The Student Home at 179 Los Ranchitos Road, San Rafael, CA 94903 is ideally located in a very safe residential neighborhood. All places of interest can easily be reached.

Map

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Schools & Libraries

ELS Language Center: 3.5 kilometers (free shuttle bus)
A free shuttle bus allows intensive and semi-intensive ELS students to get quickly and easily to and from class.  A public bus that stops near ELS and Dominican University operates throughout the day.

- Bus: 5 minutes
- Bicycle: 20 minutes

Directions

Dominican University’s Recreation Center: 3.5 kilometers
ELS students have access to Dominican’s new recreation center, including the swimming pool, fitness center, volleyball and basketball courts, and dance and yoga studios.

Dominican University Library: 3.5 kilometers
Dominican’s library and computer center is an ideal place to study. Opening hours are during the academic year MON – THU 8am – 10:30pm; FRI 8am – 5pm; SAT 9am – 5pm; SUN 2pm – 10:30pm. During semester breaks: MON – FRI 9am – 5pm; SAT & SUN closed.

San Rafael Public Library: 4.5 kilometers
Opening hours are TUE – THU 10am – 9pm; FRI – SAT 10am – 5pm; SUN 1pm – 5pm.

College of Marin: 8.5 kilometers
One of California’s finest two-year community colleges can be easily reached by bus from the Transit Center.  More information on College of Marin.

Northgate Mall

Northgate Mall can easily be reached by foot in only 5 minutes!  Inside the mall and the surrounding stores, students can find:

- Cinema:  a large cinema with 15 screens shows the latest movies!
- Restaurants:  there is Applebee's and many restaurants in the Food Court.
- Bars:  Applebee's and Chili's have a typical American bar area.
- Stores:  there are many fashion stores, specialty shops and department
  stores inside the mall and at the nearby Shopping Center.
- Grocery Stores:  the large Safeway supermarket is nearby.
- Banks:  there are several large banks right at Northgate Mall.

Downtown

Restaurants: San Rafael is famous for its huge variety of international restaurants. There are over 150 restaurants from all over the world.  Click HERE for our favorite restaurants.

Cafes: There are several outdoor cafes serving coffee, cake and ice cream.

Shopping: There are many stores, including jewelry, fashion and groceries (including an Asian Market). A farmers market on Thursday evenings features fresh produce, art, jewelry and live music.

Bars: If you are at least 21 years old, you can enjoy a good beer and live music in one of the many downtown bars. The most famous bar, Fourth Street Tavern is only a few blocks from the Student Home.

Billiard: Classic Billiards is a great place to shoot pool with your friends.

Cinema: The historic Rafael Theater shows famous classic movies.

Bowling: Enjoy an evening of bowling with your fellow students at Country Club Bowl – open on weekends till midnight.
 

Grocery Stores  (1.5 kilometers)

Students can do all their grocery shopping in the neighborhood: Safeway, a large supermarket is only a few blocks away. More supermarkets (United Supermarket, Whole Foods Market, and Trader Joe’s) and the Asian Market can be reached by bicycle.  Click HERE for directions.
 

Restaurants (1 kilometer)

There are many of restaurants nearby, some of which are very inexpensive:

- Food Court at Northgate Mall: meals for $3 - $6.
- McDonalds and other fast food restaurants.
- Little Mandarin: a favorite of Dominican students;
  Chinese food for $4.50.
- Taqueria San Jose: giant Mexican burritos for $3.75.

The cafeteria at Dominican University also serves good and inexpensive food: about $280 for the 4-week lunch & dinner meal plan.  Click HERE for directions to our favorite restaurants.


Activities

San Rafael is an ideal location: it’s very safe, only a short drive away from San Francisco and Napa Valley, and the sunny and mild weather allows for many outdoor activities, including mountain biking and surfing.  The following are some examples:

San Francisco: 18 kilometers
San Francisco can easily be reached by one of countless buses from the Transit Center. Or take the bus to the Larkspur ferry terminal for a
scenic ferry ride to San Francisco.

Stinson Beach: 32 kilometers
You can reach Stinson Beach by bus from the Transit Center.

Napa Valley: 44 kilometers
You can reach Napa Valley and its world-famous wineries by bus from the Transit Center.
 

Transportation

Bus
Walk to one of the two bus stops near the Student Home from where you can take an express bus directly to San Francisco, or a local bus to the Transit Center (this bus also stops near Dominican University). From the Transit Center, you can take one of countless buses to any city in the area.

Bicycles
Bicycles are available for rent ($25 per 4-week session), allowing students to quickly and easily reach the ELS Language Center, the public library, Northgate Mall, downtown, restaurants, and shops.

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