The Best College Towns!

College Life
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<ul>
<li><p>Providence, RI (Brown U., RISD) Providence is another one of those great small cities that has undergone a lot of redevelopment. It is relatively inexpensive, lots of stores to choose from, and vibrant city life (the WaterFire festival in the summer is unbelievable). Brown also has its own nice college neighborhood just north of the campus. </p>

<ul>
<li>Evanston, IL (Northwestern U.) its a relatively safe college town because it is just far enough from the center of the Chicago hustle and bustle, but it is also not hard to get into the city via the CTA or the Metra train. It is slightly more spread out than most comparable college towns, so a bike is key. </li>
<li>Ann Arbor, MI (U. of Michigan)</li>
<li>Palo Alto, CA ([adjacent to Stanford, CA] Stanford U.) Palo Alto is expensive and very trendy, but there are plenty of places that cater to college students. There are many small cafes and shops of all kinds in the city center. The only problem is that it is a hike from the center of Stanford's Campus, but there is a shuttle bus that takes students back and forth from town.</li>
<li>Philadelphia, PA (U. of Pennsylvania, Drexel, Temple) the areas where the schools stand are not great or aesthetically pleasing, but Philadelphia is an exceptionally beautiful and easily navigable place with lots to do for a medium-sized city). </li>
<li>Princeton, NJ (Princeton U, Rider U, Westminster Choir), although on the expensive side, this historic town is small but vibrant, has lots of great stores, and is exceptionally college student friendly. The post office goes out of its way to accommodate Princeton students. Its also easy to get to NYC and Philadelphia, as the train station is right on campus. </li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

<p>I believe someone mentioned Bloomington, IN for IU? An excellent choice, great trendy college town. </p>

<p>And, of course, the usual suspects:</p>

<p>Cambridge, MA (Harvard, MIT)
Berkeley, CA (UC-Berkeley)
Morningside, New York, NY (Columbia)
Washington Sq. Park, New York, NY (New York University)
Chapel Hill, NC (UNC-Chapel Hill)
Austin, TX (UT-Austin)</p>

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<p>Oh, and for those who said Ithaca...I hope you like cold, rainy and isolated.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Have to be FSU and Tallahassee.</p>

<p>Gainesville? You're kidding...Gainesville is Starke, FL with a university in the middle. Rednecks and driving to Jax or Tampa.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You joke about Gainesville, but mention Tallahassee the sentence before!? You got some nerve.</p>

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<p>Way too much East Coast bias here....</p>

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<p>Hey GatorEng, it's not on your best interest to start comparing Gainesville to Tallahassee. Tallahassee is the state capital and full of history. Gainesville used to be named Hogtown(true fact) and has a place called The Swamp. Don't get me wrong, I think Gainesville is a cool college town and I had many good times there, but those two towns are very different.</p>

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<p>college park?</p>

<p>where they chop cars? ;)</p>

<p>haha whoever said college park, i hope you were kiddin</p>

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<p>i saw a ranking somewhere that had Boston, Twin Cities, Seattle, Austin, Atlanta for big cities. Then theres Boulder, Berkeley, Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill.....etc. I really don't think NYC is a great college city.</p>

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<p>knoxville TN
Gtown, GW and AU in Wash DC
BC, BU , NU Boston MA</p>

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<p>to represent CA among all you east-coasters, i reiterate...</p>

<p>WESTWOOD!!! :D
so much to see, do, eat... so many things nearby (beach, hollywood, downtown LA, getty center)
and you can't beat the gorgeous weather! (march, and it's 80 degrees outside!)</p>

<p>followed by San Luis Obispo (not really walking distance, but beautiful!)
and Santa Barbara. can't beat state street. except with the above two xD</p>

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<p>East Lansing
Ann Arbor
Chapel Hill
Cambridge</p>

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<p>I live in Northampton and I'd say Amherst is alright. Northampton is better of course but Amherst has some nice shops and food places and a great vibe.</p>

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<p>Don't forget the 2nd largest campus in the US--University of Minnesota(Twin Cities) Minneapolis Campus!</p>

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<p>i didn't forget, i think i'm like one of the few who mentioned Twin Cities. It's just so damn cold though.</p>

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<p>yall forgot about pittsburgh</p>

