The short version
Margonda is Depok’s busiest public face and one of the clearest student corridors in the wider metro. The main road links shops, food, apartments, boarding houses, campuses and commuter stations in a long, noisy strip. It is useful because so much is close in a metropolitan sense. It is tiring for exactly the same reason.
There is no single Margonda experience. The northern end around the university and Pondok Cina has a strong student presence. Around Depok Baru, the road becomes more commercial and transport focused. Side streets can be calmer and more residential, but they vary in drainage, parking and access. A flat on Margonda itself should be treated as an urban road address, not as a quiet campus neighbourhood.
University life and ordinary errands
Universitas Indonesia shapes the corridor well beyond the campus boundary. Students, staff, food businesses, boarding houses and small services give the northern side a turnover and energy that continues through the academic year. Depok’s wider city life is more mixed than the student label suggests, with families, long standing local businesses and commuters using the same roads.
The train is the reason many people can make the corridor work. Even so, the station to home route can be hot, crowded or interrupted by traffic. The main road is an important link, but it is not a pleasant walk for every trip. Look for a side street with a workable connection to food and transport rather than assuming that any address near the centre is equivalent.
A question of tolerance
Margonda suits students, university staff, younger professionals and households whose daily life is concentrated in Depok. It can also suit a commuter who values rail and accepts a long, busy approach to the station. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs silence, easy parking or a polished residential setting.
The area rewards a practical attitude. Ask about noise at night, water pressure, motorbike parking and the route home after rain. The main road will not become a garden boulevard because a new building has opened beside it.
My view
Margonda is useful rather than easy. It has a strong reason to exist, and the university and rail connection give it more depth than a generic commercial strip. I would choose a side street close to the routine I wanted, and accept that the corridor itself is part of the price of living there.