I see more tattoos and colored hair in N-hampton than what I’d call yuppies, but there’s room for interpretation I guess.
@beepmamoop, have you looked at Agnes Scott? It’s in Decatur, a sort of hipster piece of outer Atlanta. It balances across big city/small town in many ways, plus they have a large endowment (read: lots of financial aid) and is featured in that “hidden gems” college handbook people are always referencing. Perhaps you’ve already looked into it, but I had to bring it up in case you hadn’t. My daughter ultimately decided she wanted a coed school, but I never expected to find myself rooting for a women’s college and I totally did, after our visit. It’s a beautiful campus with a dedicated and diverse student body, and a really exceptional vibe.
I only spent a weekend there (my father and brother went to UMass so I have been in the area before but this time I was really looking at it, judging it). My daughter was on a visit and I dropped her off and drove around to the other colleges (ate pizza in South Hadley, and I don’t think I saw one student on the little town square street, just locals). While the downtown of Amherst is small, it just seemed more alive than Northampton. I walked the streets of Northampton and since I’m not much of a shopper didn’t find it interesting. There were boutiques, coffee shops, jewelry stores, but nothing I needed. Lots of dogs and babies in strollers, the farmer’s market, but four years of that? Not for me.
I admit that the more colleges I looked at, the more I knew I (not my kids) would go stir crazy at the smaller ones in smaller towns. Even some of the schools that were a little bigger (Elon) were still in towns that were so small that I’d feel trapped.
I’m glad colleges and their towns come in all shapes and sizes.
I’ve never thought of N-hampton as yuppie either. It has a reputation as a lesbian Mecca and it has more head shops than wine bars.
From Wikipedia:
Northampton is known as an academic, artistic, musical, and countercultural hub. It features a large politically liberal community along with numerous alternative health and intellectual organizations.[13] Based on U.S. Census demographics, election returns, and other criteria, the website Epodunk rates Northampton as the most politically liberal medium-size city (population 25,000–99,000) in the United States.[14] The city has a high proportion of residents who identify as gay and lesbian[15][16] a high number of same-sex households,[17] and is a popular destination for the LGBT community.[18][19]
Fine. I just found nothing to do in Northampton. I was not charmed by the small town shops or walking around streets… Just didn’t like it.