Ithaca, NY

[lavamonkey]

I went to Cornell as an undergraduate so I can tell you a bit about Ithaca, NY.  I'll break it down into sections: weather/geography, the campus, local attractions, and what the locals and student body is like.

 

weather/geography:  The towns in upstate New York tend to be spread out.  There are many small-medium sized towns littered throughout the area.  The nearest "big" city, Syracuse, is about 90 minutes away by car and New York City is about 4 hours away.  Ithaca can feel a bit isolated at times, thought that might be a good thing if you're a grad student.  The weather is, perhaps, the most notorious aspect of Ithaca.  Summers tend to be humid with thunder storms coming in and out and winters seem to last forever.  Snow typically appears in November, and can last until late March/early April.  It gets the coldest in January and February.  The coldest temperature i've experienced was -20F(that is a negative sign in front).  However, the fall, when the leaves begin to turn, can be quite pleasant.

 

campus:  The campus is nice.  There is a nice mix of new and old buildings.   I noticed that you're studying English which I think the department is housed in the Arts Quad.  There is a large grass area in the middle of all the buildings where students hang out, play frisbee, have snowball fights, etc.  Students typically live in North Campus, West Campus, or Collegetown, though there are a few that live downtown.  North Campus and West Campus are technically still part of the Cornell campus and have all the school dorms.  North campus is where all the freshmen dorms are, but there are also apartments and frat houses for other students.  West Campus has upper classmen dorms, apartments, and frat houses.  Though if you live on West Campus, you are gonna have to walk up a big ass slope to class everyday.  Collegetown, which is exactly what its name says, a "college town", also has apartments and houses for students.  There are many restaurants and bars in Collegetown as well.  Many grad students hang out at the Chapter House, which is a nice bar to drink a beer and hang out.

 

attractions:  I would consider Ithaca to be rural.  Having a car would make things very convenient for you, but I have known students to manage without one.  There is the Ithaca Commons which is the downtown area of Ithaca.  There are many restaurants, local shops, and the historic State Theater for concerts.  There is the Ithaca Farmers Market where you can buy produce, locally made trinkets, and really good food.  The space is really nice and I recommend the apple donuts.  There is the Treman State Park where you can go for a hike and see really cool rock formations.  There is Ithaca College where you can go visit if you get sick of being at Cornell hehe.  There is Ithaca's very own Ithaca Beer Company.  They have a very nice selection of beer.  I suggest Apricot Wheat if you're into something a bit fruity and wheaty, though everything else is pretty good too.   Oh, also, there are tons of things that go on at campus. 

 

the locals and student body:  Ithaca can have some very colorful people.  You have your hippies who look like they came straight from the woodstock, and then you have your professors or people that work at the university.  I would say that people tend to be more on the liberal side.  The student body is pretty large and diverse.  No matter what, you will find a group of students or club that will fit your interests.

 

Yes, the brochures do paint a nice picture of the campus and Ithaca, but it obviously doesn't paint the whole picture.  For me personally, I don't think I would ever live in Ithaca again solely because of the weather (I hate being cold).  However, I did appreciate that Ithaca is very unique place to be with a very strange, but pleasant, mix of people and culture.  It is considered a "small town," but there is a lot that goes on in campus and in the city itself.  It's just mostly about how much you're willing to explore and discover these things for yourself.

[spinach]

Cornell paints a pretty picture in their brochures. What is it like in real life? Any seasoned veterans willing to give a girl who has never ventured into NY territory a heads up? 

I went to Cornell for undergrad and lived in the vicinity all my life so here's an overview (I'll try not to repeat too much of what lavamonkey's already said).

