<p>no you need a car!!! haha i read this thread and laughed because i have the X3....you (the op) should get it too.</p>
<p>i've heard that parking passes are pricey. how much do they cost per semester for a freshman?</p>
<p>parking passes are like $600 a year. </p>
<p>keep in mind you can't drive to class, you'll be walking.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think having a car on campus would be great for the convenience of knowing having one (going to the mall, grocery/shopping, etc.). But I'm beginning to think that the problems of bringing one in outweigh the benefits overall. Parents are convinced that there's no need for a car, because Ithaca is a small "collegetown" that great for walking around instead.</p>
<p>I agree that having a car is not necessary, but I talked my parents into letting my have my car up at school anyway. It's a lot easier to get home (and cheaper too), and it's great to go shopping or just get away from campus for a bit. Parking on campus is absolutely terrible, I live on west campus and am required to park on north, so it's a bit of an inconvenience for every day use. I have an SUV, because my parents refused to let me take my small sports car to school. </p>
<p>Just if you bring a car, make sure you are prepared for the expensive parking both on or off campus, and the lack of on campus parking lots. Sometimes it may seem to be more of a hassle then its worth, but for me the convenience of having my car to get home for breaks and get around is much greater than that hassle.</p>
<p>BRING YOUR CAR.. it makes life so much easier. I dont know why no one has posted about the benefits of having a car. First off, the snow is only too bad to drive on maybe a few more than five or six days of the year. You should have snow tires just in case, but you just need to be smart about driving. Dont drive fast or go down steep hills before salt has been put on the road and youll be fine. I have a 2 wheel drive car and with snow tires its fine. The best cars to have are probably audis or jeeps. Something with awd AND snow tires. But honestly, every one has heard some crash story, but if you look back for the most part you can say "if i didnt go down that steep road", etc you would have avoided an accident. </p>
<p>And on to the benefits. OK, I agree having a car freshman year is not necessary because it is pretty costly. However, a car is great freshman year if you are pledging and need to trudge down to your frat house in the cold.. I brought my car to school just for that purpose freshman year.</p>
<p>If you are living in collegetown, having a car is SO good. You can drive down to wegmans and get as many groceries as you need (there is no full grocery store in ctown), you can go to target, walmart etc when you need to get supplies for your house. You can leave on a roadtrip when you want to visit friends at their schools or go away on fall break. You can drive home when you want, and you wont need your parents to bring you. Often I find that I have too much stuff in my car to fit anyone except myself, so if my parents were driving, i would have to leave stuff behind. It is also really convenient for going out to dinner or down to the commons, or around Ithaca to explore the waterfalls and parks, etc. It is good if you have a quick errand on campus.. who wants to walk 15 mins to the cornell store for a 2 second errand. Or for turning in work during finals week. Or for driving up to the library when its freezing cold at night (and parking is free after 5). It is good for a quick errand to get a halloween costume, etc. </p>
<p>You get the point. It makes life much more convenient. So is it completely needed? No, but you will get to enjoy much more of ithaca if you have a car. Trust me, the restaurants in collegetown are not that great compared to the commons etc, and ctown gets old. also, if you are in a bind and really running late, it can be worth it to drive to class and risk paying 15 for a ticket.</p>
<p>soo true.</p>
<p>i will probably get more work done because i can drive to the library now.. even though there are rarely spots in the parking lots by the libraries.</p>
<p>Jeeeez, $600? </p>
<p>That's only for a few weeks too. Yeah I only want it to drive for groceries once in a while and drive home to and from Cornell.</p>
<p>So will my car just be sitting in the parking lot for days on end?</p>
<p>most people you know will have a car anyways, keep that in mind.</p>
<p>I have a 1997 Ford Mustang and have been driving it in Ithaca/around Cornell for the past seven semesters. I met my girlfriend because one of her friends needed someone to take some people to the mall one day, and I fit that role. Your mileage may vary....</p>
<p>But seriously, having a car in Ithaca can be very convenient. Mostly for the reasons previous people have said. Furthermore, travel out of Ithaca is very expensive via airplane, and bus service is only good if you want to go to NYC. Even with the high gas prices, it's much cheaper for me to drive home (6 hours or so to Rhode Island) than to take any plane or bus. Especially if you can give a couple people rides home and get them to pay for gas.</p>
<p>As far as snow driving goes, I just don't drive when it's snowing out and the roads are covered with snow or ice. Usually the first snow catches Ithaca unaware but then after that the plows are always out in full force. I only have been stuck in the snow once, and that was when a snowstorm caught me around 2am 40 miles northwest of Ithaca.</p>
<p>The real cost of having a car in Ithaca is parking. North campus parking is plentiful in the CC lot next to RPCC, which costs about $650 for the academic year (CU permit). Collegetown has abundant parking lots, but they're expensive (unless you get a deal with your apt) and sometimes poorly maintained. West campus (my home!) has scarce parking in a few lots across from the old Noyes Center on Stewart Ave for $800 (look up S.B. Ashley Management). There's also the University Ave lot that is probably going to be open next academic year for the CU parking price (around 650). I've heard frat parking is also in the 600-800 range for the academic year, and co-ops can be cheaper. There's also street parking, which in many places is FREE! but in the winter you have to move your car every day due to alternate side parking.</p>
<p>But I think the best thing about having a car is being able to just leave the immediate Cornell area for a few hours on a weekend or an afternoon (if you're lucky enough not to have class!) when everyone else is panicking and studying their brains out and you can't take it anymore. There are all sorts of state and city parks around the Ithaca area (Watkins Glen, Taughannock Falls, Treman Park, Stewart Park, Buttermilk Falls, the list goes on...), wineries, the Corning Glass Museum, the massive Carousel Mall and Dinosaur BBQ in Syracuse, etc. It's also great if you have friends at nearby colleges and want to visit (Ithaca College, Syracuse, Rochester, Elmira, Binghamton, etc.).</p>
<p>So yeah, I guess what I'm saying is that Cornell will give dire warnings that a car is an inconvenience, but it's really not. I don't see much of a downside other than the parking prices. Oh and don't expect to be able to drive to campus and park there between 730am and 430pm, but I've heard of some people that have been able to find free spots with regularity....</p>
<p>you can get parking from a fraternity (if you're not a brother obviously) for about $500</p>