Maverick Move In: Meet Downtown Arlington, Your New Home!

August is the month of great change. You might be moving into a new apartment or dorm room, starting school, entering the workforce, or all the above at the same time. It can be quite stressful as there’s a lot of moving parts converging on one point in your life, but it’s also very exciting. Whichever great achievement you’re experiencing right now, it has brought you here to Downtown Arlington. So, hello and welcome!

The best way to adjust to your new life on campus is going out and getting involved and active in the world around. Meet new people, try new things, and grow to love and take pride in the city you’ll be calling home for the next couple years and (hopefully) beyond. So, to help you out, here’s a breakdown of everything your new home has to offer.

1. The Kitchen

Your new home is stocked with all the best food the city has to offer. From burgers to pizza to pasta to ramen, you never have to worry about leftovers wasting away in your refrigerator. Community staples like J. Gilligan’s Bar & Grill, Grease Monkey Burger Shop and Social Club, and Hurtado Barbecue all serve downtown enthusiasts with widely acclaimed, delicious homestyle dishes.

Meanwhile, restaurants such as Amore Mio Trattoria, Namoo Koreanbowl, Kintaro Ramen, and Los Molcas Tacos Bar & Grill deliver a diverse range of meals and flavors from different corners around the world. And this is only the tip of the iceberg! Check out the Eat & Drink tab on the Downtown Arlington website for the full list of restaurants and eateries located downtown.

2. The Wet Bar

One of the best sections of any home is the wet bar containing a fun selection of beers, wines, and fancy liquors. Downtown is no different as we have a ton of options to choose from for late night festivities and happy hour frenzies. Division Brewing and On Tap offer craft beers and brews while bars such as Hooligan’s Pub, 4 Kahunas Tiki Lounge, Binion’s Ice House, and Hayter’s Bar & Lounge offer their unique array of blends and booze for everyone to enjoy.

If alcohol isn’t your thing, then maybe that wet bar is a coffee bar, which is no problem for Downtown Arlington, the city with several non-alcoholic options to discover. Inclusion Coffee, Kung Fu Tea, and White Rhino are particularly popular with UTA students as they double as cool hangout spots, while Salter Bros. Coffee Roasters and Starbucks serve a more well-rounded population. Visit DowntownArlington.org/drink for more bars, pubs, breweries, and coffeehouses located nearby.

3. The Game Room

Every home needs a good gathering place for all your friends and family to get together and have a good time. Though Downtown has a plethora of amazing entertainment destinations from Lone Star Axe Throwing to Free Play Arcade, where we really shine are the events held within the city. Each week there’s plenty of unique events happening all around downtown; trivia, karaoke, art appreciation and creation, bar crawls, and the theatre arts all take place regularly.

If you’re a huge fan of music, then Downtown is the place to be! We have 10 live music venues sprinkled through the area, all offering different vibes based on how you’re feeling that night. You can catch some punk bands at Growl Records after grabbing a cold one at Division Brewing, enjoy a night under the stars while watching your favorite country or Tejano artists at the Levitt Pavilion, or head over to the Arlington Music Hall to see all the classic bands, tributes, and artists.

4. The Backyard

When temperatures aren’t super extreme and people can handle being outdoors for more than 5 minutes without overheating and getting drenched in sweat, an outdoor space is a beautiful place to hangout and relax. Between the Levitt Pavilion, Gene Allen Park, City Center Plaza, Knapp Heritage Park, and the new DREAM park currently under construction, Downtown offers many options for those who love the outdoors as much as we do.

And as a bonus, during the Spring and Fall, Downtown Arlington hosts “Downtown Outdoors,” a program dedicated to activating outdoor spaces around the city that brings together the entire community to connect and create. This past season of programming included plein air outdoor painting, pickleball, and photo walks.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter and subscribe to the Downtown Arlington newsletter to stay in the know about next season’s programming and all the other events happening around the city.