<p>I'm sure people at UO are not complaining about Eugene. It isnt some middle of nowhere town with one place to eat and nothing to do...</p>
<p>Definitely not, I've never been to Eugene. I'm sure it's an excellent place to go to college, but I think it's safe to say that it's not on the same level as, say, New York in terms of overall thigns to do. There are probably lots of parks, bars, clubs, quiet areas, restaurants, etc in Eugene, but I guess I'm trying to say that UO being there doesn't necessarily constitue it as being a top 5 college town. Just my 2cents, nothing at all against anyone at UO</p>
<p>East Lansing
Madison
Ann Arbor
Bloomington
Oxford(Miss, not England)</p>
<p>A college town should live and die with the college, but have enough to keep students having fun.</p>
<p>TAce77:</p>
<p>Yep. That good ol' college town, New York City. Every time I've ever been there, no one ever talks about Wall Street, Broadway, the pharmaceutical industry, the number of Fortune 500 HQs, the film industry, the music, neighborhoods, the Lincoln Center, the opera, or what have you. All those things just bet lost in, "New York! What a GREAT college town!"</p>
<p>Look, define it any way you want. If you want to define a good college town as one of the world's great cities that happens to have a college or two in it, help yourself. I'll continue to define it as a place where the local college has a large impact on the local culture.</p>
<p>Besides, how can NYC possibly compete with Columbus, Ohio?</p>
<p>(Actually, this is a true story. An All-American linebacker named Brian Bosworth was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks. He was a bust as a pro football player, of course, but my favorite story about him is what he said to some local reporters. Paraphrased, what he said was, "I don't like Seattle very much. It's not a happening town like Norman.")</p>
<p>Boz was such a bust...(and a jerk)</p>
<p>To those suggesting Dallas is a great college town:</p>
<p>It's a WONDERFUL city to go to college in. But it's a city, first and foremost. It isn't defined by the college. That's not what a "college town" is. </p>
<p>Would I rank it as one of the top 5 places to go to college? Probably not (NYC, Boston, Chicago, Austin, and Charlottesville would probably be my top 5). But it would be in the top 15 for sure...and hey, it's good enough for me.</p>
<p>That being said, the top 5 "college towns" using the definition of college town as one that is defined by its college or colleges should be:</p>
<p>1) Boston
2) Charlottesville
3) Austin (still a college town...the radio stations still play the UT fight song at noon every day and UT is interwoven into the fabric of the city)
4) Ann Arbor
5) Fort Collins, CO</p>
<p>Los Angeles?! Too big and not intellectual enough.</p>
<p>Boston
Berkeley
Madison
Ann Arbor
Austin</p>
<p>if you like outdoor activities a lot I'd suggest Ithaca maight rank being on the list.</p>
<p>Worcester, Mass (1 hour west of Boston) the birthplace of candlepin bowling and the home of these fine academic institutions:
Anna Maria College, Assumption College, Atlantic Union College, Becker College, Clark University, College of the Holy Cross, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, Mass. College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, Nichols College, Quinsigamond Community College, UMass Medical School, Worcester State College, WPI
Homepage</a> | Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC)</p>
<p>I've been lurking on CC for months and finally felt moved enough by a thread to post (though the Sexiest Man Alive post came close; for the record, I'd go with George Clooney).</p>
<p>I've lived in Fort Worth (home to TCU), Dallas and Austin, and only Austin would be considered a college town. People from FW would be insulted you lumped them in with Dallas. : )</p>
<p>I don't know what's "best", but two good ones I'm personally familiar with are Ithaca, NY and Lawrence, Kansas,</p>
<p>Just some comments on some of the suggestions:</p>
<p>Boston -- Yes, there are a lot of colleges there, and many high-quality ones. Of the major US cities, I think this one comes closest to being a college town, but I don't think it really is. I've spent a fair amount of time in Boston/Cambridge and I think Boston is many things depending on what parts you visit. It's an insurance town, a seafood town, history/tourist town, blue collar manufacturing town (especially in the south part), convention town, and high tech town. </p>
<p>Austin -- Yeah. I guess I agree that the downtown area is still pretty close to a college town. Of course, other parts of Austin are a Dell town.</p>
<p>Fort Collins -- The Old Town area certainly feels very collegiate, with some upscale restaurants and student hang outs. But that's it. Ft. Collins is mostly an agricultural town. On nights when there's a high school football game in town, Ft. Collins is filled with cowboys riding in the backs of pickup trucks hootin' and hollerin' at the people on the street (especially the coeds). Outside of Old Town, much of Fort Collins is either strip malls or farm/ranch supply-type stores. I just don't see its being in the same league as Madison, Charlottesville, Boulder, et. al.</p>
<p>to be a college town, the town needs to revolve around the college. there is no way in hell that you can say new york city is a college town. is it a fun place to be? absolutely 100%. is it geared directly for college students? not unless you have a trust fund...</p>
<p>Tace77- I lived in Dallas for 28 years and just moved away a year ago!
I don't consider it a great college town because I think it is lacking in great colleges. I am NOT an SMU fan (sorry, folks) and UTD has to be the ugliest campus on earth. UNT and UD are not notable. Baylor is a good hour and a half away and Waco is a disgusting place.
I like Dallas a lot, but college town? NO.</p>
<p>Midmo- I agree that Nashville is not known as a college town, but it is such an awesome, fun city, and the Vandy area is so perfect with so much to do, that it ranks on MY list. Besides Vandy, I have gained a real appreciation for Belmont U and the area around it.</p>
<p>Some of you are listing the 5 best college towns and others are listing the 5 best cities in which to attend college. These are not the same concepts.</p>
<p>College towns are usually small to medium-sized towns that have their characters dominated and defined by the college. Examples: Davis, CA, Provo, UT, Princeton, NJ, etc. </p>
<p>Fun towns in which to go to college are usually big towns that have a lot of attractions, cultural opportunities, and fun things to do. Examples: Boston, New York City, Los Angeles, London.</p>
<p>Well said Coureur!</p>
<p>Athens, GA
Charlottsville, VA
Boulder, CO
Madison, WI
Ann Arbor, MI</p>
<p>Bloomington, IN
Athens, OH (OU)
Athens, GA
Ann Arbor
The town that Davidson College is in (North Carolina)
Just MY 5 faves...there are so many!</p>
<p>College</a> town - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</p>
<p>This link gives a pretty good list of American college towns.</p>
<p>^I agree with the wikipedia. Cambridge (MIT/Harvard) is a college town but Boston isn't.</p>
<p>CNL20:</p>
<p>Great link! A very good definition of college town, I thought. I can't say that I agree with all the towns listed in the US. I had considered Santa Cruz as a top college town but eventually discarded it because UCSC is so very separated from the town and isolated on its hill.</p>
<p>But that's arguable. Once again, great link! Thanks!</p>