# College towns across North America.



## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

I've always been interested in college / university town in North America whether it is located in a small town or a large city.

Especially commercial areas near a major university where you have nice eating places, shopping streets and cinemas. And the atmosphere is vibrant even at night.

One perfect example of such is *Westwood Village* in Los Angeles right beside UCLA.










How about in your town?


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## WeimieLvr (May 26, 2008)

I love the towns that are built around a major campus...a couple of my favorites:

Chapel Hill NC, University of North Carolina
Athens GA, University of Georgia
Charlottesville VA, University of Virginia
Boone NC, Appalachian State University
Ithaca NY, Cornell University


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## El Mariachi (Nov 1, 2007)

- edit


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

I'm about to move to a college town for college! 


*Starkville, Mississippi* College town of Mississippi State University!

Note: It looks like most these pictures were taken in the summertime. During the school year Starkville is bustling!

Downtown 


Downtown Starkville by jbparker, on Flickr

Cotton District


The Cotton District by NatalieMaynor, on Flickr


Cotton District by NatalieMaynor, on Flickr

Always lots of things happening in Starkville


Cotton District Arts Festival by NatalieMaynor, on Flickr


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## dustinn1 (Jul 7, 2012)

WeimieLvr said:


> I love the towns that are built around a major campus...a couple of my favorites:
> 
> Chapel Hill NC, University of North Carolina
> Athens GA, University of Georgia
> ...



You have the "PERFECT LIST"

I love Charlottesville and consider it as the best city for any student..


Cohiba Siglo VI


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## -Corey- (Jul 8, 2005)

University City is the college town of University of California, San Diego.


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

WeimieLvr said:


> I love the towns that are built around a major campus...a couple of my favorites:
> 
> Chapel Hill NC, University of North Carolina
> Athens GA, University of Georgia
> ...


fixed.


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## WeimieLvr (May 26, 2008)

musiccity said:


> fixed.


I don't know much about Starkville, but it looks nice.


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## OtAkAw (Aug 5, 2004)

If I were an American kid I think I would prefer the location of Columbia (in a major city) as opposed to a university located in a town. The latter is probably going to bore me to tears. What's the case with American students?


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

Don't let the size of college towns fool you. A town like Starkville with a population of 25,000 is significantly more entertaining and has a better night life than many American cities. College towns are crazy!


Madison, WI is one of the craziest cities you'll ever come across!


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## weava (Sep 8, 2007)

OtAkAw said:


> If I were an American kid I think I would prefer the location of Columbia (in a major city) as opposed to a university located in a town. The latter is probably going to bore me to tears. What's the case with American students?


I would chose a college town over a big city

The cost of living is much cheaper than the big cities. The bar scene in college towns is for the college students, the drinks are cheaper than in big cities and are more exciting I think. You are in a special atmosphere, the whole town roots for the local college sports teams. You might not get the concerts/pro sports/etc of a big city but you can go to a city on a weekend to see that stuff. A college town has a special vibe and college kids like to party so college towns are more fun than a big city for a young single person IMO.

A perfect example of a college town is Lawrence KS(U. of Kansas), Its a town of only of 100,000 but its only a 45 minute drive from Kansas City(2+ Million) so they are close enough to the big city but get the atmposhere of a college town


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

musiccity said:


> Don't let the size of college towns fool you. A town like Starkville with a population of 25,000 is significantly more entertaining and has a better night life than many American cities. College towns are crazy!
> 
> 
> Madison, WI is one of the craziest cities you'll ever come across!


Nightlife and vibrancy, yes!

Rode The Caltrain from San Jose to San Francisco and the train passed through Palo Alto where Stanford is located. Place is vibrant compared to most suburban areas within SF's peninsula.


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## city_thing (May 25, 2006)

Is this thread only limited to North American cities, or can college/univisity towns from Australia/Canada/Britain/Europe/Asia etc. post too?

Britain has some stunning university towns like Oxford, Cambridge, Durham etc.

Australia has the Australian National University (arguably the most prestigious in the country) as well as military/diplomatic/intelligence centres located in Canberra. Germany has Heidelberg etc. etc.


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## nomarandlee (Sep 24, 2005)

OtAkAw said:


> If I were an American kid I think I would prefer the location of Columbia (in a major city) as opposed to a university located in a town. The latter is probably going to bore me to tears. What's the case with American students?


It depends but I think I would rather go to a mid-size city/town that the college dominates rather then a college in a major city. 