If you're from a large city, Ithaca will feel like a small town but if you're from a small town, it will feel like a city. Don't expect it to be like NYC; upstate and downstate might as well be different countries. There's plenty to do and it's difficult to get bored, especially if you venture downtown and get involved with local events. Ithaca is the shining gem of Upstate New York, though it is far removed from other cities (Buffalo is 3 hours, New York 5). The closest city is not Syracuse, but Binghamton. Binghamton is small without much to do but it does have bus connections to New York. For cheap tickets, look for the Mega Bus; they have a lottery system and if you're lucky you can get it for $1 (but you have to get to Binghamton, though). The one notable thing about Binghamton is First Friday when, on the first Friday of every month, the art galleries open up in the evenings and give free snacks and wine; there's also usually bands playing and other events. Ithaca is truly as beautiful as the photos suggest, and, I would argue, even more so when you see the falls and gorges in person. There are great gorges near campus and also in nearby state parks. Treman is my favorite but Buttermilk is also nice. A but farther out (20 min) is Taughannock Falls, the tallest in the Northeast (yes, even taller than Niagara Falls). Ithaca is a very bikable city except in the winter. The hills can pose a problem but buses have bike racks so you can bike down and bus up. There are some great locally owned shops, restaurants, and cafes downtown but you have to take a longer bus ride if you want to go to larger stores that will be cheaper. Thrift shopping is also a trend among students and Ithacans. The Commons is a nice pedestrian area downtown where most of the festivals are held (the biggest are the Apple Harvest in the Fall and the Chili Fest in the winter. And of course the Ithaca Fest in the summer that takes up most of the city. Grassroots is a large music festival in the summer about 20 min away). Coffeewise, Ithaca is big on locally roasted coffee and GimmeCoffee is by far the best. There are apartments downtown and in collegetown but you have to be careful about landlords. Other options are co-ops which are cheap and close to campus and offer a community feel (Stewart Little Co-op is the grad student one) and many Ithacans will rent out one room or a basement of a house for lower rates than landlords. Ithaca gets cold in the winter, usually the lowest in February. The lowest temparuture for an average winter will be between -10 and -15 but its been known to go down to -20 in the coldest years. Not the most sunny city as there are many clouds. Summers usually get up to the 90s in August and in the hottest years it's gotten near 110, and with lots of humidity. Ithaca has one of the highest rates of restaurants per capita in the US and you can find a variety of cuisines. It's easy to be a vegetarian or even vegan in the city and many efforts are made to use locally sourced foods. There are many vineyards and apple orchards in the region that are great to visit. The bus service, TCAT, is decent for a small city even though buses can be expected to be a few minutes late. You can easily live there without a car, though. Ithaca has a great local music scene and musicians will often mix styles. The campus is easily walkable provided you don't have to go out to the vet school (and seeing that you study English you definitely won't have to). There are tons of libraries and all sorts of cafes and lobbies to study in across campus. Sorry the description is a bit disorganized, but that's pretty much a portrait of Ithaca.

[Platysaurus]

Hey! I got an offer from Ithaca, I actually visited last weekend and I absolutely loved the place, the people are so friendly, the surroundings are amazing, the faculty I want to work with are brilliant...

 

But one question I neglected to ask, hoping anyone else would know. What's gay life like in Cornell? It obviously seems a pretty laid back, tolerant place, but given that other grad students told me there's basically 3 or 4 good bars for socialising and they seem like pretty hetero joints.

 

By the way, there's a new supermarket, Neighbourhood pride, in the middle of downtown ithaca which should make it much easier to live there without a car.

[pears]

i'm not a cornell or ithaca resident or grad, but i have a handful of very close friends who spent time there- mostly for undergrad, but also grad, and one who lived there their whole life. among those friends, one is trans*, one is bi, one is gay; the rest are straight, but outspoken allies. in sum, my understanding is that ithaca is an awesome place to be an LGBTIQetc. person. might take a little digging compared to, say, nyc, but i got the impression that my friends always had mostly-or-entirely-queer social events of all sorts going on every weekend. 

 

sorry that wasn't too helpful, but i've only ever heard really positive things about queer life in ithaca, so i felt the need to add my 2 cents!

