Foreigner looking for a beautiful and affordable city (college town).. (schools, universities)

[AfKy]

Hi guys..

I'm finishing high-school this year. I want to attend college in the United States (or Canada). Well, it's about time I started searching for universities.

I have lived all my life in a very large city. It's hot and humid here, and pollution is a major problem. After having lived all my life in such a city, I want to move to a quiet, beautiful, safe and affordable place. What I'm looking for in a city are:

-Natural Beauty.. i.e. as green as possible, close to, say, lakes and green hills.. (did I mention that I want to study Environmental Sciences?! lol)

-Clean air.. (I have mild asthma). So, Salt Lake City is a no/no. (I have heard that although the surrounding area is very beautiful, the city itself doesn't have clean air due to temperature inversion).

-Affordable.. No Hawaii

-Safe..

Well, that's it. Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[WILWRadio]

Perhaps you should look at some of the schools in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Another possibility would be central and northern NY as the air off Lake Ontario is pretty clean.

[BergenCountyJohnny]

Try to get into Rutgers and then live in New Brunswick, NJ.

[lrfox]

Check out Burlington, Vermont. It's a "city" but the population is 38,000 and it feels like a town. Here's the wikipedia page on it: Burlington, Vermont - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . It's known for the University of Vermont which is an excellent school, but Champlain College and Burlington College are wonderful schools in town as well. I would say that it's EXACTLY what you're looking for. It's active, vibrant, cool, and certainly has fresh air as well as a GORGEOUS lake (it sits right on the shores of Lake Champlain) and the Green Mountains right nearby.

I would suggest looking hard at the University of Vermont. It has an EXCELLENT Environmental Studies program and the town is everything you're looking for (affordable, clean, safe, etc) http://www.uvm.edu/~envprog/ also look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_University_of_Vermont

Finally, you get the best of both worlds (U.S. and Canada). Burlington is only 2 hours from Montreal, 4 from Quebec City (which is incredible, btw) and about 4.5 from Boston. You would love it.


Ithica, NY may fit the bill as well, but I know less about it. Amherst, MA may be an option as well. Good luck.

[ki0eh]

Try SUNY-ESF: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, NY. Field study on thousands of acres both near campus and in the Adirondack Mts. Check out the Syracuse area sub-forum under the New York State forum for more info on the area.

[Awesomo.2000]

There are about a thousand small nice college towns across the country.

Everybody is going to tell you the ones in their local area.

Go to the one I went too. Go to State College PA. Small, nice, clean, in the mountains, four seasons, lots of life, 40,000 undergrads, beautiful women, hiking, fishing, great biking trails, football, and it is a low stress place.

[ckhthankgod]

Ithaca, NY might be good for you with Ivy League Cornell University and Ithaca College located there. Syracuse might be good too. A sleeper is Oswego State in Oswego, NY. Right on Lake Ontario, is a good school for education, business and mass communications and it is a historic community with nice people. There are others like this in NY State too.

[Awesomo.2000]

The OP should concentrate on what he wants to do in life, and what he wants to study. Then pick the best affordable school for him/her. Going to school for just where it is at is kind of silly. College is a short and fun time of your life. Concentrate on doing good for a better future, then you pick and choose where you want to be. Most college towns are going to be fun and enjoyable no matter where you go.

[Newarkbomb]

Wayne, NJ
William Paterson University.

Wayne is diverse, close to NYC, semi affordable, 4 seasons, near lakes, and hills.

Other towns to live in around the area that are pretty nice are Hawthorne, Parts of Paterson, Haledon, Fair Lawn, and Clifton.

[AfKy]

@Awesomo: I'm afraid I can not agree with that last sentence. I'm not looking for party schools (not a party-person). I'm looking for a good school with excellent location. One where I can be healthy (physically and stress-free) enough to study. A place where after the lectures I can go sit in a quiet and beautiful area by a tree or lake to read a book without worrying about safety or finances. :-)

@Irfox: Thanks! Burlington, Vermont does look like the place I have been looking for. Good school, great location..

@Awesomo: PSU? Great suggestion. Excellent uni. Thanks!

@ki0eh: Thanks for the suggestion. I'll look at them..

How about the west-coast? Oregon? I have heard that Wyoming is a good place too. Any comments/suggestions?