As has already been pointed out the bars in small or mid-size towns often cater to the college crowd (are more lenient with ID's etc.) The bars are almost exclusivey filled with people under 25 which if you are of that age is kind of nice. It filters out the older riff-raff. :colgate: Usually large sections of a college town are essentially cordoned off for college residents which makes for great walking to house parties on weekends etc.


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## musiccity (Jan 5, 2011)

city_thing said:


> Is this thread only limited to North American cities, or can college/univisity towns from Australia/Canada/Britain/Europe/Asia etc. post too?
> 
> Britain has some stunning university towns like Oxford, Cambridge, Durham etc.
> 
> Australia has the Australian National University (arguably the most prestigious in the country) as well as military/diplomatic/intelligence centres located in Canberra. Germany has Heidelberg etc. etc.


Just North America. College towns are most prevelant across the US anyways.


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## goonsta (Sep 11, 2002)

College towns have great nightlife if you're 18-24....after that you start to feel too old, or you look all creepy. 

But for that age range (well, at least to 21), they're great. Like someone else said, they cater to that demographic. There's always stuff going on, the nightlife doesn't account for the house parties either. If anything, its the biggest distraction from school. 

One thing I will say though, if you don't have patience for that kind of frat-boy, binge drinking nightlife, its NOT for you. Thats pretty much the only type of nightlife there is. Go to a large city with a college in it.


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## SydneyCity (Nov 14, 2010)

city_thing said:


> Australia has the Australian National University (arguably the most prestigious in the country) as well as military/diplomatic/intelligence centres located in Canberra. Germany has Heidelberg etc. etc.


We also have a few regional towns and cities that could be considered 'college towns'. Armidale, Bathurst and Ballarat spring to mind.


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## Copperknickers (May 15, 2011)

The UK has hundreds of college towns, in the sense of towns where the university is disproportionately large compared to the size of the town. St Andrews is the best example: it would be a small village without the Uni, it is entirely centred around it and has been since before America even existed.

Durham, Warwick, Oxbridge and to a lesser extent Aberdeen and the West End of Glasgow are all student-centred.


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

I haven't been to many, but Newark, DE is great


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## Chicagoago (Dec 2, 2005)

OtAkAw said:


> If I were an American kid I think I would prefer the location of Columbia (in a major city) as opposed to a university located in a town. The latter is probably going to bore me to tears. What's the case with American students?


Overall there is a huge desire to attend school in a college town as opposed to a larger city if you have the chance. College towns offer a culture and opportunity that is fairly unique in the USA, and is highly desirable. Most college towns that center around a large well-known university - like the Big 10 schools in the Midwest, offer up much more than many metros that are multiple times as large population wise. 

College towns are easily some of the most desirable places in the country. There are a few exceptions like Columbia, Georgetown or Ohio State that are in larger metros, but overall people who grow up in huge metro areas will eagerly move to smaller college towns and then get really sad when they have to leave after 4 years to start their jobs in a larger city.


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## raider12 (Jun 10, 2011)

goonsta said:


> Go to a large city with a college in it.


or with MANY colleges in it like Boston, with BC, BU, Harvard & MIT(i know, Cambridge , walk across the bridge from BU) Northeastern, Emerson, Wentworth Institute, UMass-Boston, Emmanuel, , Berklee college of Music, Simmonds and so on


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

Let's take *Ann Arbor, Michigan* for example home to The University of Michigan.



















It is technically a suburb of Detroit. But the place seems to be more vibrant and lively compared to Detroit. In fact it is one of the most vibrant in the entire state.


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## bayviews (Mar 3, 2006)

Manila-X said:


> Let's take *Ann Arbor, Michigan* for example home to The University of Michigan.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Indeed, Ann Arbor's always been one of the bright lights in Michigan. 

However, AA must be hurting from the collapse of hometown Borders?


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

bayviews said:


> Indeed, Ann Arbor's always been one of the bright lights in Michigan.
> 
> However, AA must be hurting from the collapse of hometown Borders?


Most major bookstores in America are going out of business thanks to the digital age. 

Even Barnes N Noble have closed some of it's branches as well. 

I must say malls or any commercial areas seems to be less vibrant without these kinds of bookstores except the presence of bars, restaurants and cinemas.

Anyway, AA's economy does not just rely on Borders. It's main contributor is still The University of Michigan. Domino's Pizza also has it's HQ here and you also have various retail business as well.


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