Still searching for a quality place with a great surrounding city. Any idea?
State college, PA, Hamilton, NY
Boston/Cambridge. If you can look past all the derelicts and crack heads, Boston really is such a jewel.
Boulder, CO. One of the best I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to a lot of college towns. Not only are there [gorgeous[/url] mountains a mile away from CU and a nearby [url=<a href=“http://www.tivertonfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Rocky-Mountains-Picture-The-Tiverton-Foundation-Background-Image.jpg%5Dnational”>http://www.tivertonfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Rocky-Mountains-Picture-The-Tiverton-Foundation-Background-Image.jpg]national park](http://www.hillhaus.com/photos/2006.03.11.Flatirons/Flatirons03.jpg), but the numerous festivals occurring at least once a month (usually much more often) make it an amazing place to go to school. Denver is also only 30 minutes away should students want to escape Boulder for a bit. To aid in this escape, the public transit system around Boulder and Denver is fairly well developed, particularly in the areas that would be appealing to a college aged student. As an added bonus, the quality of food around campus is outstanding.
I just spent a week backpacking and hanging out in the area and loved nearly every minute of it.
Missoula, MT, home of the University of Montana is great for students who want a smaller city. However, the Montana schools aren’t very academically rigorous outside of a few programs.
Quite a few websites have compiled lists of the best college towns. [Here[/url] [url=<a href=“http://livability.com/top-10/college/10-best-college-towns/2014%5Dare”>http://livability.com/top-10/college/10-best-college-towns/2014]are](The 50 Best College Towns In The U.S.)[url=<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/slideshows/10-great-college-towns%5Dsome%5B/url”>http://www.usnews.com/education/slideshows/10-great-college-towns]some[/url] [url=<a href=“http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-best-college-towns-2013/2%5Dof%5B/url”>http://www.travelandleisure.com/slideshows/americas-best-college-towns-2013/2]of[/url] [url=<a href=“http://www.businessinsider.com/best-college-towns-2014-10%5Dthem.%5B/url”>http://www.businessinsider.com/best-college-towns-2014-10]them.[/url]
Saratoga Springs, NY. Has so much cultural life for a large town (Saratoga PAC plus lots of offerings at Skidmore College), plus restaurants and shopping galore. Close to Lake George and major ski mountains.
Burlington, VT
What are you looking for in a “college town?” Students all seem to want different things so it’s all about finding a city/town that offers what you seek.
I wanted a city experience, rich with history, cultural diversity, and a wealth of jobs for young professionals. I chose GW because D.C. offered everything I was looking for.
Ithaca, NY.
Manhattan. And Boston.
My favorites. All are very livable, have good transportation, many cultural events, relatively safe, have excellent schools and lots of jobs in innovative companies.
Weather/Size
Cold/Small: Ann Arbor, Boulder, Madison
Cold/Large: Boston/Cambridge, Toronto, Chicago/Evanston
Medium/Small: Victoria, Chapel Hill, Palo Alto
Medium/Large: SF/Berkeley
Hot/Medium: Austin , Santa Barbara
Hot/Large: LA, Atlanta
Ithaca is consistently rated the #1 college town in America. I’m extremely biased, but I love it.
A good list always includes Amherst, MA. The 5-College Consortium == gold.
Very subjective question of course…
Personally, I found Prescott AZ to be an excellent college town, but not in the traditional sense. It has all of the amenities you could ask for, low crime, clean air, great weather, great restaurants, outdoor amenities galore, plus a lot of culture and natural beauty.
San Luis Obispo is also pretty nice, and LA would be a lot of fun, if you were looking for non-stop action. Not really a big fan of east coast/Midwest towns to be honest though. Just not my thing I guess.
I’ve only been to a few college towns, but I’d say UC Berkeley was the liveliest on the weekend.
Second to Boulder, Colorado - Holy cow it is incredible there.
Quite biased here, but I think one of the best college towns/ areas is New Brunswick/ Piscataway, New Jersey, home of Rutgers-New Brunswick. There is so much to do for college students there, and everyone in those towns and the surrounding area completely bleed red and white. There’s so much school spirit even among residents who didn’t go to Rutgers. It’s an nice 4-season climate, unlike many places farther north or south, and is easily accessible to New York City, Philadelphia, and the Jersey Shore. It’s really underappreciated when it comes to college towns.
San Luis Obispo Ca. Love it there!