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Chriscross- Thanks for the recommendation. I've been to Morgantown and I do think I'll consider it.. a lot like Athens just bigger and hillier.. and more recreation at hand. Especially if I decide I want to be closer to my family it might be a good option.. that's one of 2 problems about going out west (that and cost of living). Thanks for listing all that stuff though.. I knew there was cool stuff to do, I just haven't done any of it. And I didn't know about the art galleries and locally owned places downtown... I'll have to check it out sometime
Vamos-Ya I have considered Olympia.. I think when it gets to the northwest, cost of living will be the biggest determining factor.. so we'll see. Thanks
CKH-I hadn't heard of Oneonta.. just checked it out a little... looks interesting. A little small but that could be workable. I'll check it out some more. Thanks
So I've lately been thinking more about the northeast or possibly mid-atlantic.. I might want to stay closer to the parents. Besides Plattsburgh, Ithaca, or Oneonta NY, Burlington VT, Portland ME, Morgantown WV, Athens GA.... any other places I should consider? I'll check more into Chapel Hill/Durham and Charlottesville.... I'm really hoping for mountains/trees/water plus a university and cool downtown with at the very least a good coffee shop and good farmer's market.... thanks again guys!
And yet another post about where to settle down...
Please help me with some ideas! I'm from a college town (Athens, OH) and so I can't imagine living in either a big city or in a town without a decent-sized college.. but I also don't really want to live in the midwest anymore (cold winters without mountains for snowboarding really sucks). I'm more drawn to the western states with lots of outdoor adventuring.... especially mountains and lakes (for hiking, snowboarding, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing, etc). Ideal population between 10-200,000 although probably between 30-80,000 sounds best. Would love a place with a diverse population (in terms of religion, ethnicity, politics, etc.). I'm really into the local food movement and am a foodie in general.. so many different types of restaurants and farmer's markets are a big plus (has to have some decent non-chain coffee shops that stay open in the evenings!). I don't know what my future career will be but I do know that I won't make a lot of money.. maybe I'll become an academic adviser, guidance counselor, dietitian, teacher... or something in that realm. I'll probably earn $30-65,000 so I don't think that I'd be able to survive in a really expensive place. I'd love to have a good sense of community and be surrounded by friendly, open-minded, outdoorsy people. Also love artsy places with good culture. Relatively safe would be nice.. and a good place to raise a family. Sort of close to a major airport would be helpful.. so I can get back to Ohio occasionally. I'm undecided on weather.. I definitely like sunny days and milder temperatures (sunny and 65-70 is pretty perfect).. I currently live in Hawaii and am loving the lack of extreme hot/cold.. but I also love mountains and snowboarding.. so I'll leave that one open. I might not be my happiest if it is cloudy/rainy all day every day. Walkability/bikability/public transport wouldn't hurt.
Some of the places that have interested me so far are Flagstaff AZ, Boulder and Fort Collins CO, Missoula and Bozeman MT, Moscow ID, Pullman WA, Eugene and Corvallis OR, Salt Lake City UT, Burlington VT, Portland ME... have also heard some good things about Fayetteville AR. I know there are some great college towns in the midwest and southeast (Madison WI and Athens GA for examples) but unless they have some INCREDIBLE outdoor options I'm probably not THAT interested (if the outdoor options are similar to my hometown there doesn't seem to be much of a reason to leave). Some of the towns/cities that I have mentioned are decently expensive, maybe a bit colder than I'd like, and somewhat lacking in terms of diversity.. which is why I'm looking for more ideas or more input on the current ones. In terms of outdoor options, Utah sounds like an amazing place.. but I'm pretty liberal and not religious.. any ideas for me? NM seems cool too.. maybe if Santa Fe had a bigger college I'd want to go there.. I haven't seriously looked anywhere in CA due to property costs.. so if there are any places that aren't too expensive that I should take a look at let me know. I know of some cool college areas in Canada but they mostly seem too cold.. am I wrong about that?
Brief Summary:
cool/unique college town
most drawn to western states
full of outdoor opportunities
good sense of community
good local food scene
open-minded, friendly people
diversity
lower cost of living or higher wages in the educational fields
30-80,000 people... or 10-200,000 if it's an awesome place
low-ish crime (especially violent crime)
Ideas?? Thanks for reading at least!!!!
Athens is one of the finest towns I've even been to... Also, they have mountains.
durham looks big, chapel hill might work. about charlottesville... i have a friend going to grad school there (undergrad Ohio U) and she's not too impressed. says there aren't any good coffee shops (might seem pathetic, but that's a biggie for me!!!).. is she missing some cool stuff?
I also grew up in a college town, and I've lived in and visited several as an adult (mostly in the Midwest and South). Aside from my hometown (I'm heavily biased), I can't think of any college town I like more than Athens, Ohio. I know you're from there and may not want to go back, though, but that is my top pick.
Athens, GA is nice, but conservative, religious, and brutally hot and humid in the summer. Asheville, NC is a surprisingly progressive Southern college town in the Appalachian Mountains -- I'm a big fan of it. Chapel Hill is livable, but the weather is miserable (brutally hot/humid). I've heard good things about Ithaca, but I've never been there.
Athens Ohio... yep it's not a bad place... but you're right, I don't want to live there for the rest of my life. Asheville... I love the place but I didn't see any universities there (what I mean by that is 4-year, lots of majors type of place).. did I miss something? Didn't know Athens GA was conservative and religious... that's one of the reasons I'm thinking of the northeast.. just think I'd fit in better there. Thanks for the clarification!
Asheville has UNC-Asheville and Montreat College, both small but fairly decent colleges.
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