I have an older sister who is about to graduate from the University of Georgia (UGA), and she absolutely loved her time in Athens for good reason. Aside from the obvious dominance in football, she got to watch (she was thoroughly humbled this year), one of her favorite parts of Athens is the downtown and nightlife.

While UGA is a “frat school” known for its Greek life (as the SEC typically is), the downtown restaurants and activities are incredibly high. There are so many to choose from downtown, almost an overwhelming amount. In Iowa, there are 10-12 people who really go to on any given night; in Athens, that number is way closer to 30 or 40.

Athens is also widely considered the best college town in the country. While I disagree and believe it is Iowa City, Athens is a lot bigger, which is where the title comes in. UGA has around 45k total students compared to UI’s 30k, making it much more packed. However, the downtown situations are very different.

Because there are so many more restaurants in Athens, fewer are filled and busy, while Iowa City capitalizes on it. Spots like China Star and Sumo Sushi thrive on great prices for great food while being packed and have led to some of the most fun nights for me and my friends.

So, while Athens may be higher on a lot of people’s boards, you might want to think twice about going out and the kind of vibe you want while going out with friends.