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Old 07-24-2017, 07:03 PM
 
Location: Eugene, OR
256 posts, read 261,468 times
Reputation: 279

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Full disclosure, I'm taking this concept from a post I saw on reddit a while back. Basically, I think it's a cool idea to rank the ten or so cities in each of the NCAA conferences by the attractiveness of living there.

I'll start with the Pac-12 since it has the places I know the best.

1. Los Angeles, CA - Obviously the most attractive place for people in the Pac-12, and it's why USC and UCLA usually bring in the top recruits. Has good weather, beaches, lots of nice houses, etc.

2. Stanford, CA - In a very upscale part of the Bay Area with warm weather and close to the coast, as well.

3. Berkeley, CA - Basically the same reasons as Stanford, but also is a bit more rundown and has a large homeless problem and worse traffic.

4. Seattle, WA - Would be the top choice in the group, I think, but the weather is way too offputting for most people. Still a very nice place, though.

5. Tempe, AZ - Warm winters and good urban location in Phoenix. Many people are simply drawn to the thought of living in Arizona alone.

6. Boulder, CO - I think people are turned off by it being so small and sort of isolated, as well as getting a lot of snow. Still super popular and hip, and has a beautiful natural setting with tons of outdoorsy things to do.

7. Salt Lake City, UT - Most people think of here as being kind of lame and boring without nightlife, and having cold winters, but it also still has the mountains and a larger population/more going on than the places lower on the list.

8. Tucson, AZ - Really the only thing it's got going for it in the eyes of most people is the weather and being in Arizona. It's small and isolated and rumor has it that it smells pretty bad there.

9. Eugene, OR - The historically successful athletic program is really the only drawing point here, as well as proximity to Portland because people don't really want to spend too much of their time here.

10. Corvallis, OR - Smaller, less popular version of Eugene with really nothing going on except proximity to Portland.

11. Pullman, WA - Dead last. Super isolated and bad weather make Pullman the least popular PAC-12 destination.


To clarify, none of this was my personal opinion. I'm just stating what I think most people go by if they were to be presented with all of these cities. This also does not have anything to do with the individual programs and schools, only the cities they reside in.

Last edited by ryan_ninenine; 07-24-2017 at 07:57 PM.. Reason: Formatting issues
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:34 PM
 
Location: Greenville SC 'Waterfall City'
10,106 posts, read 7,306,559 times
Reputation: 4072
You appear to be ranking them from the perspective of a person not in college. Obviously the smaller ones are going to be difficult to find jobs in. I think it makes more sense to rank them from perspective of college kid or retiree.

I would rank Corvallis as the best college town in the Pac-12. That is a claim that Oregon State actually makes. I think it is more quaint than Eugene. I'm not sure why you say it is less popular than Eugene.

I think Pullman is probably a good college town but it is probably the most remote big university in the country and too cold/snowy for me.

The Boulder MSA appears to be pushing 300,000 and the city has nearly 100,000. That is massive for a college town.

Last edited by ClemVegas; 07-24-2017 at 07:42 PM..
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:42 PM
 
Location: Eugene, OR
256 posts, read 261,468 times
Reputation: 279
Quote:
Originally Posted by Simpsonvilllian View Post
You appear to be ranking them from the perspective of a person not in college. Obviously the smaller ones are going to be difficult to find jobs in. I think it makes more sense to rank them from perspective of college kid or retiree.
Yes, I should clarify that this doesn't have anything to do with the schools or their programs. Just comparing the cities as what I think most people would think of them.

I agree with you on Corvallis, honestly it's a very nice little town and would make a great place to retire. I don't think anywhere on the list is a bad place to live, but I think it's pretty undeniable that most people would prefer to live in SoCal than what they percieve as podunk Oregon. That's a pretty common attitude I hear, coming from someone who is currently attending a Pac-12 school.
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:50 PM
 
Location: Greenville SC 'Waterfall City'
10,106 posts, read 7,306,559 times
Reputation: 4072
For what I like,

Here is my list:

Corvallis (due to small size, and assuming lower cost of living plus I like the campus)
UCLA (campus, warm weather, best sports)
Seattle (due to proximity to water, nice campus, weather is a big con for me)
Boulder (campus, mountains)
Salt Lake or Eugene
Eugene or Salt Lake

The rest are kind of a draw, more negatives than pros for me.
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:13 PM
 
Location: Greenville SC 'Waterfall City'
10,106 posts, read 7,306,559 times
Reputation: 4072
I'll do one for ACC because I'm familiar with the southern ones at least. This is only based on where I would want to live as college student or retiree, and it is mostly about the area closer to campus for the large metros.

Clemson - great campus, great sports, adjacent to lakes, near Blue Ridge, good 4 season climate, reasonable cost of living

Charlottesville - UVA adjacent to mountains, close to DC, nice campus, decent sports

Raleigh - NCSU campus gets called ugly a lot but it is my 3rd favorite in ACC, good weather, solid sports.

Blacksburg - Va Tech - near mountains, probably too snowy and cold for me. Don't care for the grey limestone buildings on campus.

Chapel Hill - near lake, Franklin Street is nice, good weather, cost of living would be major negative and I heard crime is bad here, and also perhaps too much political activism. The campus is decent but not a fan of the architecture on some of the main buildings.

Georgia Tech - underrated football game atmosphere, mild winters, decent urban campus, decent outdoors stuff in Atlanta area, lack of true college town area and right next to an interstate the major negatives

Wake - major con is no college town adjacent and I'm not a fan of small private colleges in general. Pretty good hiking in area and good fall color.

