Students and College Park residents enjoy the nightlife at RJ Bentley’s.
It’s no surprise that thousands of students flock to this university and the surrounding area each year: College Park was recently ranked the fifth-most exciting place to be in the state.
Housing referral website Movoto Real Estate ranked 57 highly populated areas throughout the state and posted the results on its blog. The website based the rankings on data from websites such as Yelp and AreaVibes, as well as the 2010 U.S. Census, Movoto writer Laura Allan wrote in an email.
Allan said the site looked at several categories, such as population nightlife, music venues, non-fast food restaurants, active life options, arts and the percentage of people ages 18 to 34 in each area.
“We ranked each place in each of those categories, then averaged each place’s scores into one big deal score,” Allan wrote. “The place with the lowest number for their big deal score was our most exciting.”
The city trailed Annapolis, Silver Spring, Baltimore and Gaithersburg on the list.
Allan said the university’s location in College Park and the abundant music and nightlife scene it offers made a great impact on the city’s excitement level.
“It had a huge number of people between the ages of 18 and 34,” Allan wrote. “The University of Maryland definitely made a big difference here and is probably the main underlying cause of this place’s fifth ranking overall.”
Rockville resident Suzanna Anani, who previously lived in Gaithersburg, said she was surprised that Gaithersburg ranked higher than College Park at No. 4.
“When I read about Gaithersburg and Rockville, I kind of laughed to myself and thought, ‘Wait, I live in these areas?’ because they seem pretty oversold,” Anani said. “But I guess if you haven’t lived there your whole life like I have, they can seem new and exciting.”
Ethnic diversity, Anani said, is likely the leading factor in Gaithersburg topping College Park, with all of the festivals that occur within Montgomery County.
Michael Stiefvater, College Park’s economic development coordinator, said that with so many great cities in the state, it’s an honor for College Park to make the list.
“We’re certainly much smaller than a place like Baltimore, but there’s a wide range of great things about College Park, from cultural and sporting events on campus to fantastic bike trails and other outdoor areas like Lake Artemesia,” Stiefvater said.
Stiefvater also noted College Park has a decent variety of businesses to keep its ratings high. Unique options have been opening in the city in recent years, he said, such as a vintage furniture store and a board game cafe.
“Those kinds of places are making College Park more exciting, and we hope to keep that trend going,” he said.
But junior mathematics major Kripa Shyamakrishnan of Gaithersburg said she believes College Park was underrated on the list. Gaithersburg is a city that requires one to search for fun, she said, while College Park doesn’t require much effort to find excitement.
“College Park clearly has more to offer someone my age, and it gears its entertainment venues to those in my peer group,” Shyamakrishnan said. “In College Park, there is something for everyone in pretty much every corner.”
