<p>Boston, including its nearby suroundings such as Cambridge and Medford, is the best college area(since no one wants to call it a "college town").</p>
<p>Harvard
MIT
Tufts
Boston College
Boston University
Northeastern University
ETC.........</p>
<p>Berkeley, CA</p>
<p>cambridge and boston are practically synonymous. they are across the river from eachother...</p>
<p>Tigers Rule, I love Lexington, VA too! I know some people complain about its smallness, but I love its charm. </p>
<p>I wouldn't put it tops on my list (I'd vote for Charlottesville and Ann Arbor) but I love seeing Lexington mentioned. Big bonus is any visit when you see the VeeMees in their winter coats. <em>swoon</em></p>
<p>Sunset magazine did an article on this many years ago. Probably should be looked at as best college towns in the west. Their definition: Here's the minimum a great college town must possess: One coffeehouse with espresso strong enough to make you consider a pacemaker. One athletic team high-powered enough to make the playoffs, or lousy enough to be endearing. One mountain bike shop, one chamber music series, one alternative nightclub populated by threateningly coiffed people in torn T-shirts. One leafy nook where, beneath a marble bust of the college's founder, you can read Shelley to your beloved. And terrible parking.
UC BOULDER, CO
CAL STATE, CHICO
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON, EUGENE
CLAREMONT COLLEGES
UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS, AUSTIN</p>
<p>^^^^^</p>
<p>By these criteria U of Arizona should make the cut.</p>
<p>Boston
Cambridge, Mass.
Chapel Hill
Winter Park, Fla.
New York</p>
<p>As you can see, my idea of "good college town" ranges from large cities to small, scenic places that have lots going on nearby.All of the above have in common that there are lots of young people in the area, and lots of activities (including some low cost ones) that young people would enjoy.</p>
<p>Princeton, Palo Alto and Claremont are wealthy communities and not "college towns".
I also don't think Cambridge, MA is a college town. Harvard Square is a tourist destination and shopping area for outsiders. Most tour groups on the Harvard campus, in my recent experience, are from tour buses. Also, the number of graduate and professional school students outnumber undergrads 2-1, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are more Harvard employees than undergraduate students.
Not a college town by my definition- oriented to undergraduates with plenty of options in their price range.</p>
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I also don't think Cambridge, MA is a college town. Harvard Square is a tourist destination and shopping area for outsiders.
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</p>
<p>I agree that Harvard Square is rather upscale - something like a mini Palo Alto.</p>
<p>But Central Square IS very much a quintessential college town. Lots of cheap food, plenty of bars and clubs, lots of students hanging around.</p>
<p>Davis Square (which is technically in Somerville, but is right on the border of Cambridge and is right on the Red Line) is also an excellent student hangout, being near Tufts and is a hipper version of Central Square.</p>
<p>1.) Athens, Oh...Ohio University...by far one of the best</p>
<p>2.) Bloomington, IN....Indiana U....bigger than Athens...</p>
<p>3.) Columbus, Oh, OSU...buckeyes</p>
<p>4.) Madison, WI....Badgers..great town for having too much fun.</p>
<p>5.).....anywhere but Ann Arbor...(Go Bucks)</p>
<p>Definitely Burligton, VT</p>
<p>^Agreed, except in January-February, and maybe March, and perhaps April. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!</p>
<p>Gainesville, Florida. </p>
<p>And Amherst/Northampton, MA.</p>
<p>ann arbor, madison</p>
<p>Boston, MA
Ann Arbor, MI
Seattle, WA
Berkeley/San Francisco, CA</p>
<p>Uhhhhh.
Austin, TX? It sounds interesting and very arty. </p>
<p>Worst:
Tempe, Arizona (All of the bars and restaurants close after dark. Yes, seriously.)</p>
<p>Evanston, IL!!!</p>
<p>There are numerous colleges in San Francisco, but it's not a college town, for the same reasons that New York City and Dallas are not college towns. San Francisco is a great city, and I enjoyed living there for many years without, as far as I can recall, ever setting foot in a student haunt. (I admittedly spent virtually no time in the neighborhood of San Francisco State.)</p>
<p>I've been an impoverished student in Palo Alto, Berkeley, and Ithaca. You can argue that Palo Alto is a great town, and you can argue that it's a college town, but it's hard to make the argument that it's a great college town. Its student haunts are widely dispersed, and unimpressive. It's a great town for moneyed professionals, however.</p>
<p>Berkeley's a better college town by far. There are entire neighborhoods on the the north side and south side of campus with interesting and affordable establishments that cater to students.</p>
<p>Ithaca rates very high as a college town, for its size. There are several square blocks of student-oriented businesses right outside the Cornell campus.</p>
<p>I've visited Ann Arbor, Austin, and Champagne-Urbana, and was impressed with each of them as college towns. I suspect that most large state universities in smallish cities rate pretty highly as college towns.</p>
<p>Well, I think part of what makes Berkeley such a great college town is its accessibility to San Fransisco. That's kind of why I included it even though the two are very distinct.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor, MI
Athens, GA
Austin TX
Bloomington, IN
Boulder, CO
Burlington, VT
Berkeley, CA
Cambridge, MA
Chapel Hill, NC
Charlottesville, VA
Evanston, IL
Gainesville, FL
Iowa City, IA
Madison, WI
Providence, RI</p>
<p>Furthermore, although technically not "towns", several major cities have a college feel. Boston and DC are two such cities.</p>
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I think part of what makes Berkeley such a great college town is its accessibility to San Fransisco.
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</p>
<p>I second that. Even though the college town itself is pretty vibrant, it gets old by itself quickly. Having a major city nearby definitely helps. Same for Evanston's accessbility to Chicago.</p>