[Lexicon]

But one question I neglected to ask, hoping anyone else would know. What's gay life like in Cornell? It obviously seems a pretty laid back, tolerant place, but given that other grad students told me there's basically 3 or 4 good bars for socialising and they seem like pretty hetero joints.

 

I went to undergrad at Cornell and was very involved in LGBT life, both informal social stuff as well as organizations on campus. This was a few years ago so things may have changed but here's my experience:

 

1) Overall Ithaca as a city and Cornell as a school are liberal, queer-friendly places. 97% of the time I felt totally safe and comfortable (I am a white genderqueer butch-presenting person). Cornell's LGBT resource center at is a great place to start getting acquainted with the community.

 

2) There are always assholes. I encountered a fair amount of homophobia from fellow undergrads, often young men who had never spent any time around gay people before coming to college. One night I was walking home from a party and someone called me a dyke and threw a beer can at me from a moving car (I was on the outer edge of Collegetown). However I think this was largely from the younger undergrad population. I never had any issues with professors, graduate students, administrators, school staff, local businesses, etc.

 

3) There is one specifically gay bar/club and while it's fun it's the same crowd all the time so it can get old. I'm not a huge bar person so it was fine for me. I went a few times a semester when I felt like dancing. Also, it's an under-over club, meaning people who are over 18 but under 21 can go if they sign some paperwork promising not to drink. That's an FYI because there will be young undergrads there

 

4) There are fairly frequent private parties/house parties/planned outings (to bars, to movies, someone's birthday, etc), especially in the men's community. The women's community is smaller and slightly less partyish but still fun. The women's community is more likely to be comprised of a blend of Cornell students, Ithaca College students, staff from both schools, and locals. The men's community I found to be mostly Cornell students but I could easily be wrong about that.

 

5) There are quite a few on-campus LGBT organizations and an LGBT rep in the student government.

 

6) Ithaca is a college town. It's fairly small. The queer community sometimes feels a little small. The dating pool sometimes feels small and/or "incestuous" (in that people end up dating their friends, or their friends' exes, or whatever). Again, I was an undergrad so I saw a lot of interpersonal drama that I think can be attributed to youth/inexperience. I don't think the drama was at all specific to Ithaca/Cornell.

 

7) Like most of Cornell, the queer community is overwhelmingly white, cis, and upper middle class.

 

8) I keep referring to the men's community and the women's community because while the two groups came together for some parties or on-campus activities, for the most part they were pretty separate. I have found this to be true of queer communities all over the place and the separation is no worse at Cornell than it is in San Francisco, Atlanta, or San Diego (other places I have lived). In my experience at Cornell there were few trans* folks who were out and active in the community. I hope this has changed in the intervening years but I don't know.

 

Hope this helps. Message me if you want to talk more!

[iowaguy]

I see the Cornell grad stipend for 2013-14 is $23,470 for 9 months.

 

How livable is that stipend for Ithaca?  I'm thinking of possibly buying a house & renting out a spare room for some extra $.  Thanks in advance!

[ohgoodness]

I see the Cornell grad stipend for 2013-14 is $23,470 for 9 months.

 

How livable is that stipend for Ithaca?  I'm thinking of possibly buying a house & renting out a spare room for some extra $.  Thanks in advance!

 

I would be a very interested rentee if you do so ^^ 

 

I accepted my Cornell offer and have done my budget already (I have pneumonia atm so planning ftw).  As far as I can see it - it would be very possible to live a good life in Ithaca if you budget properly and stick to it.   My offer said "With good opportunities for summer employment" and if that comes through then - all is great. 

[iowaguy]

My only concern with Ithaca is the social scene for a grad student (I like the northern climate, and enjoy winter activities so think I would enjoy that part of life there).  Seems like the town's social scene revolves around the undergrads... Thoughts?  How easy do you think it would be for an older grad student to make friends with (and potentially date someone) that's not an undergrad?  Here's what I'm looking at:

 

Ithaca population ~ 30,000

of which ~ 14,000 are undergrads

 

That leaves 16,000 people, many of whom aren't my age.  Year 2000 Census says 5,882 people between the ages of 25-44.  Not many to choose from for social activities...

