To the extent people are voting with their feet, the trend is plainly toward climates that are the same or warmer than the DC area. There are people who like staying in the cold, but they are the exception.

http://blog.sparefoot.com/3998-fastest-growing-college-towns/

Anonymous wrote:This thread demonstrates how sheltered and insular those on DCUM are.

Taking the typical school year as August - May, how could anyone who has been around boost a town that is frozen half the year with residents hunkered in. There is a reason people have been move toward the warm limiters for decades - quality of life.

Shhh! Someone has to fill all those dorms and classrooms in the freezing climes. Let the remain blissful in their ignorance. Besides Madison is really nice in September (from someone who knows)

Ithaca ny

Gainesville

Anonymous wrote:The cold regions like Ann Arbor, Madison, Burlington, Boston have 4 seasons. That is what people love about them.

. Yes. This upcoming weekend is fall, then Winter kicks in until early April.

People who think they enjoy that climate don't know better. Alcoholism and suicide rates tell you all you need to know.

Blacksburg, no contest.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Madison or Ann Arbor for Midwest? San Diego or Santa Barbara? Athens or Columbia?? Anywhere in Florida?? Or does it even matter when you go to a college of 20,000+? (Because clearly people don't flock to State College, PA for the town. Do they?)

Last I checked, there weren't any non-stop flights from DC to Ann Arbor or Madison.

Madison has a very nice airport. There are some nonstop flights to DC and NY. Also many flights that connect through Chicago and Detroit. Ann Arbor has plenty of flights through Detroit.

The cold regions like Ann Arbor, Madison, Burlington, Boston have 4 seasons. That is what people love about them.

Ithaca
Burlington or Middlebury
Ann Arbor
Madison

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This thread demonstrates how sheltered and insular those on DCUM are.

Taking the typical school year as August - May, how could anyone who has been around boost a town that is frozen half the year with residents hunkered in. There is a reason people have been move toward the warm limiters for decades - quality of life.

Hahaha - talk about sheltered and insular! You can stick to your warmer limiters and I'll stick to my cooler limiters. Some of us do enjoy winter weather/winter sports. You should get out more.

There are certainly the more robust among us who enjoy ice fishing, curling and the like, but the demographic trends tell you that MOST people are choosing to move to warmer sunny regions. It's a good thing that there are some who choose (or don't know better than) to stick to the cold regions to prop up those dying places, but it's a pity they aren't creating jobs or opportunities for college grads.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who thinks Boston feels like a college town has never been to a college town and has never visited BU or BC or Emerson or Northeastern for that matter. None of them have a college town feeling, and I would say the same about the Cambridge powerhouses. That said, Boston is a wonderful place to live and to go to school, just not a college town.

Right. I lived in a cute little college town for 5 years - undergrad/grad. I've visited friends at MIT, Harvard, BC, and BU, but not the others. I lived in Cambridge for a year. Guess I have no idea what what I'm talking about. Good thing you're here to set all of us right.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Madison or Ann Arbor for Midwest? San Diego or Santa Barbara? Athens or Columbia?? Anywhere in Florida?? Or does it even matter when you go to a college of 20,000+? (Because clearly people don't flock to State College, PA for the town. Do they?)

Last I checked, there weren't any non-stop flights from DC to Ann Arbor or Madison.

Tons of direct flights to Detroit (DTW) which is the local airport, 20 minutes from Ann Arbor.

Anyone who thinks Boston feels like a college town has never been to a college town and has never visited BU or BC or Emerson or Northeastern for that matter. None of them have a college town feeling, and I would say the same about the Cambridge powerhouses. That said, Boston is a wonderful place to live and to go to school, just not a college town.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is only one, really, Boston.

Boston is a big city, not a college town.

Boston is indeed a college town, but with a city attached. There are 250,000 college students there and one of every 5 residents is either a student or a university employee. More importantly, it just feels like a college town.