Athens offers many cultural and recreational opportunities with small town convenience and affordability. On campus we have a world-class performing arts center (featured in live broadcasts on NPR), a 430,000 sq ft recreation center (rated top in the US by Sports Illustrated) underpinning our recreational sports program, collegiate sporting events, a recently expanded art complex, a remarkable group of special collections libraries, featuring a history of Media and the Peabody awards, and much more. Athens affords UGA’s graduate students a thriving music scene (rated #1 in the country by Rolling Stone) and theater events, at venues such as the 40 Watt Club, the Georgia Theater, and the Classic Center theater. The community also has a lively art scene, great restaurants, and proximity to Atlanta and the Georgia mountains, each only an hour's drive away. Given its many features, Athens frequently makes national top ten lists for music venues, college towns, livability, etc. (see below). A variety of recent accolades for Athens, Georgia: List of “The Coolest Small Cities in America”; GQ magazine, 2010 Top Tri Towns for triathletes (#10); Triathlete.com; 2010 Top 10 College Towns (#10); Away.com; 2010 Top 25 Arts Destination (midsized cities, #12); American Style Magazine, 2011 Top 10 College Towns (#8); Livability.com (#8); 2012 Top 10 Cities for Affordable Vacations (#8); Livability.com; 2012 25 Best Places to Retire; CNN Money; 2012 52 Best Colleges for Food (#16); TheDailyMeal.com; 2012 “The Next Big Scene” (Top 10); Gourmet.com; 2012
