Now listen, I know what you’re thinking: Ozzie, you’ve never even lived in a city. Why should I trust anything you have to say? And that’s a great question. What I have to offer in reply is that I’ve lived in a small college town for literally my entire life, so if it was boring and awful I would definitely know by now!
So, if Oberlin is one of your top choices but you’re worried that the town is too small and you won’t have anything to do off campus, fear not! I am here to quell your concerns and convice you that Oberlin is where it’s at.
Without further ado, here is my personal and correct list of reasons that small-town schools are better than cities. As a bonus, I’m also writing in the company of one of my NYC friends so some might even go as far as to say that this is a peer-reviewed list:
- You can walk literally everywhere. I know some people like to commute or whatever, but there is no denying the convenience of small-town life. I never have to worry about catching a shuttle or train to get to class, and if I run out of toothpaste the downtown general store is only 5 minutes away! I think a lot of Obies genuinely sleep later in the mornings because class is so nearby.
- Safety. This one speaks for itself, I think. One of my friends told me they left their wallet in the grass the other day and instead of stealing it someone just brought it to Campus Safety. Plus you can walk around at any hour of the night and be perfectly comfortable.
- Everyone knows everyone. Because the town (and the campus) are small, you’ll never have to worry about scary strangers or showing up to an event where you don’t know anyone. As a subpoint of this list item, many townies in Oberlin are alums, so it’s super easy to build friendships with members of the town community here.
- Direct access to green spaces and nature. This is something you’ll have a hard time finding in big cities. I’m pretty sure you would be hard-pressed to find two buildings at Oberlin without a grassy area between them, which is definitely something you won’t be able to find if you’re in a big city campus. We also have an arboretum!
- Cozy comfort food. Although we may not have quite as many restaurants as a big city, the ones we do have are excellent. Quality over quantity! Besides, we do really have a pretty good selection: two different Chinese places, two different Mexican places, a Thai place, a pizza place, an Aladdin’s, the Feve, Kim’s, Main Street Grille, Ying’s, etc. And you can always Doordash if you really need to!
- So much stuff to do. Okay, this one is less about small towns in general and more about Oberlin. You will never run out of things to do here. Trust me. And yes, it’s totally possible to leave campus and go into Cleveland if you want to do other stuff there... but you probably won’t even want to because there’s so much stuff to do here already. Lots of stuff. Got it?
- Commonality of experiences. If you go to school in a big city, you may be having a completely different experience than that of your peers. At schools like Oberlin, you can try almost anything you want and still have shared experiences with your peers. The shared spaces become shared experiences in a way.
- Less light pollution. This might not be a top priority for you, but I personally really like to be able to see the stars at night which is something you definitely won’t find in a big city. There’s nothing quite like it.
- Just more space. I know this might not matter to everyone, but I do think the rooms and buildings at small-town schools are just bigger. I visited a few colleges when I was in high school that were in Boston or NYC, and every single dorm room was the tiniest amount of space I have ever seen. Here, I live in an open double all to myself, and I can fit 15 people in my room without anyone needing to sit on someone else’s lap. Plus there’s room to dance.
I’m sure that I could come up with another reason to round out this list and make it a perfect ten, but I feel like if I haven’t convinced you yet it might be a lost cause. I guess, if I had to add one last argument for the small-town college experience, it would be that you have the rest of your life to live in a big city. So, while you have the opportunity, take a moment to slow down and live the small-town life. I promise you won’t regret it.
P.S. We all know that people joke about the NYC-to-Oberlin pipeline, but I think there is also a secret and more mysterious Oberlin-to-NYC pipeline. You’ll get there eventually!
