i'm contemplating a major job/location change. currently, im in semi rural central pennsylvania college town. this has allowed me plenty of shooting freedom as well as the benefits of an educated, young and active population, but without traffic, crime, etc. i'd really like to stay in a similar environment...or at lease avoid something urban.

i do a fair amount of outdoor stuff, so easy access to wilderness areas would be important. also, i'd like to be within a couple hour drive of a city for occasions when i want something more.

most of my skills are it or networking related and i see no reason to move from that. i've been looking at the technology corridor in NC..raleigh/durham, harrisonburg VA (rural/james madison u), and ithaca NY (rural/cornell university)

at this point, i'm not adverse to moving anywhere. my parents are both stable and travel frequently so they have no preference for where i live. my brother is at cornell u but will likely be heading out to the west coast sometime soon.

can anyone offer any suggestions on college towns that would allow a comfortbale it profession as well as lots of convenient shooting?

warm or hot doesnt matter.

thanks!

Manhattan Kansas, GO WILDCATS!!!!!!

Plus you are next to the biggest lake here and a good sized one just on the north end of town.  Duck, Goose, Pheasant, Quail, Deer, Elk, Pig, Coyote, Coon, Bobcat hunting are some of the plusses.  Lots of public hunting and military base nearby.  Nice smaller town with plenty of women(easy) and establishments selling adult beverages (AggieVille).  And a hell of a good time tailgating KSU football games in the fall.  You are also within 1 1/2 hours of Kansas City(jazz bars and Westport) and 7 hours of Denver(skiing).  Sounds like heaven doesn't it!  The only downside is that you'd be in Kansas.

It gets both warm and hot here

I don't know about NC, but I can tell you about Harrisonburg.  I live about 40 minutes away and attend college at Blue Ridge Community College in the transfer program to JMU.  The area is great.  Harrisonburg being a college town is kind of liberal and expensive to live in, but Staunton, Waynesboro (where I live), and the "out in the county" areas are great places.  Cost of living is very low, there are plenty of decent gun shops, gun laws are more liberal (or conservative, however you look at it) than PA, no shortage of ranges, and the hunting is spectacular.

Cornell is renowned for it's liberal atmosphere.  Plus, it's in New York.  You might as well move to California (the weather is better) or China  (more historical, museum type shit to see).  Gun laws are downright draconian.

Move to VA, you'll won't regret it.


Addendum:  The girl/guy ratio at JMU is 5/3, so getting high-quality poon is not really a problem if you are into the whole wanton sex fling thing.

Sounds to me like you're wanting to move here to Knoxville!

The pitch:

Several colleges, University of Tennessee
Mountains - Smoky and Cumberland Mountain ranges
Water - Norris Lake, Tennessee River, Holston River. Boating, fishing, fly fishing, camping and two or three white water areas one of which, the Ocoee was the 1996 Olympic white water venue.
Relaxed population with perfect mix of urban and rural settings.
Hosted 1982 Worlds Fair
Womens Pro Basketball Hall of Fame
Dollywood
Great gun laws, Class III, supressors, shall issue CCW, no limit.
Tons of ranges and open areas for shooting.
Four true, yet mild seasons
2 hours from Atlanta and Nashville

Out of the three you listed, I'd go with Va.  Did udergrad in Pa, and moved to N.C from N.W Pa (by Edinboro university).  Used to live in Syracuse, and gun laws suck in N.Y.  You may want to think about West Virginia University (W.V has it all in my opinon)  Girlfriend lives in Cary (2 hrs east of me), and interstate 40 is  crazy (C.A.R.Y, containment area for relocated yankees, the triad area keeps growing and growing).  If it had to be N.C, start from Hickory and go west to Asheville.

Hey Eurotrash, if you live in State College, do yourself  a favor and stay there. Trust me, I went to school there and moved to crappy Maryland.You wont find a better little town anywhere. THERE IS NOTHING OUT THERE!!! I've been looking for an excuse to go back to Happy Valley.

p.s. Can I sublet your apartment, I have to get out of Maryland. What about your job, can I have it? Please?

Try Tallahassee Florida.  Everything you are looking for plus about 35,000 horny women.

I grew up in the Harrisonburg/Charlottesville/Staunton area.  Great place to live. These areas for the most part are pretty rural once you get outside the city limits.  The weather is great.  Plus we are a class 3 state and shall issue state.

I live around the Raleigh/Durham area and go to school in Blacksburg, VA.

Blacksburg sounds like a place you'd like. I find the area and the culture is quite gun-friendly (shall-issue, open carry, etc), and it is a college town.

As far as Raleigh-Durham goes, I live in Carrboro, which is right next to Chapel Hill. These AFAIK are two of the most liberal (if not the most liberal) and gun-unfriendly areas of the state of NC. Besides this, I love them, but in general the Raleigh-Durham area has experienced quite a bit of urban sprawl in the last 10 years and many yuppies (including me! :) have made it their home. AFAIK, CCW is a PAIN in Chapel Hill/Carrboro and places like Durham. The job market is better than you'd find many other places, and if you do find a job there, you might want to look into getting property in Chatham county or something of the like where you can have fun with your guns more easily. Many people who work in Chapel Hill or RDU in general live out in the boonies and do the commute.

HTH,

Robby

whoa! i'm continually impressed by the level of detail and information you guys come through with. thanks! fortunately, the work environment has improved substanitally in the past week. im not as ready to pack up and leave on a moments notice.

even so, i'll probably continue to check out the towns mentioned. i'm finding an interest in moving a little further south..perhaps closer to the coast as well. virginia still sounds appealing.

i already have a freind in the harrisonburg area running a bed and breakfast. it would make that area a little easier to get into. i dont think i know anyone in the other towns.

mayday,

are you serious about coming back to state college? i can appreciate that. it is nice here.

getting a summer sublet would be no problem. and if you are looking for a job, there is plenty going on here. i'm not sure how long you've been away, but the area has developed tremendously inthe past few years.

let me know, i can probably hook you up with whatever you'd need to relocate.