Ithaca: What Kind of Place is It?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Cornell University
1

<p>I just came back from there with my D. It was our first visit to upstate New York. OMG, the campus is lovely but the town is a pit! I didn't expect to see all these hardscrabble, just-getting-by white people walking the streets. I thought is was a bit seedy too. Some interesting restaurants all in one central downtown location but the feeling of seediness in the general area overall turned me off. Outlying areas of town aren't that great either. I don't know what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting a white ghetto type area. </p>

<p>It seems like the only safe place to be, especially at night, is on campus. What a strange place. This elite academic institution, drawing scholars from round the world, just a couple of clicks from a boatload of what some in the media call "poor white trash."</p>

<p>Am I reading the town wrong?</p>

2

<p>Doesn't sound the Ithaca I knew, loved and miss terribly....</p>

<p>Sure...the downtown part may feel shady to some....but I never felt unsafe when I was at the Commons during the night and I came from a small, rural Upstate NY town. And yes...Ithaca does have a large group of impoverished citizens and homeless people...but you'll find that in any city (yes...Ithaca is a city!) and it's hard for anyone to be oblivious to it. </p>

<p>Now...if you wanna talk seedy and unsafe at night...come visit me in New Orleans (although I do love it here and I hope I never have to leave).</p>

3

<p>Out of curiosity, where are you from? Princeton, New Jersey? Wellesley, Massachusetts? And what planet are you on that you haven't seen hard-on-their luck individuals in a downtown of an urban area?</p>

<p>Ithaca is a hell of a lot less seedy than places like West Philly, New Haven, Evanston, Hyde Park, and Central Square Cambridge, to name a few.</p>

<p>From a student's perspective, Ithaca is pretty idyllic. There are a lot of bars, restaurants, coffee houses, galleries, movie theaters, and music clubs, and safety is non-concern relative to any urban university. Perhaps most importantly, things are pretty cheap. You don't have to cough up your entire week of work study wages to hang out on a Friday night. Farther afield, outdoor activities abound. Hiking, biking, skiing, snowshoeing, sailing, backpacking, etc.</p>

<p>The local produce, wines, and restaurants are generally considered to be fantastic quality. Restaurants like Moosewood, The Heights, and Red Newt are known up and down the East Coast for a reason.</p>

<p>It's also widely considered to be one of the best places to raise a family anywhere in America. </p>

<p>Visit</a> Ithaca in New York's Finger Lakes</p>

<p>That said, Upstate New York has its share of problems. I take it you haven't been to Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, or Albany. If you want to see a real white ghetto, let me know, and I'll be more than happy to arrange a tour for you.</p>

<p>Welcome to America.</p>

4

<p>i dont disagree with you...</p>

<p>ithaca is seedy...and there is a certain behind the scenes animosity between the townies and those with ties to cornell...</p>

<p>the problem with ithaca is that cornell is the biggest employer (i think) and the most powerful entity in the county/area...</p>

<p>other cities (such as philly or maryland) might have these individuals, but the city has other industries and businesses whereas ithaca only has cornell...</p>

<p>to shed more light into ithaca check out: </p>

<p>ithaca</a> rants & raves classifieds - craigslist</p>

5

<p>What are you talking about? I saw Cornell/Ithaca were fine in fact more than fine they were both beautiful. I'll admit when I stayed in Cortland getting there was a bit quiet due to its rural location, but other than that I found Ithaca to be very nice and safe. If you've visited Baltimore/Johns Hopkins, Penn/Philadelphia, etc. you'll see that Cornell/Ithaca are a great location.</p>

6

<p>I don't see how one relates to the other, Resurgam.</p>

<p>You throw out two unrelated facts, and make some crazed assertion that now they are somehow linked.</p>

7

<p>I think CayugaRed has it pegged pretty closely. There's a lot of stuff to like about Ithaca -- and my impression is that it's basically a pretty safe area.</p>

<p>I would add that the area seems, to me, to be a timewarp back to the 60s and 70s.</p>

8

<p>Plainsman should go visit - Trinity College (Hartford), Yale, Tufts, Columbia, U. Minn, U. WI, U. Chicago, Duke...But maybe Lehigh would be a better fit.:) (inside joke)</p>

9

<p>i spent the entire summer there this year and i never thought it was seedy. it's just a bunch of hippies.</p>

10

<p>Maryland.. it's not actually a city.</p>

<p>I visited a few times, yes there were a pack of weird hippy/white trash kids out late sunday night that scared my mother. To me, the little sculptures in the gorges and the sheets of paper stuck on the inside of Rand's windows made up for those particular kids. They're everywhere... I do think it's important to choose a school based on the "setting" but if you're going to look for a setting free of seediness and white trash... you're ruling out a lot of enriching, awesome places.</p>

11

<p>
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ithaca is seedy...and there is a certain behind the scenes animosity between the townies and those with ties to cornell...

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<p>I'm not certain how "seedy" is necessarily related to somewhat strained town-gown relations, relations that you will find in every other college town in the country. </p>

<p>Ithaca certainly has more of a worn down look than, say, Hanover, NH. But I think for most, it's an endearing quality, not something to necessarily complain about. Ithaca had its founding as an industrial mill town, after all.</p>

12

<p>
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This elite academic institution, drawing scholars from round the world, just a couple of clicks from a boatload of what some in the media call "poor white trash."

