one_arm

While I'm at it, here's a bit of general advice, although a lot of it is things that people have pointed out already. You don't need 4WD or even snow tires in Ithaca unless you have to commute by car every day (which you should avoid anyways). We did fine with a civic and snow tires, even on they day that it snowed two feet this winter.If you don't have a car, look for places downtown or in fall creek, it's harder to get around if you live north of campus or outside of 13.If you do have a car, think about trying to find off-street parking. Having to do the "winter shuffle" can be a real pain in the ass.Ithaca keeps the roads well plowed, but if you are going down the hill while it's snowing avoid the smaller streets like Seneca which get plowed last.The only bus routes that matter for graduate students are the ones that run on a regular basis. It's not worth living in Trumansburg to get cheap rent since there's only three buses a day and as a grad student you don't want to have to leave campus at 5pm.If at all possible go look for apartments in person. Check the insulation and windows carefully -- the $400 a month heating bills can happen to you. Think carefully before going with one of the large renting company. As far as I can tell, Cornell housing is hella overpriced.

When I was an incoming grad student I was able to come up for a weekend and look at a bunch of apartments, and found one that I really like. Some people don't have time or can't afford the trip. Sometimes they find a nice one, and sometimes it doesn't work out too well (like my friend in Econ who had to move after only one night and lost his security deposit =/). I've been thinking about this recently, and had an idea for a weekend project. Are you looking for a place to live in Ithaca but can't visit to check out places? I can help you out. Here's what I will do: for a modest fee, I'm happy to act as your agent in Ithaca and visit whatever houses or apartments you are interested in. I will take high resolution digital pictures and if needed, measure rooms. I'll write up a report with pictures and my general impression of the apartment, location, landlord, etc, and send it back to you the same day. I haven't tried this before so let's say $20 for a typical visit that takes ~20 minutes to make, plus another 10 min to write up. If it's way out of town I would have to charge more. If you are interested in several places we can work something out. Here's what I won't do: I can't pretend to be you, you have to tell whoever it is that someone else is taking a look at it for you. If by some small chance it turns out to be an apartment rented out by someone I know, I won't do it to avoid the possibility of bias. (My landlord is a great guy, but I don't think he has any openings this year anyways). Also, I can only help you out on weekends, or possibly late on a Friday. Remember how I'm a grad student? I also won't accept any payment until I have actually visited the place, just to make clear that I'm not trying to trick anyone out of $20. If you are interested let me know, I would also be happy to talk on the phone. If you turn out to be in either of my departments I'm happy to help you for free. I'm also happy to dispense advice for free.