The town which harbors your college is a very important aspect of the college experience. It's the reason why every year around the same time, millions of families hop in their minivans and truck off to visit potential colleges. In fact, we're not sure we can remember anything else about senior year other than college visits...oh wait that's right, there was that whole SAT/ACT thing too...and lots of homework abandonment. Your college town says a lot about how epic or dreary college life will be for you. Is it in a major city with lots to do on the weekends, or smack dab in the middle of the boonies? Will you be afraid to venture out of your dorm room at night, or barely spend any time on campus at all?
Well, Livability.com just released a ranking of what they perceive to be the 10 best college towns to live in, based on census data, the article editors' experiences, testimonies and the impact the college has on the town's culture. The top 10 towns (from last to first) are as follows:
10. Bowling Green, KY: Home to Western Kentucky University
9. Lincoln, NE: Home to University of Nebraska
8. Columbia, SC: Home to University of South Carolina
7. Gainsville, FL: Home to the University of Florida
6. Cambridge, MA: Home to Harvard, MIT and other smaller schools like the Hult International Business School and Lesley University
5. Denton, TX: Home to University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University
4. Berkeley, CA: Home to UC Berkeley
3. Columbia, MO: Home to University of Missouri
2. Durham, NC: Home to Duke University and North Carolina Central University
And most shocking of all, ranking in at number one is (drumroll please) Manhattan! Just not the one in New York...the one in Kansas. Dubbed by locals as "the Little Apple," it's home to the Kansas State University Wildcats. Cue up the "High School Musical" playlist por favor!
Most people reading this list might not have even heard of some of these towns before, but after checking out the full list of explanations here, I'm sure that you'll be itching to visit the next chance you get!
