Ames compared to other Big 12 College Towns

Jan 9, 2008
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For the people that have been on a lot of road trips to other college towns, how does Ames stack up? I've never been to another Big 12 college town and am curious what the other ones are like and whether or not you prefer Ames.
 

mike4cy

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Aug 4, 2006
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Lawrence was kind of dissappointing (good thing I was able to go to Kelly's bar the night before) and Lincoln is not very fun at all. Those are my experiences.
 
Jan 9, 2008
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Lawrence was kind of dissappointing (good thing I was able to go to Kelly's bar the night before) and Lincoln is not very fun at all. Those are my experiences.

That's interesting about Lawrence. I've heard it's not too bad of a town. I knew Lincoln left a little to be desired and from what I've heard Manhattan is lame as well, granted i heard this from a Jayhawk fan.
 

CRcyclone6

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Dec 27, 2007
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Boulder is beautiful. Lawrence, Norman, Stillwater, Austin all have their great night spots. Had great hospitality at all. A few more snobs at KU. "All Pay Heed to the Phog", or however it goes in their building.
 

alaskaguy

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Apr 11, 2006
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If we are comparing "towns" and not campus's Boulder would be at the top of my list, but that is probably because I prefer being next to mountains as opposed to.....
 

cybsball20

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Nov 26, 2006
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Des Moines, IA
For the people that have been on a lot of road trips to other college towns, how does Ames stack up? I've never been to another Big 12 college town and am curious what the other ones are like and whether or not you prefer Ames.

I have been to them all. I would put Ames right around the middle. The WORST is bny far Waco. The next teir would be Lubbock, Stillwater, and College Station. Lubbock is in the middle of nowhere, same with College Station. In fact, with CS the campus is pretty much the only thing there. Stillwater has Eskimo Joes and that is IT... The low middle would be Ames, Manhattan, Norman, Lincoln. Upper Middle Columbia, Lawrence. Then a slight uptick to Boulder and Austin far and away the best college town in the big 12.
 

CRcyclone6

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Dec 27, 2007
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That's interesting about Lawrence. I've heard it's not too bad of a town. I knew Lincoln left a little to be desired and from what I've heard Manhattan is lame as well, granted i heard this from a Jayhawk fan.

Yeah, if you listen to a Jayhawk, their town is the best, their girls are the best, their campus is the best, bla, bla, bla. Lawrence is the center of the universe in everything. That's why lots, not all, Jayhawks can keep their distance.
 

Wesley

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Apr 12, 2006
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Omaha
I think Austin has it for town and campus. It is also a great retirement place. Bouder has it for Kool.
 

cyco2000

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Nov 5, 2007
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I've been to Lubbock, Manhattan, Norman, Columbia, and Lawrence for ISU B12 football road games.

I will agree with Wesley regarding Texas Tech. I did have a fun time there until the game day and game--I got enough crap going into the stadium to make a sailor blush.

If you think Nebraska or parts of Iowa are flat, it is nothing compared to that part of Texas. As one of the locals told me, "Go outside of town, stand on a can of tuna, and you'll see the back of your head."

I did hate Manhattan, as well. Their tailgating was the closest thing to ISU's tailgating, though.

Much of my disdain for other towns may be the fact that our football team regularly gets their butts handed to them on the road.

Ames is the smallest B12 town, and it definitely shows as far as restaurants, bars, entertainment, shopping, etc. I wish the council would do something about that...but that is another topic.
 

EggMcClone

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Mar 19, 2006
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mylifeinthebasement.blogspot.com
I think Ames is bigger than Manhattan and Stillwater but not by much.

It's kind of tough to compare towns like that (around 50K) with places like Lawrence, Norman, or Columbia (around 100K) and close to impossible to compare it to a place like Austin (1 mill+). They all have their advantages and disadvantages. I maintain that if you can't have a good time in any of those towns you're not trying hard enough.
 

CRcyclone6

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Dec 27, 2007
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I think Ames is bigger than Manhattan and Stillwater but not by much.

It's kind of tough to compare towns like that (around 50K) with places like Lawrence, Norman, or Columbia (around 100K) and close to impossible to compare it to a place like Austin (1 mill+). They all have their advantages and disadvantages. I maintain that if you can't have a good time in any of those towns you're not trying hard enough.

great points. It's not hard to have a good time in a college town.
 

zach

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Jul 17, 2006
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The Subs
I love Ames, however, Austin is a wonderful city with lots too do... I like them both for different reasons....I can't compare the campuses.

Z
 

Sousaclone

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Apr 29, 2006
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My sister went to KU and I thought it was a nicer town than Ames to be honest. Seems like the town embraced the university and used it to it's advantage. My brother went there for a year before transferring to NU and he could use the KU equivalent of CyCash at the local restaurants and such. Seems like they had a better selection of restaurants. The campus is pretty decent also, much hillier than Ames which has it's ups and downs (pun not intended). Haven't spent any major time in Lincoln so I can't sy anythign about it. That's also the limits of my Big XII travels.
 

cyfan964

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Oct 22, 2006
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If we are talking about campuses I would say College Station is one of the nicer ones. If Lake Laverne didn't smell like a sewage waste site we would be the best.
 

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