These don’t completely overlap with the topic at hand, but for anyone looking for more ideas, here are two past threads that cover some similar ground:
My daughter just came back from visiting a friend in Missoula, Montana. She loved the mix of hipsters/cowboys/outdoorsy types. There were plenty of restaurants and bars. Lots of independent shops, not many empty store fronts. There was a craft brewery beer festival the weekend she was there, which was packed despite the cold and being outdoors. D said there were help wanted signs all over. She and her friend went to a U Montana v. Montana State basketball game, which was packed and lively.
D’s friend moved to Montana after doing most of a year there with Americorp during the pandemic. It was easy for her to find full time work, and her rent and groceries are reasonable. The people she knows seem to mainly be from out of state, both east and west of Montana: Washington, California, Illinois, NY.
Is it just because the university is there? Or is it a combination of affordability combined with excellent outdoor activities and increasing numbers of younger adults moving to the area?
Wha…
CityNerd is a YouTube channel talking about new urbanism — how architecture, public policy, transportation, infrastructure, and culture combine to create enjoyable, livable cities. In a recent video, he goes over his top ten college towns, including a few that come up on CC pretty regularly.
We all have our heuristics for evaluating college towns; I thought it was neat to see a list that doesn’t actually have anything to do with the universities themselves, moreso the context the universities are in.
[College Towns Are Awesome, and These Are the 10 Best]
Two California towns (cities, I guess) mentioned in those threads that I haven’t seen here yet: Davis (UC Davis) and San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO), both of which are cute and walkable, and have a bit more going on than some of the smaller towns often cited in threads like this.
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