The Best College Town: Columbia, South Carolina

There are a lot of good college towns in the U.S., but the best goes to Columbia, South Carolina. Columbia is home to eight universities, including the University of South Carolina.

One of the best things about Columbia is that it is just the right size. It isn't too big or too small at around 127,000 people and it is the center of South Carolina so you're not too far away from most SC towns.

Columbia has a good bus system to get you around town and other areas near Columbia if you don't have a car, which is good for college students who don't want to be stuck at home or in the classroom all the time. Columbia also has affordable off-campus housing, which gives students plenty of choices in deciding where they want to live.

If you're a college student, there is always something to do in Columbia, whether you're interested in taking in the nightlife or attending a sporting event, or doing something a little less exciting but still fun, like going to the zoo.

Columbia has two areas that have a large variety of restaurants, clubs, and bars - The Vista and Five Points. The Vista is great if you want a more laid back, less intense atmosphere. A couple of great places to try out at The Vista are the Liberty Tap Room and the Art Bar. The Liberty Tap Room not only has good steaks, they also have 48 beers on tap. The Art Bar is also good for drinks, as well as live music.

Five Points is a little wilder than The Vista. There are a lot of fun bars to choose from in Five Points and you'll see a lot of college students and athletes hanging out. Village Idiot Pizza and Delaney's Music Pub are just a couple of places to choose from at Five Points.

There is more to Columbia than just the nightlife, which is what makes it such a great college town. As Columbia is the capital of SC, the Governor's Mansion is close by, as well as Riverbanks Zoo and the SC State Museum. Columbia is also culturally diverse. In addition to being home to the SC government, the army base Fort Jackson is here, as well as the historically black college, Benedict College.

There are plenty of options for college students if they want to take in a sporting event. While the biggest draw is the USC football team, there are plenty of non-football options including college basketball and other collegiate sports, hockey, and arena football.

Columbia is the best college town around and with the number of colleges located here, as well as all of the entertainment and shopping options, you should consider visiting when trying to decide where to go to college.