Edited March 20, 2013 by iowaguy

[iowaguy]

How bikable is Ithaca?  Feasible to only have to drive my car when headed outside of town?  (i.e. can bike to class during most weather - sidewalks/streets cleared off during winter?)

[Lexicon]

How bikable is Ithaca?  Feasible to only have to drive my car when headed outside of town?  (i.e. can bike to class during most weather - sidewalks/streets cleared off during winter?)

 

How strong of a cyclist are you? Ithaca has a lot of very steep hills, both on the Cornell campus and in town. Hills + ice, snow, sleet and sludge = danger.

 

During the winter the roads are fairly well-maintained but I not necessarily cleared off right away. The sidewalks are often icy. During the winter you're better off on the bus than on a bike, in my opinion.

[Tuesdays]

I spent a total of 7 years in ithaca between undergrad and sticking around in town. It's my favourite place in the world!

The winters can be rough, so invest in a good coat and gloves--but the buildings are all equipped to keep you warm no matter what it's like outside, unlike most places I've lived. The summers are lush and green and lovely with reliable thunderstorms in the late afternoon that cool everything from a sweltering midday to a breezy and comfortable evening.

I would say it's not particularly bikeable because of the hills, but it's very walkable. That said, I did have a prof in his 60s who rode to school every day up the steepest hill in town. Most of us thought he was crazy, though.

[spinach]

How bikable is Ithaca?  Feasible to only have to drive my car when headed outside of town?  (i.e. can bike to class during most weather - sidewalks/streets cleared off during winter?)

Ithaca is hilly, and then it's cold in the winter and those are the two main obstacles to biking there. The hills aren't so bad because you can take the buses uphill (they all have bike racks on the front) and I think grad students may have some form of bus pass; at least for undergrads the bus is free on weekends and after 6pm during the week. Even so, the fare is only $1.50. I know of people who bike every day to classes even in the winter and I've done it a few times when I've had to but it's definitely doable. The streets are clear but the cold is the most difficult part. It's also not hard to bike out to nearby towns as the hills aren't so bad headed away from Ithaca. Bike theft is not a huge problem but happens on occasion, but it's safe to lock up anywhere during the day.

[spinach]

I see the Cornell grad stipend for 2013-14 is $23,470 for 9 months.

 

How livable is that stipend for Ithaca?  I'm thinking of possibly buying a house & renting out a spare room for some extra $.  Thanks in advance!

Ithaca is expensive for upstate and that will not buy you a house in Tompkins County. You might be able to buy a house if you're willing to live 45 min-1 hr drive away. Elmira has especially low housing values and I'm sure you could find one there for that price.

[spinach]

My only concern with Ithaca is the social scene for a grad student (I like the northern climate, and enjoy winter activities so think I would enjoy that part of life there).  Seems like the town's social scene revolves around the undergrads... Thoughts?  How easy do you think it would be for an older grad student to make friends with (and potentially date someone) that's not an undergrad?  Here's what I'm looking at:

 

Ithaca population ~ 30,000

of which ~ 14,000 are undergrads

 

That leaves 16,000 people, many of whom aren't my age.  Year 2000 Census says 5,882 people between the ages of 25-44.  Not many to choose from for social activities...

Ithaca has a vibrant community outside of undergrads. You just have to be willing to go down the hill and get involved. There's a pretty interesting music scene, community gardening, yoga places, groups that do outdoor activities, etc. There are plenty of grad students on campus, as well. Try googling community events pages and you'll get a picture.

[bless_yourheart]

I am having the world's hardest time looking for pet-friendly places in Ithaca. Can anyone recommend a good landlord or place to look? I've tried craigslist, padmapper, and hotpads already and I've found a couple but not many people have responded to my emails.

