<p>Buses depend. During the day, buses to the mall (not necessarily lots of high end stores though: [The</a> Shops at Ithaca Mall :: 40 Catherwood Road, Ithaca, NY. 14850 :: 607.257.5337](<a href=“The Shops at Ithaca Mall ::: Ithaca ::: NY”>http://www.theshopsatithacamall.com/)) and airport run about every 30 minutes. Buses that go downtown run every 10. There are also on-campus buses that run about every 10 minutes. After 6pm though a lot of the routes stop, or are running at about a 30 minute frequency. </p>
<p>As for airports, I’ve flown in and out of Ithaca - yes there can be delays, but usually I’ve had a good experience. Don’t know what will happen with the sequester and all though, the tower is on the list slated for closure. Syracuse is near, though it can be an $80-100 bus/taxi ride - which might make the $90 round trip to NYC more fathomable. </p>
<p>It’s definitely different from a big-city experience, but as others have said there’s a lot to see & do, and a lot of people come to love Ithaca! Though it is true that it’s not the environment for everyone…</p>