<p>@overachiever92
I take it you haven’t actually been here, since I walk over a waterfall on the way to class every single day.</p>
<p>Thanks for your support overachiever. I think we are all entitled to an opinion.</p>
<p>Colm - all you’re showing is natural beauty. I agreed that Ithaca wins on natural beauty, but that’s only one facet of living there. The reality is, we spend more time in or near buildings - and the actual city (buildings, streets, people) of Ithaca are ugly, old, and run-down. It looks gross. Anyway:</p>
<p>Triangle</p>
<pre><code>1 Top City for Small Business (Raleigh, NC) – Bizjournals, February 2009
1 America’s Smartest Cities (Raleigh-Durham, NC) – The Daily Beast, October 2009
1 Fastest-Growing Metropolitan Area in the Country (Raleigh-Cary, NC) – U.S. Census Bureau, March 2009
1 Best Place for Business and Careers (Raleigh, NC) – Forbes.com, March 2009
3 Best Places to Launch a Small Business (Raleigh, NC) – CNNMoney.com, October 2009
3 Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs (Raleigh-Durham) - Entrepreneur Magazine, September, 2005
1 High Tech Region (Raleigh-Durham) – “Daring To Compete: A Region-to-Region Reality Check,” Silicon Valley Leadership Group, September 16, 2005
2 Top Business Opportunity Metros (Durham MSA, Raleigh-Cary MSA) – 2005 Mayor’s Challenge “Top Business Opportunity Metros”, Expansion Management, July 11, 2005
5 U.S. Life Sciences Clusters (Greater Raleigh-Durham) – “The Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Cluster”, Milken Institute, June 2005; May 2009 [10]
1 City (Greater Raleigh-Durham) for Biotechnology—Milken Institute, June 2005
2 City (Greater Raleigh-Durham) for Life Sciences Human Capital—Milken Institute, June 2005
4 City (Greater Raleigh-Durham) for Life Sciences Workforce—Milken Institute, June 2005
1 City Where Americans Are Relocating (Raleigh, NC) – Forbes.com, April 2009
3 Best Places to Live in America—Forbes, 2003 [1]
8 Best Big Cities for Jobs (Raleigh-Cary, NC) – Forbes.com, May 2009
One of Top 10 University Markets that Has Its Act Together (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) – Southern Business & Development, Summer 2005
5 Best Knowledge Worker Metro (Raleigh-Cary MSA) – “Knowledge Worker Quotient”, Expansion Management, May 2005
1 Most Unwired City (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) – Forbes.com 2009
1 Best Place to Work (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, RTP), # 4 (NIEHS) and # 1 Academic Institution (UNC-Chapel Hill) for Postdocs – “Best Places to Work for Postdocs: 2005”, The Scientist, February 14, 2005
1 of America’s Most Entrepreneurial Campuses (UNC-Chapel Hill) – Forbes, October 22, 2004
</code></pre>
<p>@TskDbx</p>
<p>I said, “MOST Cornell students don’t get a chance to experience on a DAILY basis.”</p>
<p>@post #42- If you believe that “all I was showing was natural beauty,” then you conveniently ignored the New York Times ‘Ithaca Havens’ article/slideshow to which I linked in post #36.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m confused. sigh…</p>
<p>But I guess the good news is there is ample opportunity to remain in the Durham area after you spend college in the Durham area.</p>
<p>@overachiever92</p>
<p>Would you like a map showing you the locations of the gorges and waterfalls on campus?</p>
<p>…I’m not here to argue anyway, so you guys can go and have your fun.</p>
<p>I think you’d have to walk around there blindfolded not to see them.</p>
<p>Which, under the circumstances, might not be the wisest decision…</p>
<p>BTW I’m getting a little confused here, what is the name of the city that Duke University is located in?</p>
<p>Having lived in NC most of my life, I fail to see why the town of Cary is a consideration for any student considering Duke - unless, as a college student, you desire to travel 30 minutes to baby sit as a side job or want to spend your college years watching good high school soccer. </p>
<p>Duke is an absolutely beautiful campus stuck in a very dark, ugly, and crime ridden small city. Collegetown and Ithaca beat Durham hands down. The Raleigh/Cary area is undisputedly an attractive place to live and raise a family, but why would a college student care about that?</p>