[xenolith]

I am having the world's hardest time looking for pet-friendly places in Ithaca. Can anyone recommend a good landlord or place to look? I've tried craigslist, padmapper, and hotpads already and I've found a couple but not many people have responded to my emails.

 

I know how you feel! I lucked out and found a great place for my dog and myself last week. But don't despair, here are a few property companies that I found had reasonable pet policies:

Travis Hyde Properties (http://www.travishyde.com/)

- Lake Street Apartments is pet-friendly, I think a couple of their other properties were as well (talk to Karen)

- $120 non-refundable pet fee, annual (some big breed restrictions)

Walkable to West campus

 

Candlewyck Park (http://www.candlewyckpark.com/unit_listing.html)

- $500 non-refundable pet fee is kind of strange but it's one-time, not annual

Far from town (bus or drive only) but nice open areas and trails for dogs

 

PPM Homes (http://ppmhomes.com/)

- Closer to town

 

I also used craigslist.org to search for dog-friendly places -- met some nice people who wanted roommates at a decent price -- but wasn't impressed since all of them were on the Northeast side of campus, very far from my office, stores, etc.

 

Good luck! Also, talk to realtors because if you have a small dog (mine is a dachshund) then they may just add a pet rider to your lease. They just don't want any issues with noise or major destruction of apartment furniture, etc. which (unfortunately) becomes associated with large breeds.

[bless_yourheart]

thanks for the help! I finally found a house on craigslist- fenced in backyard, all of the utilities (plus a washer and dryer) included except internet, but it's on South Hill. It claims to be on the bus route, but would South Hill/Ithaca College be too far away from Cornell? I don't mind a half hour bus ride.

[iowaguy]

Bless - couldn't you walk from there in less than 1/2 hour?

 

How many people share the house & do you have your own private bathroom?  If I attend Cornell I'm planning to buy a house & rent out a room/bathroom but it seems like many/most houses only have 1.5 baths.  I'm not so keen on sharing a bathroom, and suspect that renters would feel the same way.  Has this been your experience in looking for a room to rent?  Maybe it's different in Ithaca where housing is fairly expensive?

 

I have been examining this website about Ithaca neighborhoods & attractions:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=117776032342166628487.00048bfe5183a13c668f4&ll=42.443728,-76.500378&spn=0.078414,0.104799&source=embed

[bless_yourheart]

@iowaguy,

I'm sure I could walk to Cornell from IC, but the real question is whether or not I would want to especially in the wintertime. If upstate NY is anything like Minnesota, my answer is going to be a resounding "no." And seeing as the area is called "South Hill," I'm definitely not going to want to walk it during the wintertime (or even during the rain, sleet, whatever).

I don't really care about sharing a bathroom- I'm obsessively clean anyway so I'll just end up cleaning it no matter who I live with. I've found a house that has three bedrooms and two (full) bathrooms and seeing as I've lived in developing countries with far less amenities than that, I consider myself relatively spoiled. Plus having two largeish dogs (Bernese Mountain/Golden mix and a lab/beagle mix) generally means that I can't be too picky about having a bathroom to myself if it means that the place is pet-friendly.

[A Y]

Hi, everyone. I'm attending Cornell this Fall. For those who have found housing, what range can be considered a good price? I'm an international student, so I'll be limited to checking out my options based on online postings. I may pass by Ithaca in May, but I won't be able to stay long to fix my housing concerns. Does anyone have any tips on what to avoid and what to look for? I've been backreading this thread, but there might be someone out there with a little more advice.

 

Thanks!

[bosanbo]

I'm heading to Ithaca (dog and man in tow) from California this year, going into Cornell's DEA department. Curious to meet new people, so... hello!

 

Went to visit Ithaca last November. I was raised in the PacNW and it reminded me a lot of home, with a twist. I'm a cold-weather gal, so I'm looking forward to it a lot. No more 90 degree April days for this girl. 

