Columbia, MO. named 10th Best Town in America... (St. Louis, Jefferson City: homes, college)

[runninfiend]

Originally Posted by jps

Every state lays claim to that saying, whether it's true or not.


But, to address the title of the thread...
Has anyone ever heard of Outside Magazine before this?
I've been trying - without luck - to find the article on their website ever since this alleged top ten list came out. So far, I've only seen a vague mention of it in the online Tribune, and on a few message boards.

Outside is a magazine that caters mostly to upper-scale outdoorsy types. The library has it. I did notice that their website only has last year's towns, not '08, or I would have linked it.

Here's the top 10:

1. Wash DC (i found this odd)
2. Chattanooga, TN
3. Ogden, UT
4. Portsmouth, HN
5. Tacoma, WA
6. Ithaca, NY
7. Louisville, KY
8. Eureka, CA
9. Crested Butte, CO.
10. Columbia

They didn't give their strict criteria, but did mention city renovation and renaissance in the title.

Here's the readers' survey:

2008 Best Towns Survey | Outside Online

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by stepka

Gah, I wish they'd stop with calling Columbia the best town and all that. It used to be a pretty good town, but when they named it the best town in America, years back, they ruined it. Everybody wanted to move there, and a bunch of new neighborhoods went up and sprawled all over the countryside and I don't like it much anymore. Columbia is my home town, but I lived in Lawrence too and like it better, from what I can remember anyway. Columbia and Lawrence have quite the rivalry though, and it's not always friendly.

I agree! I wish these mags would stop letting everyone know all these little secrets of where the best areas are. Then they overpopulate and it's no longer as good as it once was!
My husband has family in Columbia, we almost moved there ourselves but ended up outside of Springfield

[jsherman9901]

Originally Posted by stepka

Gah, I wish they'd stop with calling Columbia the best town and all that. It used to be a pretty good town, but when they named it the best town in America, years back, they ruined it. Everybody wanted to move there....

That's why I absolutely DESPISE magazines that come up with and publish lists of so-called "best towns". These lists always seem to cause frantic utopia-seekers to move en masse like flocks of starlings, changing wonderful communities into noisy, overcrowded, overpriced living hells. I hate these lists!!!!

[ajf131]

Ithaca New York the best town in America? What a joke. My best friend is from there and I was bored out of my mind...there is jacksh*t to do there. Same with Louisville. The best American towns/cities are really kind of more of your "average joe" towns of America. These are towns/cities I'd pass through on my way to other larger, more interesting cities. D.C. is the only exception on this list as a city worth my time and energy to live in and/or visit.

[aragx6]

If you don't think the midwest has mild temps then you should move somewhere with real bad weather.

Columbia rarely gets more than 20 inches of snow in the winter (obviously the 2006-2007 winter being an outlier there) and November and March are almost always fine for the most part.

and the summers? Puhlease! Piece of cake when compared to Las Vegas or somewhere similar!

As I said, I like 4 seasons; if you don't, the midwest surely isn't the right place for you to call home.

[Silvermouse]

Originally Posted by jsherman9901

That's why I absolutely DESPISE magazines that come up with and publish lists of so-called "best towns". These lists always seem to cause frantic utopia-seekers to move en masse like flocks of starlings, changing wonderful communities into noisy, overcrowded, overpriced living hells. I hate these lists!!!!

Boy, did you hit that nail on the head. Rather like the effect of City-Data.com me thinks.

[crunchtime]

Originally Posted by 20yrsinBranson

Personally, I have never liked college towns. The mentality being, of course, that college students are the center of the universe and the sun rises an sets just for them. I do not find the cultural aspects that endearing either. The music these people listen to is horrific for the most part, and I find their self-important and self-aggrandized attitudes about everything they do utterly pretentious and most tiresome.

On the contrary, it has been my experience that communities that have a large population of retirees often have a great deal more to offer insofar as culture is concerned. They seem more concerned with creating a pleasing living environment and have the experience to tell the difference between trendy garbage and lasting quality.

JMHO

20yrsinBranson

Now isn't College of the Ozarks very near Branson? Not to worry though. A recent survey listed COTO as the 4th most sober college in America. Can anyone tell me why? I think I will send my daughter there.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by crunchtime

Now isn't College of the Ozarks very near Branson? Not to worry though. A recent survey listed COTO as the 4th most sober college in America. Can anyone tell me why? I think I will send my daughter there.

C of O is a very religious college with strict rules. I've known several people who have gone there. Church attendance is mandatory every week (although many students doze off during it). Students must live on campus, student's vehicles are on lock-down during the week, and if you get caught with any type of alcohol or drugs in the dorms you are in very deep trouble. Also, to be accepted you generally have to be from a lower-income family (although not always), and students work for various businesses with C of O has, and these businesses make the education more or less free for the students, as they support the university financially.

I don't think C of O is a bad school, but I'm glad I didn't go there as it would be very hard to have a normal college experience! I went to UMR, where some people there drank a lot, but I also knew several who never drank a drop during their entire time there.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by crunchtime

Now isn't College of the Ozarks very near Branson? Not to worry though. A recent survey listed COTO as the 4th most sober college in America. Can anyone tell me why? I think I will send my daughter there.

She might not ever speak to you again if you do LOL!

[crunchtime]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

C of O is a very religious college with strict rules. I've known several people who have gone there. Church attendance is mandatory every week (although many students doze off during it). Students must live on campus, student's vehicles are on lock-down during the week, and if you get caught with any type of alcohol or drugs in the dorms you are in very deep trouble. Also, to be accepted you generally have to be from a lower-income family (although not always), and students work for various businesses with C of O has, and these businesses make the education more or less free for the students, as they support the university financially.

I don't think C of O is a bad school, but I'm glad I didn't go there as it would be very hard to have a normal college experience! I went to UMR, where some people there drank a lot, but I also knew several who never drank a drop during their entire time there.

Second thought maybe I won't. Thanks for the info.