<p>I'm partial to the Mediterranean climate of Palo Alto.</p>
<p>Definition of less than perfect weather: you need an air conditioner or you need a jacket or you can't ride a bike every day of the year. :)</p>
<p>
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The answer is Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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Hahahahahahaha. Provided you really like humidity. :p</p>
<p>I think Asheville and Boone, NC both have wonderful weather, as well as being great college towns.</p>
<p>Boulder, Colorado gets good sun and great ski weather.
Davis, the best college town in California, air could be better. Hot in summer, wet in winter. But only two hours to somewhere.
All or Oregon college towns, if you can repeat the mantra that its only liquid sunshine that keeps dampening your hair and clothes.</p>
<p>oops, left Dartmouth off my northern New England hit parade in post #13. It fits the bill, too.</p>
<p>As in what Momrath says - any weather that is basically the opposite of what you are used to. Asheville NC is about close to perfect in my book, but hey that's just me.
My daughter, who does not remember living anywhere except the Gulf Coast, says, upon seeing the trees in NH in Oct for the first time, "Mom, the trees really do look weird, do they always look like this in the fall?"</p>
<p>Regarding Santa Barbara weather, just remember how the locals tell winter from summer:</p>
<p>The days are shorter in the winter...</p>
<p>When I first moved to SB for grad school, I went apartment shopping. All the ones I could afford were without AC. They told me you didn't need it. Right. Ditto for indoor plumbing?? Truth is, they were right. And you barely needed heat in the coldest days of January, either.</p>
<p>After I left, folks would ask me how I ever got any work done with such nice weather. The answer was, yesterday was nice; today is nice; tomorrow will be nice; next week will be nice...</p>
<p>Add to the mix no mosquitoes, smog that stays south (actually east, but everyone thinks LA is south) and great beaches.</p>
<p>Agreeing with Pittheels - why haven't y'all named some mid-South schools? How about Charlottesville, VA? Warm weather, mild winters, clean air, some skiing in the winter... and the most beautiful place on the East Coast.</p>
<p>University of Hawaii at Manoa has some of the best weather you'll ever find, year round. Tuition is low, even for out-of-state. They also have some of the best departments in the world & great local food all over the island.</p>
<p>what about "good" (not slushy icy ridiculously cold) snow, pretty falls, warm springs, and hot summers?</p>
<p>and clean air</p>
<p>and UH Manoa has some of the WORSE dorms EVER.</p>
<p>Easiest job in the world: TV weatherman in San Diego. Every day you go on TV and say the same thing: "The forecast for tomorrow is for the weather to be just like today: Nice." Give that same forecast 365 days a year and you'll be right a very high percentage of the time.</p>
<p>Yes it is hard to say what is "good weather" as it differs depending what you like. I would imagine schools in CA and some other places as being beautiful weather if you like sunny and warm year round....like Santa Barbara or San Diego. </p>
<p>I happen to like the change of seasons but maybe cause I grew up in the East. I have to laugh at JMMom of her description of NE seasons. Here in Vermont, everyone says we have FIVE seasons, Fall, Winter, Mud Season, Spring, and Summer. </p>
<p>For clean air and not many natural disasters (blizzards maybe but they are not severe like other disasters as much inland), Vermont and other NE areas like NH or ME fit the bill. Very little humidity and no pollution or smog. Definitely beautiful scenery. </p>
<p>I think going to school in a place like Burlington, VT (UVM) can be pretty perfect and my kids remark that a lot but would not ever go there since they grew up in Vermont and wanted to try something else. But there you have the change of seasons, the nearby great outdoors of Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains, all the outdoor activities, beauty, and a great small "city" with lots to do for young people and all accessible by foot as it is small. If you hate the cold, that is a different story.<br>
Susan</p>
<p>Add to the mix no mosquitoes, smog that stays south (actually east, but everyone thinks LA is south) and great beaches.</p>
<p>Heh, it still trips me up when I see the sun not setting directly under the water's horizon. After living in San Francisco so long where the coast is almost exactly towards the west, I can't break the habit of thinking coast=automatically west around here.</p>
<p>I would say Sewanee, TN is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and the air is wonderful. The Cumberland Plateau is about 1000 feet above the valley and temps are always about 7 or 8 degrees cooler.</p>