Do not expect a comprehensive review of the city by any stretch. I do not live in Auburn, or Alabama and know next to nothing about the town. This was my first time even stepping in the state. I did snap a pic for those interested in reading a history from 1865 to Present if that helps. What I will provide in my write up is a week choke-full of observations from a glorious time. First of all when I rolled into town I immediately looked on my Yelp app for coffee shops. I get up early, well sometimes I never go to sleep and need my morning Joe. I was stunned to not find one Starbucks... I am not saying this is bad. There were a lot of local shops that fit the bill quite nicely. Toomers Coffee Co. was my fave. This is a college town, duh! What I mean is you cannot separate out the college from the town, the town from the college. They are one part in my opinion. Any place you drive their are personalized license plates and stickers on both students and locals cars of AU. Off campus homes in residential areas have flags hanging from the porch, or garden signs with AU. Businesses downtown have AU in every shape and form imaginable. As well store that sell merchandising such as J&M Bookstore and Auburn Art. This is a city that is united in it's love of the Tigers. I found the Auburn police presence to be quite strong. It appears the school does not have a police force. The black and white Auburn patrol cars were like stealth ninja's at every corner you looked. When walking downtown one day I witnessed a rear end collision. I called the police to respond and boy did they. Within a minutes lights and sirens were converging from every direction. You would almost think this is Mayberry and they had nothing else to do. I have no problem with police presence and I am assuming they have a little less to do in the Summer. Auburn almost completely subsidizes it's use of the Frank Brown Recreation Center to it's citizens. When I say almost... all that residents have to pay is a lifetime $25 for a swipe card to use all of the in-house facilities, classes are of course extra. A sore spot for me was that they do not allow non-residents to purchase a day pass. The town has a lot to be proud of, much more than I saw in a week. However, some of my favorite recreational and cultural places were Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve that is associated with AU, Davis Arboretum, AU associated, Jule Collins Smith Museum again AU associated and Chewacia State Park which is in city limits of Auburn. I spent a great deal of time in the heart of downtown on my visit. The AU campus rolls right into Toomer's Corner which is the beginning of Auburn's downtown. The streets and sidewalks are clean. The business take care of their store fronts and show community pride. Pulling off a neat and clean atmosphere cannot be easy with college kids that party in bars late at night. So kudo's to the Auburn city sanitation workers who do a magnificent job everyday. I did not see store vacancies which shows me this is thriving business district. Finally a town is about it's people. For visitors that come for a short time a first impression is formed quickly. From the hotel clerk who checked me in to the server at Mellow Mushroom to the young man that rang up my first lemonade at Toomer's Drugs to the coach who checked my son into the dorm for camp. I had a positive attitude and warm feeling of the town immediately. There is something that is very special and unique at Auburn. Those that reside in Auburn already know what I learned in a week. This is a grand old Southern college town that welcomes all with open arms and a charm that has you wanting to plan a return visit in the near future. read more

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Well since this is where I spent a good amount of my youth growing up and where my family still lives, I have to say it was a pretty good little town. It is the "Loveliest Village on the Plains" of course... read more