[NickSingh]

College towns I found have been great for this - things to do, access to airports and good schools, top-notch hospitals usually in the middle of "nowhere". Look into Charlottesville, Virginia - went to UVA and loved the town. Have also heard good things about Ithaca NY, Champaign IL, and Ann Arbor MI.

[jwx48]

I currently live in Charlottesville and would recommend against it. Its general infrastructure is crumbling. Sidewalks and bike paths, while they exist (barely), are neglected. The city government just bought a parking lot, for example, when there is already ample parking [1]. And yes, it's very expensive relative to what you get. I'm fortunate that I can bike to work because I live in town, but > 90% of my co-workers have to commute (by car; there's not much of a shuttle/bus system outside of UVA/CVille proper) because they can't afford to live here.

[1] https://www.nbc29.com/2022/06/22/charlottesville-city-counci...

[UncleMeat]

Charlottesville is indeed an amazing town but it isn't cheap (well, it is cheap compared to the bay area but it isn't cheap compared to other places in central Virginia). The airport also sucks, IMO. You are better off driving the 2.5h to Dulles for most travel.

[JKCalhoun]

Lived in Ann Arbor for almost a year, can concur it was a nice town.