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All college towns have an economy based on getting money from the college kids. If you live in one and own a car you will learn quickly that you have to be very careful where you park because the tow truck scammers are out in force. This one of the main things I know about ALL college towns.
Campus police DO aggressively enforce the rules that are posted in their parking lots. I can say that each of the dozen of tickets that I have received have occurred as a violation of the rules.
Too many people believe that the rules do not apply to them.
[quote=Escort Rider;29347687]Tow truck scammers? Are you saying that they tow legally parked cars and then extort fees for people to reclaim their cars? That is highly illegal, and should be reported to the police and/or district attorney when it occurs. It should be grand theft auto to tow a car which is legally parked.[/QUOTEA
The scam is that they make it very hard to not get confused on just when and where you can park. An example is that the students get a colored sticker for their car. The parking lots have signs that say things like /Parking only with blue sticker 3 till 4 on wedsdays and at other times only if the yellow stickers are used in lot a and b . Other stickers not valid unless between hours 6 and 7 on sundays only etc etc..The tow truck vultures drive around and wait untill some student in a hurry doesnt take time to read the signs and understand exactly what they mean. Another scam is that if they tow away your car you get an extra 50 dollar charge for "storage" each day it is there..The cops and the tow truck drivers both work for the same team...Most colleges dont have enough parking for all of the students near by and that too is part of the scheme .You dont see signs that say no parking or parking permitted. That would make it too easy.It is always no parking on this day at this time without this or that window sticker..I would say that almost all of the students with cars end up paying several hundred bucks for :illegal" parking before they leave school. It is a big money maker for the town hicks. Another scam is beer parties. The cops wait until all of the kids wanting a beer have one and then it is easy for them to arrest or write tickets for even more money.
Tow truck scammers? Are you saying that they tow legally parked cars and then extort fees for people to reclaim their cars? That is highly illegal, and should be reported to the police and/or district attorney when it occurs. It should be grand theft auto to tow a car which is legally parked.[/QUOTEA
The scam is that they make it very hard to not get confused on just when and where you can park. An example is that the students get a colored sticker for their car. The parking lots have signs that say things like /Parking only with blue sticker 3 till 4 on wedsdays and at other times only if the yellow stickers are used in lot a and b . Other stickers not valid unless between hours 6 and 7 on sundays only etc etc..The tow truck vultures drive around and wait untill some student in a hurry doesnt take time to read the signs and understand exactly what they mean. Another scam is that if they tow away your car you get an extra 50 dollar charge for "storage" each day it is there..The cops and the tow truck drivers both work for the same team...Most colleges dont have enough parking for all of the students near by and that too is part of the scheme .You dont see signs that say no parking or parking permitted. That would make it too easy.It is always no parking on this day at this time without this or that window sticker..I would say that almost all of the students with cars end up paying several hundred bucks for :illegal" parking before they leave school. It is a big money maker for the town hicks. Another scam is beer parties. The cops wait until all of the kids wanting a beer have one and then it is easy for them to arrest or write tickets for even more money.
I survived college with less than 3 parking ticekts, which is amazing! lol
Regarding the thought that college towns are easy places for a retiree to find a part time job... that may not be the case anymore. Or maybe true for some towns and not for others. The recession has had a profound affect on the number of jobs available and more students need to work, so there may not be that much available.
Socorro, New Mexico is home to a small college called New Mexico Tech(formerly New Mexico Inst of Mining and Technology). The cost of living is low, and there's a major medical facility neaby.
The only drawback is the dry air.
what major medical facility? This is one of the reasons we left that area. yes, the college is great and the cost of living desirable, but I just don't think of college towns when I think of Socorro for many reasons. I think of college towns more, when we are talking about universities of some size..
University towns can be a great place for retirement, but it depends a lot of what you are looking for. Most university towns offer special classes to seniors over 65, the atmosphere is usually busy and stimulating and yes, medical facilities are often right in the town or very close. The problem with some of the towns, they are more than just college towns, Austin being one of those. It is more urban, partly due to its swear size. I think some of the suggestions that have been made are good ones. University towns are normally more liberal which can be good or bad, depending on how you see things. I don't think I would want to live in one, but I do love living relatively close to one.
Perosnally would be my chocie really. I well rember and see so mnay where aparttments;pizza jonts ;laundramats make them look like a small miltiary town. mostly adapted to serving students.Fro some like teahers it amy offer support to their lifestyle they are use to.
The cost of living might be lower. However you may or may not have to deal with the constant chaos of garage rock shows, midnight vandalism or general unrest into the wee hours, so that's something to keep in mind in learning about a potential location if you're a person who likes their quiet.
I've researched quite a few "college towns" and just came to the conclusion that, well, they are full of college kids! If you rent an apt, then most likely you would be living with college age people, which is a definite negative for me. Too many parties, noise, alot of people in and out, etc. I just don't see alot of blending with older people and college age people...two different universes. In a larger city, it might work better but a small college town with alot of college kids, I don't think it would work for me.
The important question... are college towns more friendly towards pot?
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