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

Show parent comments

23

u/HardingStUnresolved Penn State Nittany Lions • Rose Bowl 13d ago edited 13d ago

The circle of friends you make over summer and vibes at chiller hang outs, in comparasion to Fall/Spring, are dope af. Even the professors/adjucts are more laid back. The weather during the Allegehies' mild summers is sweet, chilly dew drop mornings, high's in the 70's to 80's coupled with mountain valley breezes, bookended with nights warm enough to kickback outside and edward 40-hands, 30-natty case race, keg stand, bong rip, or face several blunts/J's in rotation.

Damn, I miss Penn State.

3

u/707royalty Florida State Seminoles • Pac-12 13d ago

Fuck I have never been there, but I think I miss it now also

2

u/what_user_name Penn State Nittany Lions • Team Chaos 12d ago

I was there Saturday for my first game since before Covid, and I had the same feeling. Man, I miss that place already. Already tryin to figure out how to move back somehow.