<p>How is the downtown area in Ithaca? is there stuff to do? </p>
<p>I am interested in applying to Ithaca uni (unfortunately not Cornell)</p>
<p>I think you mean Ithaca College. Some people really love Ithaca (never leave after graduating) Other folks see it as the boonies.</p>
<p>Ithaca is a small city (30,000 or so), very liberal, beautiful landscape (a finger lake, waterfalls, gorges) and adequate shopping (it is not 5th Ave). It has very good and diversified (Thai, Mexican. Sushi, vegetarian, etc) dining, some great bars w/ local bands. Downtown (the Commons-closed to autos) tends to be where IC (Ithaca College) students go. Cornell students have their own college town nearer to their campus with lots of bars, restaurants, etc.</p>
<p>Ithaca has almost everything you could want because it is a college town. There are regular concerts and world renowned speakers. There are also restaurants galore, festivals, sailing, hiking and skiing nearby. </p>
<p>However, it is upstate NY and it is cold and snowy for many months of the yr. It is also hard to get to. It does have a small airport. But it is not close to any major city. NYC is 4 hrs away, but there are regular daily buses going there.</p>
<p>thankyou that was helpful</p>
<p>Ithaca really is the classic college town with a lot to offer. Here is a NYTimes article from a few weeks ago:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/greathomesanddestinations/14havens.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ithaca&st=cse[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/14/greathomesanddestinations/14havens.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=ithaca&st=cse</a></p>
<p>Ithaca regularly makes it onto lists of top places to live. Here is a “list of lists” that Ithaca has made:</p>
<p>[Tompkins</a> County CHAMBER OF COMMERCE](<a href=“http://tompkinschamber.org/sitemanage/view/121]Tompkins”>http://tompkinschamber.org/sitemanage/view/121)</p>
<p>I think Ithaca is a terrific college town, one of my favorites, and downtown Ithaca is a gem, underutilized by most Cornell undergrads. The downsides are the remote location and the dreary weather—not only cold but gray much of the time, ranking near the bottom nationally in number of sunny days per year. </p>
<p>When D & I visited last summer, an admissions officer told us, “When you live in Ithaca, everything is either 10 minutes away or 4 hours away.” It’s that “4 hours away” part that’s the biggest challenge for many people. But my overall impression is that most people tend either to love it or to hate it, and this goes for faculty as well as students. But more of the former end up there as students or stay there as faculty.</p>