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</p>

<p>Ithaca isn't even close to being a ghetto type area. It might not be as wealthy as the demographic Cornell might tend to attract, but the reality is that these "boatloads" of "'white trash'" are just normal people living in a unique, culturally liberal city.</p>

13

<p>Evanston is not seedy; in fact, it is quite an upscale community. Just try to buy a house there; I am not sure, but I doubt that there is much available below $800,00 or so. Cambridge is pretty nice too. Ithaca is a tired & worn old industrial community, but that's no reason to try to drag down Evanston & Cambridge.</p>

14

<p>
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Evanston is not seedy; in fact, it is quite an upscale community.

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<p>Look -- I love Chicago. It's my favorite city in the country. And parts of Evanston are absolutely charming, especially right by the University. But I seem to remember a preponderance of fried chicken joints along Ridge Ave., and my friends who lived off-campus by the Noyes El stop had more than their share of problems with crime.</p>

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Cambridge is pretty nice too.

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<p>Indeed it is, but Central Square is still pretty shady. I lived there for a couple of years and witnessed a stabbing in broad daylight. You can't walk by the corner of Mass Ave. and Prospect Ave. without being panhandled.</p>

<p>
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Ithaca is a tired & worn old industrial community

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</p>

<p>Ithaca was a tired and word old industrial community, and it still shows its history. But in the last three decades it has remade itself into quite the small little city, and a wonderful place for a student not interested in being in a big city to forge friendships and explore the world around her.</p>

15

<p>Well I've been to all three locations repeatedly within the past several years, and to the Finger Lakes region several hundred times over many decades (we kept boats on the Finger Lakes & on Lake Ontario), and I'll let the real estate prices speak for themselves since anybody can check those out. Evanston is very upscale for the most part. There may be some ordinary city areas, but I've never seen them. My son, while a high school summer student at Harvard for two summers spent many night-time hours in Cambridge without incident or complaint. Ithaca, however, is seedy in a rough & tumble tired & worn out kind of way. Believe me as I spent most summers of my childhood there and was back within the past 18 months or so.</p>

16

<p>To verify my impression of Evanston, I just called my son who has been there for two years and he said that there are some areas a train stop away (closer to Chicago) that are not upscale but not bad either. The median home price in Evanston is very high as a million dollars just gets you an average suburban home. Lumping Evanston & Cambridge in with New Haven & West Philly is not reasonable. In Cambridge, I suspect that the average home is well above a million dollars--although I don't know for certain.</p>

17

<p>i've heard it mention that because ithaca is such a liberal city that it attracts all these people from outside the area because of all the free handouts... </p>

<p>many students at cornell have not and will not spend much time in the actual city of ithaca...the pyramid mall here is technically not even in the city of ithaca it's in lansing...</p>

<p>once again i think the reason the seediness in ithaca is more apparent is because in ithaca all there is is cornell...so you can easily distinguish cornell students from lower incomed tompkins county residents...</p>

<p>in evanston there might be college students but there will also be professionals who commute to chicago...but not here</p>

18

<p>My experience was awhile ago but Ithaca was a big part of the draw and positive experience of being at Cornell. I liked that Cornell was big enough to be somewhat self contained ... I LOVED the campus. Having collegetown right next to cmapus was great ... a section of town catering to college kids. Personally, the town being working-class middle-class was a positive ... it meant things were affordable and open to a young adult on a minimal student budget. To me Ithaca is a great college town ... if you're looking for a school in a college town where the college is a big part of the town ... I think Ithaca is a great choice.</p>

<p>(PS - here's an example of the affordability issue. When we visited Georgetown we loved th campus and the DC neighborhood right off campu which is dynamic and full of life ... and on the budget I was on when I was an undergrad I could not afford any of the terrifc spots right off campus. Georgetown is in a GREAT neighborhood ... but it's a high demand professionals neighborhood which means it is expensive for those on a student budget)</p>

19

<p>
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Lumping Evanston & Cambridge in with New Haven & West Philly is not reasonable.

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<p>But I wasn't lumping them all together. My original point was that Ithaca is no more seedy or "rough and tumble" than any of these places. In reality, the of-campus student housing in any of these areas is subpar. And places like Evanston and Cambridge have more than their fair share of cars getting ripped off and students getting mugged. </p>

<p>And to clarify, I specified Central Square, Cambridge, not the entire city.</p>

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Believe me as I spent most summers of my childhood there and was back within the past 18 months or so.

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<p>Okay. So now you're experience thirty to forty years ago allows us to take you for your word? The Ithaca of today is not the city that it was thirty years ago. I lived in Cambridge for two and a half years and spent many weekends visiting my friends at Northwestern; I think I know a little about what it is like to be a student in these areas.</p>

<p>My comments about the benefits of being in a small college town stand, and echo 3togo's statements perfectly. I spent a summer living just off Georgetown's campus with Georgetown students -- Georgetown may not be seedy in any sense of the word, but it does not make a good place to be a college student on a budget. It seemed like the only place to hang out was at The Tombs.</p>

20

<p>you don't have to go to Ithaca as a student but I have actually gone there many times, and I'm only a freshman. they have stuff down there I like...I've gone shopping a few times, gotten food, seen a show in the State Theater...it's more accessible than a larger city. I can already find my way around very easily without looking like a confused map-follower.</p>