Thanks for all the suggestions!
Regarding the “not rural” requirement, which I agree is completely subjective, I think she just wants to be in or near a town where there’s stuff to do. Boutiques to shop at, coffee shops to hang out in, etc. I think she’d also like the surrounding area to have decent shopping in case she needs clothes or shoes; she doesn’t want a Wal-mart to be the only option.
@cormac05, I can’t say for sure why she didn’t like Knox…she will never give me specifics, just says it didn’t “feel” right. It’s one of those that checks all the boxes on paper, but it didn’t translate in person. I have some suspicions, though. Galesburg, though clearly working to revitalize the downtown area, still felt a little run down in places and I’m sure she noticed that. She also pays careful attention to how the tour guides and administrators answer our questions about LGBTQ acceptance on campus and in the surrounding community. On some tours we’ve taken, the guides get really excited about the question and are happy to give examples (either personal or from their friend group) of LGBTQ activities on campus and how they (or their friends) feel welcome on campus and in town. With Knox, the guides and admins only said that they’d “never heard of any trouble” and pointed out that there is an LGBTQ student group. Of course, that doesn’t mean that Knox isn’t perfectly LGBTQ friendly and/or has a decent percentage of LGBTQ students, but I don’t think their answer gave her the warm and welcoming vibe she was looking for.