[AdventureFinder]

Buying Property in Ithaca:

 

To reintroduce an topic touched upon a couple years earlier in this thread, I'd like to know specifically about Ithaca's real estate market at this time.

 

I will start my PhD this fall and expect to be near campus for 5 - 7 years, possibly traveling for fieldwork for one or two of those years. 

 

I've heard about Ithaca being a desirable location to own property, and about it's recent transition to a "seller's market". 

 

Does anyone have insight into buying a home there? Is it economically sound at this time? Is it easy to rent?

 

Is the task of purchasing property doable while also juggling first year courses? 

 

Thanks!

[longforit]

I hope this thread has not been abandoned.. Anyway, I'm looking for apartments in near-campus area. Considering North Campus apartments (but I only know Westview) and the Commons/downtown apartments. Anyone here lived in or know anything about Center Ithaca apartments? They seem to offer pretty good apartments with moderate price. I heard that landlords are one thing that one should be careful about when looking for housing. I couldn't find any review on Center Ithaca, so I thought I might come here to try my luck. Anyone? (Well I found one on Yelp and it's all bad things..)

 

Edit: also Brooklane apartments. I could only find one comment on it. It now belongs to the same company as Lansing West, Northwood, etc. Strangely, comments of these apartment complexes vary a lot. I'm not sure about Brooklane. Anyone knows?

Edited February 9, 2014 by longforit

[czesc]

That's a hugely varied set of places. I haven't lived in any of them so can only really comment on location/transportation. I don't have a car and live downtown (near Center Ithaca, but there are a ton of other places in the vicinity to which all of this applies). I couldn't really imagine living anywhere else in town without one (except maybe Collegetown, but that's far too undergrady for me). The #10 bus departs downtown for the center of Cornell every ten minutes -- a 7-10 minute ride (with nice lake and waterfall views, to boot). Even if I had a car, I would probably still opt to live in this part of town. Everywhere else is a much more annoying commute, including even the far-flung North Campus apartments you mentioned (a long walk from anywhere, and/or often requiring a bus connection of some kind rather than a one-seat ride), because parking is really scarce, limited, scattered and expensive for grad students on the Cornell campus, making your car basically superfluous most of the time, and other bus routes are much, much less frequent than those servicing the line between Cornell and downtown. 

 

Now, do you want to live in Center Ithaca specifically? The actual Commons can get noisy, especially on weekend nights, with Ithaca College revelers. Center Ithaca's apartments may be high enough up to avoid that noise, but I know that mine (third floor, just off the Commons) is still within earshot. My ideal would be to live within very short walking distance of one of the main downtown bus stops, but still on a quiet street a little removed from the Commons itself.

Edited February 11, 2014 by czesc

[ohgoodness]

 

Edit: also Brooklane apartments. I could only find one comment on it. It now belongs to the same company as Lansing West, Northwood, etc. Strangely, comments of these apartment complexes vary a lot. I'm not sure about Brooklane. Anyone knows?

 

I live rather close by those apartments and can only give a comment about the state of the buildings,  which seems very good and fresh. Someone in my cohort lives there and she ishappy but she's not the most social person.   The location is good if you don't care about the hassle of getting up and down the hill (which is a hassle) - you would be nestled in between the fancier parts of Cornell/Cayuga heights,  residential/faculty parts of town,  and the undergraduate residences,  which is a bad thing in my mind.   You just have to walk over the bridge to get to campus so very close to your office. 

 

The basic thing about is graduate living in Ithaca would be that if you want to be close to  other grads and downtown;  go for Fall Creek.    It's a 5 min walk to the commons,  7 minutes by bus to Cornell and you can walk up the hill if you feel like it.    If you want less social scene then go for Cayuga Heights and Forest Home are great.  I'm a grouch so I rent in Forest Home and love it. 

Edited February 12, 2014 by ohgoodness