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<p>Are u kidding Tallahassee is the pits. Gainesville is where its at. The only things in tally are Pawn SHops and Liquor stores.</p>

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<p>New Orleans :)</p>

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<p>Lawrence, KS
Manhattan, KS (also on the list of best places to retire young)</p>

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<p>If its not on the list, its not a college town!
* Allendale, Michigan (Grand Valley State University)
* Ames, Iowa (Iowa State University)
* Amherst, Massachusetts (Amherst College, Hampshire College, and University of Massachusetts Amherst)
* Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan, Cleary University, and Concordia University)
* Arcata, California (Humboldt State University)
* Ashland, Oregon (Southern Oregon University)
* Athens, Georgia (University of Georgia)
* Athens, Ohio (Ohio University)
* Auburn, Alabama (Auburn University)
* Austin, Texas (The University of Texas at Austin)
* Bellingham, Washington (Western Washington University)
* Berkeley, California (University of California, Berkeley)
* Blacksburg, Virginia (Virginia Tech)
* Bloomington-Normal, Illinois (Illinois State University and Illinois Wesleyan University)
* Bloomington, Indiana (Indiana University)
* Boone, North Carolina (Appalachian State University)
* Boston, Massachusetts (Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, Suffolk University, Emerson College, Simmons College, Emmanuel College, Wheelock College, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Berklee College of Music, MassArt, University of Massachusetts Boston)
* Boulder, Colorado (University of Colorado at Boulder)
* Bowling Green, Kentucky (Western Kentucky University)
* Bowling Green, Ohio (Bowling Green State University)
* Bozeman, Montana (Montana State University)
* Brookings, South Dakota (South Dakota State University)
* Burlington, Vermont (University of Vermont)
* Cambridge, Massachusetts (Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
* Carlisle, Pennsylvania (Dickinson College, Penn State Dickinson School of Law, and the U.S. Army War College)
* Carbondale, Illinois (Southern Illinois University)
* Cazenovia, New York (Cazenovia College)
* Champaign-Urbana, Illinois (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
* Chapel Hill, North Carolina (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
* Charleston, Illinois (Eastern Illinois University)
* Charlottesville, Virginia (University of Virginia)
* Cheney, Washington (Eastern Washington University)
* Chico, California (California State University, Chico)
* Claremont, California (Claremont Colleges are a consortium of seven schools of higher education)
* Clemson, South Carolina (Clemson University)
* College Park, Maryland (University of Maryland, College Park)
* College Station, Texas (Texas A&M University)
* Columbia, Missouri (University of Missouri, Stephens College, and Columbia College)
* Commerce, Texas (Texas A&M University-Commerce)
* Conway, Arkansas (University of Central Arkansas, Hendrix College, and Central Baptist College)
* Cookeville, Tennessee (Tennessee Technological University)
* Corvallis, Oregon (Oregon State University)
* Cullowhee, North Carolina (Western Carolina University)
* Davidson, North Carolina (Davidson College)
* Davis, California (University of California, Davis)
* DeKalb, Illinois (Northern Illinois University)
* Denton, Texas (University of North Texas and Texas Women's University)
* Durham, New Hampshire (University of New Hampshire)
* East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State University and Davenport University)
* Edwardsville, Illinois (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville)
* Ellensburg, Washington (Central Washington University)
* Elon, North Carolina (Elon University)
* Eugene, Oregon (University of Oregon)
* Farmville, Virginia (Hampden-Sydney College and Longwood University)
* Fayetteville, Arkansas (University of Arkansas)
* Flagstaff, Arizona (Northern Arizona University)
* Fort Collins, Colorado (Colorado State University)
* Gainesville, Florida (University of Florida)
* Grand Forks, North Dakota (University of North Dakota)
* Greenville, North Carolina (East Carolina University)
* Grinnell, Iowa (Grinnell College)
* Hamilton, New York (Colgate University)
* Hanover, New Hampshire (Dartmouth College)
* Harrisonburg, Virginia (James Madison University)
* Hattiesburg, Mississippi (University of Southern Mississippi)
* Huntington, West Virginia (Marshall University)
* Huntsville, Texas (Sam Houston State University)
* Iowa City, Iowa (University of Iowa)
