“Broke college kid” is a common societal trope for a reason. Some necessities like food, rent and gas routinely take up space in the budget, so when the weekend rolls around, there doesn’t tend to be much room for extra spending money. Finding ways to have fun on a budget is difficult, but App State’s campus and the town of Boone are teeming with affordable opportunities. 

Boone is a perfect area for outdoor recreation, surrounded by awe-inspiring mountains — but sometimes, getting outside for a hike can be daunting and time consuming. If you are looking to get outside but do not have the time or resources to spend all day on a hike, there are still opportunities for accessible, nature-filled activities closer to campus. 

Watauga County is home to many beautiful parks, including the Greenway Trail and the Valle Crucis Community Park. Both of these places are perfect for taking a walk, having a picnic or just as a change of scenery for doing homework. 

Being outside is a main attraction of the High Country area, but during the colder months, having fun indoor activities is important. 

A great way to spend an afternoon getting to know campus would be through an App State scavenger hunt. Make a list of important places on campus and create clues, then swap lists with friends and set off across campus. Belk Library and Information Commons might end up as a place on your hunt — home to many awesome no-cost resources. 

Students can check out card and board games at no cost through the library’s Instructional Materials Center. Hosting a game or craft night is a great way to be social and have fun. In the lower level of the library, there are many different resources students have access to, including the game check-out and Makerspace. 

The Makerspace houses different types of supplies to have a lively craft night. There are collage materials, coloring supplies, paper, sewing machines and endless possibilities of what you can create. 

Another way to have amusing, free fun with your friends is to host a PowerPoint night. Each person brings in a PowerPoint — which App State students can access through Microsoft Office — to showcase their current obsessions, interests or whatever they want to present on. Then, everyone can display and explain their presentation to the rest of the group.

 An activity that could be a recurring event is a book club. Book clubs can be free if books are obtained through the public library, university library or a service like Libby — a digital library which offers both e-books and audio books. 

There could be a meeting where everyone brings their favorite picture book or the first book that showed them as a kid that reading wasn’t all boring. Reading is often associated with college or academia but reintroducing it into everyday life can be a beneficial way to have some affordable fun. 

A key part of the college experience is moving to a new place and getting to explore it as an adult, and there’s no better place to venture out than Boone. Between traversing the magnificent Blue Ridge Parkway, going to free concerts at the Jones House Cultural Center and art exhibits at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, students and newcomers alike should have little trouble finding cost-effective and enjoyable ways to spend their weekends.

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