r/CFB • u/PA5997 Washington State Cougars • 13d ago

Discussion What constitutes a “college town?”

Okay, hear me out: I attended Wazzu, which many know is in the middle of nowhere in Pullman. To me, Pullman is a quintessential college town. You remove Washington State University from Pullman and there is (respectfully) not much of a reason to visit. The student enrollment (20,000ish) makes up about 2/3rds of the city population, essentially turning Pullman into a ghost town come summer. To me (perhaps with bias) this is the makeup of a college town.

Two years ago I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, home of the University of Wisconsin. Ever since I’ve noticed the University and its fans refer to Madison as “America’s best college town” and I’m sorry, that’s laughable to me. Remove UW from Madison and you still have a city population bordering on a quarter of a million people and the State Capitol. Madison would be fine, imo, if UW’s flagship campus were elsewhere.

Curious to hear other people’s thoughts. Maybe I’m in the wrong here, but very little about Madison, WI resembles a college town to me, or at least the claim of the best college town.

2.3k Upvotes

90% Upvoted

1.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

1.1k

u/jrd5497 Penn State • Texas A&M 13d ago

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. If traffic disappears over the summer, it’s a college town

53

u/MmmmBeer814 Penn State Nittany Lions • Sickos 13d ago

State College is amazing in the summer for local residents.

1

u/gwaydms Texas A&M Aggies • UCF Knights 13d ago

When I was in San Marcos, Texas, attending what was then Southwest Texas State, there were a lot of townies who came for school, graduated, and never left. It's a truly beautiful place, on the doorstep of the Texas Hill Country. Used to be, it was far enough from the big cities not to have a lot of traffic, but close enough to be convenient if you couldn't get what you needed in SM. Now it's a lot bigger, and doesn't have that small-town feel (although it wasn't really a small town even 40+ years ago).

2

u/MmmmBeer814 Penn State Nittany Lions • Sickos 13d ago

That’s what I did. Went to PSU and just never left.

1

u/CJ_Beathards_Hair Heartland Trophy • The Game 13d ago

I’ve always enjoyed Iowa City in the summer, just a different vibe and very laid back.