<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>