I've been to most all of the places mentioned and as far as I'm concerned Ann Arbor is (by far) the best college town in the country.
Asheville is cool, though I don't know of a major college there. Gainesville is pretty. And a shout out to the pretty mountain town of Blacksburg, VA (home of Virginia Tech and the first place I remember living).
Good beer, legal pot; mix in a decent amount of healthy coeds...can't be too bad. I'll be heading up that way next week for awhile.
I've been to Durham, Chapel Hill, Charlottesville, Austin, College Station, Waco, Norman. Charlottesville is probably my favorite; I enjoyed the Academical Village.
They make great beer, lots of top notch breweries are there Other than that, no much to do, and not too pretty If you are going to visit a campus in colorado...,.. I think it would be tough for anywhere to beat my alma mater........unless you are actually wanting to watch a good football team or something
Boulder is awesome. I concur after many visits... Though on a much smaller scale it does have a little bit of that Austin-esque it's growing too fast feel. It's basically a Denver suburb now, in the sense that you could also call the woodlands a Houston suburb. I'd like to visit: Eugene and Corvallis, OR Madison, WI Burlington, VT Hanover, NH Missoula, MT Ann Arbor, MI
My son visited Eugene today. Very wet, but he enjoyed it. We are going to decide this weekend where he's going.
I've been to every SEC Campus except for Missouri. The Grove and Athens were the most fun. I also repped anyone who said Tuscaloosa and there was only one person
what rhino17 said. Ft Collins does not compare to CU. Like he said, somewhat boring scenery and hiking options vs Boulder. my office building is in that picture.
I agree with all the love for Boulder. It's a really nice town, which is why I moved nearby a couple years back. heypartner, what is it you do at CU?
I don't work for CU, but my office is across the street from campus. I moved us there, because it makes it easier for me to meet the new crop of freshmen.