Rank the Big 10 Cities

Notre Dame Joe said:
Preface by saying 1-9 are all better than South Bend.

4. Urbana-Champaign. Some nice houses in a sea of corn.

5. Bloomington. Supringly nice.

6. Lincoln. Never been but sounds like Champaign.
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Yeah my brother lives in South Bend and although I've never been on campus, I can't say I was too impressed with the area.

I wouldn't compare Lincoln and Urbana-Champaign though. I've been to both many times (i live about 45 minutes from Champaign) and I would say U-C is more like a smaller, crappier Omaha. I mean its fun to hang out on campus and there are some nice areas I'm sure, but there are also some really dirty neighborhoods there. Lincoln just seems a lot nicer to me overall. UIUC is almost twice the size of UNL enrollment-wise and the UIUC campus area is really spread out so I'm not sure if they really compare in that regard either.

I haven't been to many big 10 cities but I would have Madison near the top of the list. It seems like a really nice area despite the terrible WI weather.

 
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The nice thing about Lincoln is that we have next to no crime. The "bad" neighborhoods aren't bad at all, compared to most cities. Even compared to cities comparable in size to Lincoln, overall the "bad" parts of town aren't that bad.

In an arc from about 7th and A streets going north and east to roughly Fremont and Touzalin are the lowest-end parts of town. South of downtown is getting kind of sketchy, and T-town, which stretches east of campus from about 17th & Q north to 17th & Vine, then east to 27th from Vine to P, used to be dodgy, but as the university expands eastward and as the Antelope Valley project grinds on, those parts of town are being pushed out from under that cloud and becoming filled with more students.

The biggest problems Lincoln has is lack of traffic infrastructure and little to no nightlife, aside from booze. If your idea of a good time is just hanging out with a bunch of people having a beer, you're gold - this is a great town for that. But if you're looking for shows or plays or street food or things like that, it's not nearly on par with places like Austin, TX or Boulder, CO.

 
I grew up in Minnesota... not sure if i would love to live in Minneapolis, maybe a suburb... But i love MN... Lincoln is great too....

Wouldn't go near that worthless state of Wisconsin.

 
knapplc said:
And don't even get me started on the stupid roundabouts they're putting in. When Elmer and Twyla come in from 54 county on their third time driving on paved roads, they're going to be confused as all get-out by these things. Driving in Lincoln is an exercise in controlled rage. I'm surprised there aren't more road rage incidents.
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Those are huge here as a way to reduce lights. They work great on streets with low-medium traffic where more often than not you'd come up to the light and be the only one sitting there anyway. As long as they are 2-3 lanes all around I love them. But put one on even a moderately busy street and you're asking for trouble.

My wife got smoked by some girl exiting from the inside lane (wife was in the outside lane and was continuing around the loop), took off the front end of her car. I showed up to see the cop writing my wife a ticket. Argued with him about how a roundabout works. He told me how he thought they worked. Finally conceeded that they work how I was explaining it...except for the entrance my wife came into. It was a :facepalm: moment for me, so I walked him 100 yards to the sign at the entry to show him they are all the same. Still didn't believe me. Finally, after we left the scene the cop calls my wife to tell her he drove around it a couple of times and I was right, and to rip up the ticket. Kudo's to a cop for admitting he was wrong. Just goes to show you how confusing those are to everyone involved.

 
typ3kal said:
Touchdown Tommie said:
I am really surprised about how high you all have MN on your list. I live here and it is not that great. Tailgaiting is terrible and the campus sucks. There are some decent bars in the area, but it really is not that great. The new stadium is small, but nice. Just curious why some of you would put MN so high...
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Ranking the cities not the college campus.

I love UofM's academic programs. I hate their campus and everything else about it. Minneapolis is still a sweet place to live for four years for college, but I gave Columbus and Madison the edge because at least you have a college team to support that isn't abyssal.
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I know...the city of Minneapolis is not that great...

 
kchusker_chris said:
knapplc said:
And don't even get me started on the stupid roundabouts they're putting in. When Elmer and Twyla come in from 54 county on their third time driving on paved roads, they're going to be confused as all get-out by these things. Driving in Lincoln is an exercise in controlled rage. I'm surprised there aren't more road rage incidents.
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Those are huge here as a way to reduce lights. They work great on streets with low-medium traffic where more often than not you'd come up to the light and be the only one sitting there anyway. As long as they are 2-3 lanes all around I love them. But put one on even a moderately busy street and you're asking for trouble.

My wife got smoked by some girl exiting from the inside lane (wife was in the outside lane and was continuing around the loop), took off the front end of her car. I showed up to see the cop writing my wife a ticket. Argued with him about how a roundabout works. He told me how he thought they worked. Finally conceeded that they work how I was explaining it...except for the entrance my wife came into. It was a :facepalm: moment for me, so I walked him 100 yards to the sign at the entry to show him they are all the same. Still didn't believe me. Finally, after we left the scene the cop calls my wife to tell her he drove around it a couple of times and I was right, and to rip up the ticket. Kudo's to a cop for admitting he was wrong. Just goes to show you how confusing those are to everyone involved.
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Yikes. I expect similar confusion here in Lincoln, not only with drivers, but with law enforcement as well. They already have several roundabouts in town here, and I live quite near one of them. Even though there's very little traffic, I constantly see people totally flummoxed by this thing. Going the wrong way, missing their turn, nearly crashing as they drive too fast or fail to realize what they're on, etc. It's a comedy of errors, and this thing has been here for a couple of years already.

But it gets better - they're going to put a three-lane roundabout at a very heavily-traveled intersection here in the north part of town. It's going to be an absolute disaster, no question. Between the locals who already have trouble grasping the complexities of a four-way stop and the out-of-towners who rarely drive on paved roads as it is, this thing is going to be an accident-generator tour de force.

