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I was beyond surprised when I googled "laid back college towns" that virtually nothing came up. I'm going to be a senior this coming year, and sand is ticking away to which town i'll be living independently very very soon.
My absolute dream towns are Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, and other various towns up and down California. The most obvious, and rather annoying, factor is that they are all life times away; and i'm not sure if I have thick enough skin to break away from my western Massachusetts roots so soon. So, pllllease suggest some towns. I think that Collegeboard and StudentReviews are going to explode if I keep using them.
Some factors to keep in mind:
I'm not a party girl; I'm not a fan of the drink-till-we-pass-out scene.
Also, not athletics. As in the meat-head jocky behavior. I love health and well being, though.
I'd love to walk outside of my dorm and see some independent shops, cafes, people reading books on lawns, etc. I like to astray from the quintessential "hipster" town, but, if i had to coin it that, that's what it would be. But, without the snide hipsters that got a hold of their daddy's credit card.
If anyone knows what Northampton, Ma is - THAT! but, bigger. much bigger. there is only so much to do in a half a mile of stores.
I'm looking at Boston, but I want more of a cozy small town feel and less concrete jungle.
A place where there's more to do then the main street, there are other surrounding cities, and if you drove an hour out you're in the rural country.
Sorry if this is alot, but i tried to include as much as i could.
Thanks in advance !
Hmm...it's going to be a challenge to find something much bigger than Northampton while maintaining a "cozy small town" feel, I suspect. The first one to pop into my mind was Burlington, Vermont, but I'm not sure if that's big enough for you.
No problem for accessing the countryside because it's all around, although it's a bit isolated in terms of being far from significantly sized American cities. However, Montreal is pretty close, and that's a fantastic city.
Of course, the larger the city, the less of a "college town" it really is - so I'm not sure exactly what point on the spectrum you're looking for.
Try Westfield, MA. You can say that's a bigger Northampton I guess, though maybe not much, much bigger. The biggest nearby cities are Springfield, Hartford, and Worcester, some of New England's biggest cities (edit, I skimmed your post quick lol, seeing as how you're from western Mass you must already know that lol). Also, Boston isn't all that far and I'm pretty sure there's a bus service to Boston and NYC too (and back lol). Oh yeah, and you can find plenty of "rural country" close by too if that's what you're looking for.
Last edited by missRoxyhart; 07-12-2010 at 08:43 AM..
I was just going to say that - but there will be a bit of the wholier than thou rich kids weilding their parents credit cards and pontificating on how they are better and more refined while in the same breath relentlessly describing and rationalizing reasons why not to work. not all of em though
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidphilly
I was just going to say that - but there will be a bit of the wholier than thou rich kids weilding their parents credit cards and pontificating on how they are better and more refined while in the same breath relentlessly describing and rationalizing reasons why not to work. not all of em though
Hahaha, my ex-girlfriend goes to school there. I visited the campus a few years ago before she went there. It was great.
It's actually the first college town I think of when I think of schools in the Northeast.
Madison, WI
Boulder, CO
Ithaca, NY
Charlottesville, VA
Newark, DE
Providence, RI
Princeton, NJ
Middletown, CT
Middlebury, VT
Burlington, VT
Oberlin, OH
Madison, WI
Boulder, CO
Ithaca, NY
Charlottesville, VA
Newark, DE
Providence, RI
Princeton, NJ
Middletown, CT
Middlebury, VT
Burlington, VT
Oberlin, OH
I forgot Middletown lol, and I lived there for a while. It's another really good one.
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