Top 10 College Towns Ranked By Livability.com
The list first, and then commentary.
10. College Station, TX
9. Fayetteville, AR
8. Madison, WI
7. Missoula, MT
6. Iowa City, IA
5. Lexington, KY
4. Columbia, MO
3. Gainesville, FL
2. Ann Arbor, MI
1. Boulder, CO
This list is, uh, odd. There are some usual suspects on here, some deserving candidates who anyone could make a really solid argument for, and then some absolutely mind boggling picks. Obviously, no matter how the list shaped up, people are going to argue over it. Regardless of the bickering, however, there are still some glaring omissions, first and foremost being Athens, GA. I will grant that I’ve never been to Athens, but it sounds like heaven, or at least 100x better than Missoula. Rankings like these are pretty arbitrary, so I won’t get into who deserves to be where on the list. In truth I have no problem with Boulder at #1. As much as the TFM readers may despise that town for its obscene liberalness, it is by all accounts an incredibly fun and ridiculously picturesque setting. Boulder deserves to be on the list.
Really, we should start with who doesn’t deserve to be on the list, and we find our first candidate at the very top. College Station, despite having the word “college” in its name, is NOT a great college town. I’ve been there. I won’t say it sucks, but it’s a hard “meh.” Hell, even Johnny Football can’t wait to leave, and he’d rather party in Austin. Austin, by the way, does not deserve to be on this list either, and I’m glad it isn’t. Don’t get me wrong, Austin is a glorious city, one of the five or six best in the country, hands down, but it’s too big to be considered a college town anymore. Austin is a full on city. Missoula, Lexington, and Gainesville also seem like odd members of this list. Missoula is, at best, a poor man’s Boulder, and since we already have Boulder on the list, get the fuck out of here, Missoula. Lexington is a fine city — I’ve spent a few days there, but it doesn’t crack the top 10. Gainesville, I have never visited, but from everything I’ve read and heard, it isn’t exactly a premier destination (aside from The Swamp) if you’re planning an SEC college town tour. Off the top of my head, I think I’d rather head to Columbia, SC, Athens, GA, or Knoxville, TN. And that’s just in the SEC.
I’m not surprised to see the B1G so well represented, as I believe they have almost as good of a collection of college towns as the SEC. Madison, Iowa City, and Ann Arbor are all places I’ve heard wonderful things about. I’m also okay with Fayetteville and Columbia. Obviously, I have a massive bias towards Columbia, being a Mizzou alum, but it IS a gorgeous and prototypical college town, and it’s also a lot of fun, and has possibly the cheapest drinks in America. If you have a five dollar bill you can blackout at a bar in Columbia, no problem. In fact, last year when Mizzou hosted Georgia in football, many Bulldog fans told my friends and I that Columbia reminded them of Athens, which by the way I may have mentioned this, but HOW IS ATHENS NOT ON THE LIST!?!?! Columbia and Fayetteville are both debatable, but legitimate choices.
That’s my two cents, please argue with each other and tell me how stupid I am in the comments.
[via Livability.com]
No offense, South Carolina, but Columbia was a shitty disappointment. The bar scene sucked, and your NFL-esque stadium was a miserable hike from your campus.
13 years ago at 11:31 amIt says Columbia, Missouri, not Columbia, South Carolina.
13 years ago at 11:40 am^ I’m pretty sure he’s referring to Bacon saying he would like to visit Columbia, SC. I’m currently living in Columbia, SC and I have to say its average and I agree with DamnGladtoMeetYou.
13 years ago at 12:42 pm^Exactly. And I assume all the “Take a Lap’s” are from cocks.
13 years ago at 1:17 pmBe in Austin on game day, then tell me it’s not a college town because it’s “too big”.
13 years ago at 11:32 amI’ve been in Austin on game day many, MANY times. On those days, it resembles a college town. However, the fact that the city is around if not over 500,000 people, and that the university is no longer the center of the city, means it’s not a college town. 99% of the year it isn’t a college town. Like I said, it’s an AWESOME city, I love it. It’s just not a college town.
13 years ago at 11:36 am^I don’t know if I’d say that J Parks. I’ve never been to Austin so I can’t compare but the town of Ann Arbor is still very much centered around the University. It wouldn’t have grown to 100,000 or so without the school. Austin is also the capital and has a lot more business downtown. State Street and Main Street in Ann Arbor are what they are because of UM.
13 years ago at 3:26 pmNo Columbus? Too much southern bias on this site
13 years ago at 11:32 amMy guess is it’s too big. Pretty sure all the cities on this list are under 500,000 in population.
13 years ago at 11:44 amI was raised in Columbus for 18 years and it blows… Hard. While they do have awesome football tradition, OSU is a shithole lets be real.
13 years ago at 12:20 pmHalf the list isn’t in the south.
13 years ago at 12:44 pmI love Lexington, don’t get me wrong. I’ve had a great time here and I love it, but it’s no Oxford or Athens. I think those two should be on the list before Lexington.
13 years ago at 11:33 amLexington is better then what we give it credit for but I think the shitty traffic alone should keep it off top 10.
13 years ago at 12:03 pmLex deserves to be on this list… But maybe at 9 or 10. Lexington is a great overall college town. Greek life, bars, keeneland, amazing southern food, etc. but I can’t believe that Oxford and Athens aren’t on here.
13 years ago at 12:17 pmI agree both Oxford and Athens deserve spots above Lexington, however I would say overall Lexington is a great college town. The fact that its in bourbon country helps, and we know what to do when we win a national title doesn’t hurt either.
13 years ago at 2:26 pmGood point about Keeneland. ^^ That does more than enough to counter the horrific traffic.
13 years ago at 3:53 pmIt’s based on livability, not just college atmosphere. Many factors play into it like overall education, salary, welfare, etc.. Lexington scores high in all categories and most definitely belongs on the list. Not to mention Keeneland is possibly the most frat place on earth.
13 years ago at 9:01 pmWhere the fuck is UNC?!
13 years ago at 11:35 amIt is in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
13 years ago at 11:45 am^This guy gets it.
13 years ago at 12:33 pmCant wait to read comments from people getting their panties in a bunch at the amount of big 10 schools on here.
13 years ago at 11:36 amTL;DR: “I’ve never been to any of these towns, but I heard that some other places were better”
Great article. Some solid journalism right here
13 years ago at 11:37 amI’ve been to Fayetteville, Lexington, Columbia, Austin, and College Station, which are the cities I spent the majority of the article talking about. But yes, you’re right, the fact that I’ve never visited those other cities means I shouldn’t speak a word about them, no matter how brief or even handed I am in my judgment (Missoula aside), and despite my clarifying that I haven’t visited them before even beginning to write about them.
You’re an idiot.
13 years ago at 11:42 amI love UGA and Athens, but I don’t consider it a college town. Maybe a decade or two ago it was considered one, but outside of campus, Milledge, student housing developments, and the bars the city doesn’t really offer anything besides poverty and hippies.
13 years ago at 11:38 amOxford’s the same. The square’s businesses run off of college students and literally the town’s population is doubled by the 19,000 Students who attend only during the fall and spring semesters.
Without the university the town would die or be dirt poor. That’s a College town. A town that bases everything it does around the university.
13 years ago at 1:17 pmNo Rivendell? Get real. Fuck this list.
13 years ago at 11:40 amI’m from Colorado and Fort Collins is way funner than Boulder. And less liberals.
13 years ago at 11:41 am*More fun you illiterate fuck.
13 years ago at 8:44 am