What are the most quintessential college towns?
I live in Michigan and the University of Michigan is currently my top choice. Ann Arbor is considered to be one of the best college towns. I want the quintessential college experience that Michigan offers, and part of that is the college town atmosphere. What college towns are similar to Ann Arbor?
Ann Arbor is absolutely awesome! Ithaca and Charlottesville would be on my list too.
I second Ithaca.
Haven’t been to Ann Arbor but Burlington VT is a fabulous college town and is home to UVM and the smaller Champlain College and St. Michaels
@momof2boys65 Do you know if Burlington is close to good skiing? Also, what are UVM’s academic strong-suits?
How are the other Big10 college towns?
Madison Wisconsin is great I hear
Lots of skiing near Burlington! It is a very big thing there. UVM has a great Liberal Arts School and Business school. I believe they are also known for their nursing school. Environmental studies is a big major. They also have a medical school which is well regarded.
Madison, WI. Charlottesville, VA. Burlington, VT.
UNC Chapel Hill is great town. 10 minute walk is Carrboro where you will find lots of outdoor cafes and music venues. Tons of college kids hand out there.
Amherst. Five colleges in the area and town supporting it.
Boulder, Madison, Cville, Eugene
Bloomington, Indiana!
Lots of folks like Happy Valley (psu).
I loved the way Carlisle and Dickinson blended.
Personal favorites Williamsburg (William and Mary), Chapel Hill, Asheville (UNC-Asheville), Flagstaff (Northern Arizona University), and Burlington (UVM and others). If UVM sounds interesting, Burlington really is a great town to visit. Church Street is pedestrian with restaurants and bars, about 10-15 minute walk to campus, and sunset over Lake Champlain, with the Adirondacks across the water, can be spectacular.
It was funny. I would not have thought of Lawrence, Kansas (University of Kansas), but just heard glowing things about it from three different sources at about the same time a few months ago.
We loved Ann Arbor too.
Lawrence, KS is a GREAT college town – great music scene, craft beers, restaurants.
Iowa City
Yep, Iowa City, hands down.
Ann Arbor was our favorite a tough one to beat!!! We visited Cornell and stayed in Ithaca and we now call it “Icky-ca”! There were pan handlers all over the place and we didn’t think it felt safe. Cornell campus was beautiful with Ithaca was no comparison to Ann Arbor.
Ames, Iowa
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Athens, Georgia
Auburn, Alabama
Austin, Texas (perhaps too large to be considered a college town)
Bloomington, Indiana
Boulder, Colorado
Burlington, Vermont
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Charlottesville, Virginia
Columbia, Missouri
Fort Collins, Colorado
Gainesville, Florida
Iowa City, Iowa
Ithaca, New York
Lawrence, Kansas
Madison, Wisconsin
Manhattan, Kansas
I am sure I am missing several others, but those are the ones that I have visited and loved.
Boston is the college city
Good way to put it. Boston is a college City. I grew up outside of Boston and went to school in Ann Arbor.
There is no single university that has the feel of Ann Arbor in Cambridge or Boston. There are too many other things going on including congestion everywhere.
Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan on the other hand are seamlessly integrated. The city and university are almost interchangible. And there is nothing in Boston that is like a football Saturday in Ann Arbor where everyone is wearing Maize and Blue and walking in a giant parade down to the stadium.