<p>Another vote for Charlottesville. D attended UVA so I’ve spent a lot of time there.</p>
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<p>Hey, I didn’t say anything against UCSB, only that Isla Vista and not Santa Barbara is the college town associated with it. Which is something I learned from UCSB alums (perhaps even including Newmassdad) on an earlier thread about the school. UCSB partisans can’t have it both ways; either UCSB is located in Santa Barbara or it’s not.</p>
<p>Reply to Questbest, # 33:</p>
<p>U of Delaware is in Newark, De
Hubby went there and it was right for him, a quiet engineer from near there. When we go back and hang out there I find it dullsville. People from the suburbs tend to like it. It isn’t artsy or cultural in any way, but is a pleasant, non-stressful, supportive little college town.</p>
<p>Ithaca, ny!!</p>
<p>Burlington Vermont! Walking distance from University of Vermont, great shops, restaurants, and beautiful town atmosphere on Lake Champlain.</p>
<p>A second vote for New Paltz, NY. Great funky, artsy little college town - totally geared toward students. Tons of reasonably priced ethnic restuarants, 2 art stores and shops that attract young people…everything from mountain climbers to hippies to trend setters all with musicians playing in the doorways on nice days. Local bars also cater to the student population. Beautiful views of mountains in the background.</p>
<p>Son attends school, so have spent many weekends eating and shopping here.</p>
<p>LilyMoon,</p>
<p>How about a thread for “Great College Towns for Parents”?</p>
<p>When we were looking at colleges a few years back, I finally realized that these kids can be happy anywhere. After all, even the worst college town is better than four more years at home with parents! After all, they all have bars near campus and cheap take out. But we parents? Think about where you’d like to visit. New Haven? No way. Take Yale off the list. Princeton? Maybe, maybe not. Ithaca? Yes, yes, but only in Spring summer and fall, unless Moosewood has a special package. Continuing this line of thought, maybe we should have paid more attention to colleges in Florida. Their academics aren’t always at an elite level, but those wintertime visits make up for it. :)</p>
<p>Just a thought.</p>
<p>Great college towns ( a few that I can think of right now):
Iowa City, IA
Madison, WI
Ann Arbor, MI
Chapell Hill, NC
Boston, MA
Itcha, Ny
State College, PA
Boulder, CO</p>
<p>Like the way you think newmassdad!</p>
<p>LilyMOon, when we visited New Paltz this summer my first thought about the town was that I could like visiting her there since there were good restaurants, hiking and scenery around!</p>
<p>Amherst/Northampton, MA in the Pioneer Valley are great college towns. The area contains Amherst College, Mount Holyoke, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass- Amherst, making the area perfectly designed for college students. In addition to having a wide variety of college students in the area (great for socializing), the towns are set up with various restaurants, and unique hole-in-the-wall shops. Plus, a lot of hiking trails are nearby, so it’s a great area where you can get a semi-urban feel while also getting a dose of nature. Not to mention, the leaves changing in fall is absolutely gorgeous. If the Pioneer Valley ever begins to feel too insulated, fairly inexpensive buses travel from Amherst to Boston, meaning that a weekend adventure to a bigger city is very accessible.</p>
<p>Ann Arbor, Michigan</p>
<p>Ann Arbor’s a definite college town, but East Lansing, MI is up there as well. Super-friendly atmosphere, loads of shops nearby - the town is largely populated by students with nice concert venues, decent bars and quite a few shopping centers nearby.</p>
<p>newmassdad - Good idea! Definitely need to take parental visiting into consideration when making the college decision! LOL My S started at UMiami and we loved visiting there, but after 2 1/2 years, we (or should I say I, since dh is totally missing FL) like the change to New Paltz. I love the quirkiness of the town and the close proximity…only a 2 hour drive for us. My favorite store is The Groovy Blueberry. DH has to drag me out of there every time. ;)</p>
<p>holliesue - the restaurants are great, so many to choose from. Mohonk Mountain House is a great place to spend some time in spring or winter. They have an incredible lake up at the top of the mountain where you can go boating, swimming or just sit on the porch in rocking chairs drinking tea. It’s really beautiful up there, it’s got its own special charm.</p>
<p>LillyMoon,</p>
<p>Our daughter is currently at Oxford (UK). Now that’s a great place for a parent to visit, although the trip is a bit long. </p>
<p>Maybe we should expand the college town list? I nominate Oxford, UK. Good pubs, good shopping on High Street, easy access to London for entertainment…a town “perfectly designed for college students”, where they’ve worked on the design for about 600 (700?) years…</p>
<p>newmassdad- you got us beat…wish I could be visiting son in the UK. Is she there for all of undergrad or a semester study abroad?</p>
<p>LilyMoon, </p>
<p>neither. She’s finishing up a two year masters. We visited last April and had a great time - less rain there than back in the US.</p>
<p>I visited our son in London last October. It rained only once and was, otherwise, lovely and not crowded. (I think I got lucky on the rain, but October is a great time to avoid the crowds.)</p>
<p>Madison, WI
~ 44,000 grad/undergrad students going to school at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The capital building is absolutely gorgeous day and night, and there’s a hub of cultural activity throughout the year. It’s also the only school in the nation located an isthmus.</p>
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<p>I agree with fa-la-la-lena, considering I only live about 10 minutes away from East Lansing. Everytime I’ve been through the area its very vibrant, the only thing about East Lansing is that virtually everything you can think of is on a strip ( one single street), almost gives the feeling of being a tourist somewhere and frighten to branch to other streets… I think the strip definately enhances the downtown being vibrant but lacks characteristics other college towns have.</p>