Do You Call One Of The Top 25 Best College Towns To Live In Home?
10 years ago

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The only thing harder than dragging somebody away from their college town after the best four years of their life is convincing them that your college town is better than theirs. We all obviously think ours is the best (why do you think I chose Madison, Wisconsin as the featured image for this article), and will listen to absolutely nobody who contradicts our ignorance. If I get any inclination at all that you’re about to say something negative about Madison, I’ll plug my ears, shut my eyes and say “LA-LA-LA-LA-LA” faster than I would if I was barricaded in a studio apartment while my two great-grandparents made sweet, sweet love.

But enough about octogenarian sex. Here’s the list of the best college towns to live in that you’ve been waiting for.

From SmartAsset:

  1. Princeton, New Jersey
  2. Kearney, Nebraska
  3. Boulder, Colorado
  4. Bozeman, Montana
  5. Cedar Falls, Iowa
  6. Cambridge, Massachusetts
  7. Ann Arbor, Michigan
  8. Grand Forks, North Dakota
  9. Ames, Iowa
  10. Madison, Wisconsin
  11. Boca Raton, Florida
  12. Laramie, Wyoming
  13. Iowa City, Iowa
  14. Fort Collins, Colorado
  15. Santa Barbara, California
  16. Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  17. La Crosse, Wisconsin
  18. Salem, Massachusetts
  19. Berkeley, California
  20. Edmond, Oklahoma
  21. Missoula, Montana
  22. Norman, Oklahoma
  23. Orem, Utah
  24. Kennesaw, Georgia
  25. Stevens Point, Wisconsin

My thoughts:

1. Kearney, Nebraska at number two? Really? I’ve never been there, but this tourism promotional video is the first thing that comes up on YouTube when you type in “Kearney, Nebraska,” and it does the opposite of its intended purpose of making me want to visit Kearney.

2. Three Wisconsin cities on the list doesn’t surprise me. It really just speaks to how underrated Madison is at the 10 spot. It’s such a great city that it can bump La Crosse and Stevens Point into a top 25 best college town list even though they’re both over a hundred miles away. What’s that? My logic is flawed? LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA-LA.

3. Way too much Iowa on this list.

Let’s hear your thoughts on this list in the comments section.

[via SmartAsset]

Image via YouTube

  2. NightriderNoisewater

    Princeton, New Jersey as the number one college town? I didn’t realize that this was a list of things that people never, ever say.

    10 years ago at 3:44 pm
  3. T.Bro.Price

    Athens, Blacksburg, State College, Morgantown – these are better examples of college towns.

    10 years ago at 3:47 pm
  4. GodHatesFigs

    I was born and raised in Princeton and I love where I’m from, but it has no business being on this list.The best part about living in Princeton is living in a nice neighborhood and being able to get to Philly, NYC, and the beach in under 2 hours. There is nothing to do IN Princeton.

    10 years ago at 3:48 pm
    2. Tommyhockey

      Princeton is really really nice though and has a good downtown for the students so I guess it’s pretty different if you grew up there rather than go to school there

      10 years ago at 12:10 pm
  5. LouFerrigno

    No mention of Athens, Tallahassee, or Minneapolis?

    Yet somehow Steven’s Point and Kennesaw are on here? Give me a break. At least this list recognizes the LaCrosse and it’s bar scene.

    10 years ago at 3:48 pm
    1. Grenade_Diving_Wingman

      You lost all credibility when you mentioned Minneapolis in the same sentence as Athens and Tallahassee

      10 years ago at 4:47 pm
    2. Siouxsig

      Minneapolis is not a college town. You are award no points and may god have mercy on your soul.

      10 years ago at 5:39 pm
    3. MuscleyArms

      Tallahassee is a dead end after college as far as any career path goes. Good luck finding a job that isn’t serving tables there.

      10 years ago at 9:41 pm
      1. fraxer9

        It’s in Provo which borders Orem and there are no other noteworthy colleges around. Although the list didn’t really take into consideration noteworthy schools so ehh

        10 years ago at 11:38 pm
  8. ZeteNJ

    I live in NJ and can tell you first hand that Princeton should not be in the top 100. Not even the best Ivy League town. I’m not even sure there’s more than 2 bars in Princeton and neither would be considered college bars. Best Ivy League college town I’ve personally see in New Haven (Yale). Bit hood, but great bar scene, great live music scene, and great food.

    10 years ago at 3:55 pm
  9. Asteroid

    Edmond is just a really nice suburb of OKC the type of place you move to after college. The only two cities from Oklahoma that should be on this are Norman (which hurts to say) and Stillwater.

    10 years ago at 3:58 pm