* Isla Vista, California (University of California, Santa Barbara)
* Ithaca, New York (Cornell University and Ithaca College)
* Jonesboro, Arkansas (Arkansas State University)
* Kalamazoo, Michigan (Western Michigan University, Davenport University, and Kalamazoo College)
* Kent, Ohio (Kent State University)
* Kirksville, Missouri (Truman State University and A.T. Still University)
* La Crosse, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin - La Crosse), (Viterbo University), and (Western Technical College)
* Laramie, Wyoming (University of Wyoming)
* Lawrence, Kansas (University of Kansas)
* Lewisburg, Pennsylvania (Bucknell University)
* Lexington, Kentucky (University of Kentucky), (Transylvania University)
* Lexington, Virginia (Washington and Lee University)
* Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
* Logan, Utah (Utah State University)
* Lubbock, Texas (Texas Tech University)
* Macomb, Illinois (Western Illinois University)
* Madison, Wisconsin (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
* Manhattan, Kansas (Kansas State University)
* Mankato, Minnesota (Minnesota State University, Mankato)
* Marquette, Michigan (Northern Michigan University)
* Middletown, Connecticut (Wesleyan University)
* Missoula, Montana (University of Montana)
* Monmouth, Oregon (Western Oregon University)
* Morgantown, West Virginia (West Virginia University)
* Moscow, Idaho (University of Idaho)
* Mt. Pleasant, Michigan (Central Michigan University)
* Muncie, Indiana (Ball State University)
* Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Middle Tennessee State University)
* Murray, Kentucky (Murray State University)
* New Brunswick, New Jersey (Rutgers University)
* New Haven, Connecticut (Yale University, Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus College, Gateway Community College, Paier School of Art, University of New Haven, Quinnipiac University and nearby Wesleyan University)
* Newark, Delaware (University of Delaware)
* Newton, Massachusetts (Boston College) - Half the campus of B.C. is situated in the Chestnut Hill village in Newton, with the other half in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston.
* Norman, Oklahoma (University of Oklahoma)
* Northfield, Minnesota (Saint Olaf College and Carleton College)
* Northampton, Massachusetts (Smith College and other nearby members of the Five Colleges)
* Notre Dame, Indiana (University of Notre Dame)
* Oberlin, Ohio (Oberlin College)
* Oneonta, New York (Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta)
* Orono, Maine (University of Maine)
* Oxford, Mississippi (University of Mississippi)
* Oxford, Ohio (Miami University)
* Palo Alto, California (Stanford University)
* Potsdam, New York (SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University)
* Princeton, New Jersey (Princeton University)
* Pullman, Washington (Washington State University)
* Radford, Virginia (Radford University)
* Radnor Township, Pennsylvania (Villanova University)
* Richmond, Kentucky (Eastern Kentucky University)
* San Luis Obispo, California (California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo))
* San Marcos, Texas (Texas State University-San Marcos))
* Santa Cruz, California (University of California, Santa Cruz))
* Socorro, New Mexico (New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology))
* Stanford, California (Stanford University)
* Starkville, Mississippi (Mississippi State University)
* State College, Pennsylvania (Penn State)
* Statesboro, Georgia (Georgia Southern University)
* Stillwater, Oklahoma (Oklahoma State University)
* Storrs, Connecticut (University of Connecticut)
* Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State University, Florida A&M University)
* Tempe, Arizona, (Arizona State University)
* Terre Haute, Indiana (Indiana State University)
* Tuscaloosa, Alabama (University of Alabama)
* Vermillion, South Dakota (University of South Dakota)
* West Lafayette, Indiana (Purdue University)
* West Long Branch, New Jersey (Monmouth University)
* Williamstown, Massachusetts (Williams College)
* Wilmington, North Carolina (University of North Carolina, Wilmington)
* Wooster, Ohio (The College of Wooster)
* Yellow Springs, Ohio (Antioch College)
* Ypsilanti, Michigan (Eastern Michigan University)</p>

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<p>good list ;)</p>

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<p>Anyone who has anything positive to say about Athens, Georgia has obviously never been there. Gross. Gross gross gross. Granted, that's because gross UGA students puke all over the place and just make it dirty. It has some cool shops and such. If UGA wasn't there, it would be a nice town.</p>