<p>I know Ithaca is a pretty rural place, but how's the surrounding area
Are there any good restraunts, or shopping nearby?
does it get really boring?</p>
<p>There is actually a large number of restaurants/bars in Ithaca for its size. Unfortunately, that's about all there is. The closest shopping would probably be in Syracuse (1 hour drive away).</p>
<p>It’s extremely gorgeous….<em>sigh</em>…
<a href="http://visitithaca.com/%5B/url%5D">http://visitithaca.com/</a></p>
<p>I think the gorges lose their novelty after the first year. I've been here 4 years and while I love Cornell I'm ready to leave Ithaca behind.</p>
<p>ready to move on? or youre just tired of cornell as a whole</p>
<p>My niece who attends Ithaca College tells me that the area is full of people who decided to live there to pursue art, craft or alternative lifestyles. Mollie Katzen, author of an early best-selling vegetarian cookbook (Moosewood Cookbook, and then The Enchanted Broccoli Forest) has her restaurant right in Ithaca, and there are really nice cafes and high-end art galleries up and down a village with cobblestone streets. Not your average rural college town, by any means!</p>
<p>I HATE Moosewood. I was dating someone who was vegetarian and thus it was a big deal to her but, as a carnivore, I took one bite of their lasagna and almost threw up. It's probably just me though because Moosewood seems to have quite a bit of hype behind it.</p>
<p>hehe, norcalguy, don't go to work for the Chamber of Commerce. You do sound ready to move on!</p>
<p>If you're from the city like me, be prepared for culture shock when you get to Ithaca.</p>
<p>I saw this hat at Wegmans that said "Ithaca ... 10 miles surrounded by reality." That sums it up well.</p>
<p>I truly feel like I'm on another planet up here. Reasonable civilization is several house away and it snows so frequently it's too hazardous to escape when you want to. Love the school, hate the town.</p>
<p>I love moosewood - though I'll always get a big meat dish at any restaurant, I've come to really like some of their food. I'll note some, as norcalguy, i'm not sure why on earth somebody would want a lasagna without meat, or even worse - vegan. </p>
<p>Ithaca is what you make of it. For restaurants, there's really plenty, and there's some fantastic ones too. The place really is loaded with great places to eat, I come from Syracuse and believe it or not many people there travel to Ithaca for all of the good food. The last great one i've been to was called "The Heights" and it's located between North campus and Pyramid Mall. Saying Ithaca isn't loaded with great restaurants is pretty much sitting locked in your dorm room all day. </p>
<p>Shopping is a different story. Ithaca is a collegetown, and the general shopping needs will cater to that on a basic level. Things like dorm room supplies, groceries, all of that good stuff will easily be taken care of by the Target, walmart, bed bath and beyond, per 1 imports, plus the small local shops. For clothing, there's the various places at the mall from abercrombie, gap, aeropostale, american eagle, the big shoe store, the athletics store - pretty much the basics. There's a high-end suit store in the commons. However if you just have to have that new purple limited edition Coach bag, you're going to have to go to Syracuse for it. </p>
<p>"If you're from the city like me, be prepared for culture shock when you get to Ithaca."
I've gotta tell you though, students at Syracuse U say the exact same thing. Nothing compares to "the city" though people tend to know that before hand.</p>
<p>ithaca is very hippie...and the local residents are very against chain stores. it wasn't until like 3 years ago did stores like wal mart, target, and even starbucks have the right to open up.</p>
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ithaca is very hippie...and the local residents are very against chain stores. it wasn't until like 3 years ago did stores like wal mart, target, and even starbucks have the right to open up.
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<p>You should have seen the fuss when Pyramid Mall was built 30 years ago. A substantial part of the community was utterly horrified.</p>
<p>Ithaca = very different from the rest of America</p>
<p>Is the walmart, target, starbucks, etc located right on campus (if so where) or at the surrounding areas?</p>
<p>the new starbucks is in collegetown, which is a few blocks south of the campus. Walmart is far away, and you'd have to take 2 buses to get there. Target is located at the Pyramid Mall, which you can get to with one bus.</p>
<p>lol it's all a matter of perspective. It's a GIANT city from where I come from (my town doesn't even have a highschool lol). I don't want to be right in the middle of "the city" anyways cuz no1 will be at the college at night! Selfcontained campuses make college fun. I'm a GT so I'm at another college right now thats outside Boston and I thank god everyone stays here during weekends cuz we have so much fun. One time I visited my friend at her college in Boston and EVERYONE leaves at night and during weekends (and go to like MIT, Harvard, and Northeastern for parties). That's not what I want my college life to be!</p>
<p>how far is it from NYC?</p>
<p>about 250 miles from NYC. By car you get do it in about 4 hours, but by bus, it typically takes 5+ hours depending on how many stops you make along the way.</p>