experience. We stood outside for half an hour waiting to get in, I almost got thrown up on and the next morning the university was shutting down because of COVID.
After that, I basically stayed inside for a year and half, so there were not any trips down to Kitchener at that point.
While some of the Lost-in-Kitchener and COVID-Eve-Party details are a bit extreme I think the overall details are not out of line with the standard Laurier student experience.
For most students, myself included at the time, your world pretty much ends at the LCBO in Uptown Waterloo. Why?
I never considered this during my time at Laurier but basically half of the city I lived in for four years I had never really explored.
Most of us only live here for four years, isn’t it worth it to see everything we can?
I know, I know. It’s hard to leave the Waterloo bubble.
I live in Kitchener now and it’s pretty cool. I moved down here in April and I’ve been around quite a bit since then.
It’s a bit of an adjustment compared to the student-centred Waterloo but there are so many different things to check out.
It’s a little bit quieter, you can actually find a seat at cafés and restaurants and there’s always some sort of community event or pop-up to try, keeping things fresh.
If you think Waterloo is a boring city, I would recommend exploring the other half of the place you live in.