Whoever said “nothing in life is free” obviously didn’t live in a college town.
Okay, so maybe “free” is a bit of a stretch, considering that little thing called “tuition,” but not having to pay for a meal when you’ve had six straight hours of class is kinda nice.
So, where in Gainesville can we find things for free?
1) Where You Live
Most apartment complexes are student based, which often means they’re giving things out for free. So what kind of things are your rent collectors giving out? 
Well, I’ve been able to get free food, t-shirts, gift-cards, posters, and even special event tickets (that were originally really expensive!). So whether it’s free pizza once a month, free breakfast once a week, or free coffee every morning, it’s FREE! Take advantage.
2) Reitz Union
Ever been running late to class and run by a thousand people outside the Reitz Union trying to talk to you? Well, these people are usually trying to promote their club or organization, which of course means they’ll try to bribe you with some promotional item. So it’s nothing big, but stand outside the Reitz long enough and you’ll be able to collect enough pens for a lifetime (you’ll save around $5 and an obnoxious trip to Walmart). You’ll also stumble upon free lanyards, magnets, t-shirts, candy, koozies and much more.
3) University of Florida
So, this one is maybe a given, maybe not. A lot of students don’t know that almost all UF events are free for students. 
All sporting events, except football, are free with your Gator1. All museums and exhibits are also free. And of course, Lake Wauburg, but I won’t get into too much detail about this because I’ll be blogging about it soon!
4) Off Campus Life
OCL is constantly trying to get students involved in activities around Gainesville. Keep up with their events page for their free monthly event. You’ll get to experience something new and OCL will cover the charges!
So there you have it, Gators, four places to find free things. Have any ideas? I’d love to hear your feedback! Comment below so I can keep adding to the list of free!
Everyone loves the free stuff, especially college students. Maya Angelou is going to be here at the end of this month. Tickets are free for that I think. I think there are a lot of options like this in a college town. Just a thought.
First time heard of OCL. It’s very helpful. I’m going to dig OCL out more.
It would be incredible to see Maya Angelou… More info on this please
Hey Nikki, here’s a link with all the info about Maya Angelou! http://news.ufl.edu/2013/02/04/maya-angelou/
To add to your Reitz Union plug is GatorNights! which are held on Friday nights. The event is free with a gator1 ID- and there are movies, soda, popcorn, arts and crafts and other various activities.