Ithaca isn't a bad place to work and spend your time. There is quite a bit of good food, a fair amount of shopping, and PLENTY of outdoor activities. Tons of trails and camping sites, wine country, finger lakes, Greek Peak ski resort nearby. People complain about it being in the middle of nowhere, but it is only 20 minutes from I-81. Takes about an hour or so to get to Binghamton, which has tons of stuff to do. It is a little less than an hour from Syracuse, which has a lot of food options and Destiny USA (mall), which has only recently been completed. I haven't checked into this myself, but I have heard that it is actually bigger than the Mall of America.
That being said, there are some down sides for some people. This is Upstate NY. It might not be the North Country, but it is still North. That means it gets cold in the winter and it snows. If this is a major shock to you after you look at a map to find out where Cornell is then you probably shouldn't be going to graduate school.
The other down side, for you big city folk, is that stuff isn't always within walking distance. Ithaca does have a bus system but it is not a major city, so it might not be as frequent as you'd like or go everywhere you might want it to. Driving is a part of life if you live in Upstate NY. There are uncommon exceptions, excluding college students who live on campus, but by and large everyone drives because you have to in order to get anywhere.
I genuinely hope you guys enjoy Cornell. I grew up in the area and am graduating from Cortland, which is just down the road (18 miles), this spring. I haven't heard back from them yet, but I have received other good offers from Penn State and Stony Brook, among others, so regardless I will land on my feet running.
