<p>yeah right, most of the student activity is on the weekends in Ithaca!!! What are you thinking??</p>
<p>"Ithica, NY(which is a great town b/c the ithica college kids rock... not the cornell kids)"</p>
<p>Cornell kids spell the name of the town correctly.</p>
<p>another vote for Athens, GA here...</p>
<p>Ann Arbor, Michigan</p>
<p>Austin, TX</p>
<p>Charlottesville...cutest, most beautiful place ever.</p>
<p>University of Nebraska Lincoln.</p>
<p>Lincoln is a fairly sizable city (230,000+), but the location of City campus, basically taking up the northside of the downtown area means that Lincoln's downtown district is full of busy restaurants, bars, and coffeehouses within 4 blocks. The Haymarket district is a little bit farther walk, (9 blocks west), but also has a ton of unique restaurants, more coffeehouses, and lots of locally own shops. But the size also means that people living there not tied to the University don't necessarily feel like they are stuck in a "college town" and that the sidewalks don't roll up the second week of May after most students go home. It also means two malls (one great, one improving), a number of jobs post-grad that are actually good, and that Chile's is NOT an "upscale" place for a date.</p>
<p>Blobof - is Hamilton really that bad? Wait, are you talking about the town of Hamilton (w/ Colgate) or Hamilton College?</p>
<p>I asked about the town of Hamilton on the Colgate board and nobody replied...I kinda wanted to know more about it.</p>
<p>Eh... Perhaps you shouldn't solely base your college decision on its surrounding town?</p>
<p>I second Madison, Wisconsin. State Street is completely closed off to traffic and there is tons to do. From quirky, hippy-esque coffee houses and shops to bars, restaurants, and mainstream retail. It is alot of fun and there is plenty to do. It really does take a place like Evanston or Ann Arbor off the map.</p>
<p>I actually don't like Ithaca very much, there's nothing to do outside the college parties/events (and we're talking about best towns so that should be taken out of the equation), nothing is actually provided by the town. That's like calling Lexington, VA a nice college town. There's always something to do but if you took away the colleges and the events they (and the things that come with them specifically fraternitties) provide, it would be nothing but a quaint old town with a lot of history.</p>
<p>I think Charlottesville's okay, I live only 60 miles from it, but I don't think it ranks up there with the likes of Providence and Athens.</p>
<p>"quaint old town with a lot of history"</p>
<p>Doesn't that sound like what the OP was asking for? At least, they wanted quaint...</p>
<p>
[quote]
Blobof - is Hamilton really that bad? Wait, are you talking about the town of Hamilton (w/ Colgate) or Hamilton College?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I meant Hamilton, Ontario (where McMaster University is). In fact, pretty much all of Ontario is bad (as in boring)...</p>
<p>Colleges that have nice college towns: Indiana U, Uof Iowa, Michigan, Williams, Virginia, Dartmouth, Princeton, Bowdoin, Wisconsin, Colorado, Vermont, Kentucky, St. John's (New Mexico), Berkeley (though I did see a guy pull a switchblade out of his sock and threaten a pizza parlor clerk once on Telegraph Ave.). </p>
<p>Least college-type town: tie...University of Detroit-Mercy, UNLV, Notre Dame, Clark U, Illinois Institute of Technology, Catholic U., Rutgers-Newark, Framingham State College.</p>
<p>Cornell may not have the best college town by some of your definitions, but it has exactly what the OP wants.</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa, AL. The mall sucks, though.</p>
<p>State College, PA</p>
<p>State College, PA seconded :)</p>
<p>amherst is an amazing area! i visited my friend at amherst college once, and amherst seemed really awesome - lots of quirky, funky shops; good restaurants; and an overall "college" vibe.</p>
<p>Boulder's really nice.</p>
<p>Easy-</p>
<p>Austin TX
Madison WI
Ann Arbor MI</p>