If you can weather the weather, Madison or St. Louis. Rent is cheap in both places (< $1000/mo is easy to find).
Madison benefits from having University of Wisconsin campus. It is also the capital of Wisconsin. While being around the same size as a flagship state school "college-town," it retains its own identity and culture (you never feel like the city revolves around the university). I've heard many people compare Madison to Austin, TX. UW-Madison has one of the oldest computer science departments in the US--high ranking department. Extremely bike friendly town. Winters are LONG; I suspect the cold keeps the city population a manageable size.
St. Louis is a mid-sized city. It has all the cultural amenities you'd expect from a big city (airport, food, arts, parks, etc), without the traffic or sprawl, and at a fraction of the cost. Wash U is the top academic center in the area. It's not a great city to visit as a tourist, but it's a fantastic city to live in, especially for the frugal-minded. Summers are hot and humid.
Madison benefits from having University of Wisconsin campus. It is also the capital of Wisconsin. While being around the same size as a flagship state school "college-town," it retains its own identity and culture (you never feel like the city revolves around the university). I've heard many people compare Madison to Austin, TX. UW-Madison has one of the oldest computer science departments in the US--high ranking department. Extremely bike friendly town. Winters are LONG; I suspect the cold keeps the city population a manageable size.
St. Louis is a mid-sized city. It has all the cultural amenities you'd expect from a big city (airport, food, arts, parks, etc), without the traffic or sprawl, and at a fraction of the cost. Wash U is the top academic center in the area. It's not a great city to visit as a tourist, but it's a fantastic city to live in, especially for the frugal-minded. Summers are hot and humid.