But it gets even better, because not content to muck up an intersection on the outskirts of town, the city has decided to put not one but two roundabouts adjacent to the stadium, so all of the out-staters who come in once a year for a game can really really screw things up. There's going to be a series of two roundabouts a block apart just northwest of the stadium, on the way from the Devaney Center to Haymarket Arena. That should be a heck of a fun drive on gamedays. :facepalm:

 
knapplc said:
kchusker_chris said:
knapplc said:
And don't even get me started on the stupid roundabouts they're putting in. When Elmer and Twyla come in from 54 county on their third time driving on paved roads, they're going to be confused as all get-out by these things. Driving in Lincoln is an exercise in controlled rage. I'm surprised there aren't more road rage incidents.
Click to expand...
Those are huge here as a way to reduce lights. They work great on streets with low-medium traffic where more often than not you'd come up to the light and be the only one sitting there anyway. As long as they are 2-3 lanes all around I love them. But put one on even a moderately busy street and you're asking for trouble.

My wife got smoked by some girl exiting from the inside lane (wife was in the outside lane and was continuing around the loop), took off the front end of her car. I showed up to see the cop writing my wife a ticket. Argued with him about how a roundabout works. He told me how he thought they worked. Finally conceeded that they work how I was explaining it...except for the entrance my wife came into. It was a :facepalm: moment for me, so I walked him 100 yards to the sign at the entry to show him they are all the same. Still didn't believe me. Finally, after we left the scene the cop calls my wife to tell her he drove around it a couple of times and I was right, and to rip up the ticket. Kudo's to a cop for admitting he was wrong. Just goes to show you how confusing those are to everyone involved.
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Yikes. I expect similar confusion here in Lincoln, not only with drivers, but with law enforcement as well. They already have several roundabouts in town here, and I live quite near one of them. Even though there's very little traffic, I constantly see people totally flummoxed by this thing. Going the wrong way, missing their turn, nearly crashing as they drive too fast or fail to realize what they're on, etc. It's a comedy of errors, and this thing has been here for a couple of years already.

But it gets better - they're going to put a three-lane roundabout at a very heavily-traveled intersection here in the north part of town. It's going to be an absolute disaster, no question. Between the locals who already have trouble grasping the complexities of a four-way stop and the out-of-towners who rarely drive on paved roads as it is, this thing is going to be an accident-generator tour de force.

But it gets even better, because not content to muck up an intersection on the outskirts of town, the city has decided to put not one but two roundabouts adjacent to the stadium, so all of the out-staters who come in once a year for a game can really really screw things up. There's going to be a series of two roundabouts a block apart just northwest of the stadium, on the way from the Devaney Center to Haymarket Arena. That should be a heck of a fun drive on gamedays. :facepalm:
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Do you know which intersection (or roughly where) in the north part of town that they'll be putting the roundabout?

 
knapplc said:
14th & Superior. It's going to be a major cluster.
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:facepalm:

I don't go by that intersection often myself, but I know there's a 24 hour Walgreens right there so it must be a fairly busy intersection/part of town.

Major cluster indeed.

 
Based on the following:

- Champaign, IL . . . . . I have consumed Champaign

- Bloomington, IN . . . . My wife likes to shop at Bloomingdale's

- Iowa City, IA . . . . Is in the same state as Council Tucky

- Ann Arbor, MI . . . . . Arbor day started in Nebraska

- East Lansing, MI. . . . Live close to Lansing - Kansas

- Minneapolis, MN . . . . Drove through on way to family wedding in Wisconsin

- Lincoln, NE . . . . . . Lived there for 25 years

- Evanston, IL. . . . . . Transferred planes once at O'Hara

- Columbus, OH. . . . . . Lived north of Columbus - Nebraska

- State College, PA . . . Home to the ^))*^%$$@%$^&_(*&$ "L" shape football field

- West Lafayette, IN. . . Pirates, aaaarrrr

- Madison, WI . . . . . . Lived in Madison - Nebraska

So

West Lafayette, IN

.

.

.

Champaign, IL

Lincoln, NE

.

.

Ann Arbor, MI

.

Minneapolis, MN

East Lansing, MI

Madison, WI

Columbus, OH

.

.

Evanston, IL

.

.

.

Iowa City, IA

Bloomington, IN

.

.

.

.

.

.

State College, PA

 
I'm all for the 14th and Superior roundabout.

They are expanding 14th to 4 lanes all the way from the Devaney to past Fletcher. I live north of Superior and use that intersection everyday. It sucks only having a 2 lane between Superior and the Devaney- especially on gameday. I'm trying to block out the memories of being caught on 14th for an hour or more. *cringes*

 
typ3kal said:
I'm all for the 14th and Superior roundabout.

They are expanding 14th to 4 lanes all the way from the Devaney to past Fletcher. I live north of Superior and use that intersection everyday. It sucks only having a 2 lane between Superior and the Devaney- especially on gameday. I'm trying to block out the memories of being caught on 14th for an hour or more. *cringes*
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I didn't know you lived up there. We probably live about two/three miles apart.

I would be willing to bet that the wait times don't change. Instead of waiting for a light you're going to be waiting for some idiot who can't even grasp the intricacies of a four-way stop, and who will be completely baffled by this thing. There's no way it's going to be an improvement over what we have now. An expanded intersection would make more sense.

Gamedays are going to be even worse - instead of having Lincolnites who regularly drive on this thing you'll have Harold and Myrtle from Prague taking their turn, and they're going to be utterly baffled by it. It only takes one person to side-swipe another and you've got gridlock. And thanks to the wonderful planning from our City Council, there aren't any alternative routes once that happens, especially from the North.

 
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