Duke - not a big fan of Durham, I do like Duke basketball

Don't know much about the rest but wouldn't want to live in any of them.

As far as work goes, I would go with Clemson first if is lumped in with Greenville, then Raleigh and WS tied for 2nd, ATL third.
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:43 PM
 
Location: TPA
6,476 posts, read 6,375,490 times
Reputation: 4863
This is how I see it.

SEC:

1. Nashville
2. Columbia
3/4. Athens/Knoxville
5. Lexington
6. Baton Rouge
7. College Station
8. Fayetteville
9. Gainesville
10/11. Tuscaloosa/Auburn
12. Oxford
13/14. Starkville/Columbia, MO

ACC:

1. Miami
2. Atlanta
3. Boston
4. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill - all the same
7. Pittsburgh
8. Louisville
9. Charlottesville
10. Clemson
11. Tallahassee
12. Winston Salem
13. Blacksburg
14. Syracuse

Pac12:

1. Los Angeles
2. Seattle
3/4. Tempe/"San Francisco"
5. Boulder
6. Salt Lake City
7. Tuscon
8/9. Eugene/Corvallis
10. Pullman

Big 10:

1. College Park aka DC
2. Evanston aka Chicago
3. Minneapolis
4. Ann Arbor
5. Madison
6. New Brunswick
7. Columbus
8. Lincoln
9. State College
10. Champaign
11. Iowa City
12/13/14. Lansing/Bloomington/West Lafayette

Big 12:

1. Austin
2. Fort Worth
3. Lubbock
4. Norman
5. Morgantown
6. Lawrence
7. Waco
8/9/10. Manhattan/Stillwater/Ames

Last edited by Jandrew5; 07-24-2017 at 09:56 PM..
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:19 PM
 
3,755 posts, read 4,773,292 times
Reputation: 2856
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jandrew5 View Post
This is how I see it.

SEC:

1. Nashville
2. Columbia
3/4. Athens/Knoxville
5. Lexington
6. Baton Rouge
7. College Station
8. Fayetteville
9. Gainesville
10/11. Tuscaloosa/Auburn
12. Oxford
13/14. Hattiesburg/Columbia, MO

ACC:

1. Miami
2. Atlanta
3. Boston
4. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill - all the same
7. Pittsburgh
8. Louisville
9. Charlottesville
10. Clemson
11. Tallahassee
12. Winston Salem
13. Blacksburg
14. Syracuse

Pac12:

1. Los Angeles
2. Seattle
3/4. Tempe/"San Francisco"
5. Boulder
6. Salt Lake City
7. Tuscon
8/9. Eugene/Corvallis
10. Pullman

Big 10:

1. College Park aka DC
2. Evanston aka Chicago
3. Minneapolis
4. Ann Arbor
5. Madison
6. New Brunswick
7. Columbus
8. Lincoln
9. State College
10. Champaign
11. Iowa City
12/13/14. Lansing/Bloomington/West Lafayette

Big 12:

1. Austin
2. Fort Worth
3. Lubbock
4. Norman
5. Morgantown
6. Lawrence
7. Waco
8/9/10. Manhattan/Stillwater/Ames
Still feels strange having Maryland be in the Big Ten.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:23 PM
 
91,994 posts, read 122,107,559 times
Reputation: 18136
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jandrew5 View Post
This is how I see it.

SEC:

1. Nashville
2. Columbia
3/4. Athens/Knoxville
5. Lexington
6. Baton Rouge
7. College Station
8. Fayetteville
9. Gainesville
10/11. Tuscaloosa/Auburn
12. Oxford
13/14. Hattiesburg/Columbia, MO

ACC:

1. Miami
2. Atlanta
3. Boston
4. Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill - all the same
7. Pittsburgh
8. Louisville
9. Charlottesville
10. Clemson
11. Tallahassee
12. Winston Salem
13. Blacksburg
14. Syracuse

Pac12:

1. Los Angeles
2. Seattle
3/4. Tempe/"San Francisco"
5. Boulder
6. Salt Lake City
7. Tuscon
8/9. Eugene/Corvallis
10. Pullman

Big 10:

1. College Park aka DC
2. Evanston aka Chicago
3. Minneapolis
4. Ann Arbor
5. Madison
6. New Brunswick
7. Columbus
8. Lincoln
9. State College
10. Champaign
11. Iowa City
12/13/14. Lansing/Bloomington/West Lafayette

Big 12:

1. Austin
2. Fort Worth
3. Lubbock
4. Norman
5. Morgantown
6. Lawrence
7. Waco
8/9/10. Manhattan/Stillwater/Ames
Do you mean Starkville(Mississippi State) instead of Hattiesburg(Southern Miss)? Only asking because that may or may not make a difference.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:55 PM
 
Location: TPA
6,476 posts, read 6,375,490 times
Reputation: 4863
Quote:
Originally Posted by ckhthankgod View Post
Do you mean Starkville(Mississippi State) instead of Hattiesburg(Southern Miss)? Only asking because that may or may not make a difference.
Yes I was thinking of Starkville.
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Old 07-24-2017, 10:03 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,590 posts, read 14,749,848 times
Reputation: 15338
The Mountain West as I see it:
  1. Fort Collins
  2. San Diego
  3. Honolulu
  4. Boise
  5. Colorado Springs
  6. Logan
  7. Reno
  8. Albuquerque
  9. Las Vegas
  10. San Jose
  11. Laramie (as much as I hate Wyoming it's most definitely better than...)
  12. Fresno
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