Snowboard: You're a funny guy. I think they have something like a hill up in Wisconsin somewhere.

Bars: Murphy's. There are others, but none I recall worth mention.

Good/Bad Parts of Town: You can drive across the whole damn thing in like 10 minutes. I think some parts of urbana are less nice than others, but the only bad thing I remember is the stench of that Kraft plant on the west side of champaign. I used to walk all over the place in C-U at all hours and I never, ever, ever felt threatened or unsafe. Of course, I live in a city that had 114 homicides last year and I feel safe there too, but don't let that influence your opinion. C-U is a tiny little town with no serious crime to speak of that I remember.

Ok, the basics. It's been over two years since I graduated, but I imagine things haven't changed too much...

Night life: As you already know, bar age is 19 at CU, so that is good if you want to go to bars. Everyone who is under 21 knows someone who is 21 (or who's "ID" says they are 21...) that can get them something from the bars. Ok, good bars: Murphy's (Irish Pub) is good and friendly, and they have good food too. Brother's is pretty nice, and they have some creative shots there. White Horse - it is a little bit of a walk if you are around the main campus, but otherwise they have a great outdoor area when the weather is good. Marginal bars: R&R's - they have Mug Night, but as the years went on, it started to get kinda lame. Joes - same story about getting lame, but the females like to dance on the poles there... Bad bars: the frat bars: CO's, Kams. Stay away. I apologize if you are interested in fraternity life. No offense. The only other options for night life are house parties (ask around - they can be really fun, but usually have bad beer) or that Tonic dance club/bar, if it is still there.

The town really doesn't have too many bad areas. North of University and west of 1st street in Champaign get marginal, but campus is just fine. I walked on campus at all hours of the day, by myself and with others, and I never felt threatened.

Finally, for snowboarding, there is a place in southern Indiana called Paoli Peaks where you can snowboard (not the Rockies or anything, but probably the closest place to Chambana).

Hope U of I treats you well!