College towns are the best bargain in U.S. real estate. They may be the ideal mix of low prices, culture, fun and high-tech growth. Were I some kind of REIT genius, I’d start a fund with properties in college towns: in Fayetteville, Gainesville, Knoxville, Starkville and dozens of other Diplomavilles. Were Steve Forbes to fire me tomorrow, I’d sell my inflated California house–once owned by a Stanford electrical engineering professor–and move to Madison, Missoula or Moscow (the one in Idaho) and buy a house for cash with my California funny money.

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