<p>To the OP, Cornell and Duke are very similar in academic reputation and quality. It’s splitting hairs to argue otherwise. I will add that Duke’s reputation is much better outside of its own state than in NC. Being called a Dukie is not a compliment as most people in NC resent Duke’s arrogance. Most Duke students/graduates could care less, but I mention only because you referenced not wanting to be *****ed on and you will be the large anti-Duke contigent. </p>
<p>As most have advised, choose which school feels right for you. After much angst and deliberation last year, my son selected Cornell over Duke and is very happy and proud of his choice. In three years he may very well choose to return to the wonderful Carolinas to live and would do so as a very marketable Ivy League graduate.</p>
<p>Gomestar - that must have been a typo. I just googled “Forbes most Wired Cities” and found Raleigh to be the #1 MOST Wired, not unwired. </p>
<p>[America’s</a> Most Wired Cities - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2010/03/02/broadband-wifi-telecom-technology-cio-network-wiredcities.html]America’s”>America's Most Wired Cities)</p>
<p>Also, yes, Durham isn’t the nicest place, but I am saying the Triangle (the entire metropolitan area) is much nicer. Having all of that culture, shopping, dining, entertainment, etc in the metropolitan area is important. Also, Durham has nice areas as well - Streets of Southpoint (one of the largest malls in the area) is in Durham. To me, Ithaca is just too small, and after four years it gets tiring to have nowhere to shop, buy nice clothes, etc. And by year two you’ve been to every restaurant in the city. Ithaca’s a nice city to visit every once in a while, but you really have to like cold, dirty, small cities to want to stay here for four years or longer.</p>
<p>Durham received much negative publicity, including very strained relations between the city and Duke, in the aftermath of the Duke lacrosse case/scandal. Didn’t seem the town was very welcoming of Duke students.</p>
<p>@DarkIce Post #49</p>
<p>Right…back to how dirty Ithaca is; and Durham-- so antiseptically clean.</p>
<p>Check out how “dirty” Ithaca appears in these six photos:</p>
<p>[Six</a> Photos from Ithaca](<a href=“http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/sivatejaswi/3975075451/in/set-72157622503637256/][b]Six”>http://www.■■■■■■■■■■/photos/sivatejaswi/3975075451/in/set-72157622503637256/)</p>
<p>IMO,
I have met a bunch of people like DarkIce here. They seem to think that strip malls and chain restaurants are “clean”, and that if a building isn’t a bigbox then its crap. To each his own, we all have opinions. I live in a 120 year old house right now and its pretty cool. It has character, and not the run down garbage excuse for character, but actually feels like a home character.</p>
<p>As for the waterfalls, you are actually required to walk over a gorge/waterfall to get to campus if you live on north campus or in collegetown (IE most people, and every freshman).</p>
<p>Ok since people ignore the 10 times I’ve said The Triangle region altogether (not just Durham) is much cleaner, newer, and nicer than the Ithaca region, I give up. Thank you, Colm, for a picture of a leaf, a kid on a bike, and a Campbell’s Soup mug. They shed some real light on the beauty of Ithaca. </p>
<p>Bottom line is: Ithaca has natural beauty, yes, but the city is gross. The Commons is terrifying, the nicest store in the city is Target, and all of the homes are old. Yes, some people like old homes with “character” but there’s a difference in that, and run-down homes with no AC that sleezy Ithaca landlords charge $2500+ a month for so they can extort money from Cornell students. I prefer freshly built homes with hardwood floors and granite countertops. I like having nicer stores like Williams-Sonoma, Nordstrom, etc in the local mall. I like having the option to go to a nice restaurant (and not the joke of a restaurant “The Heights”). I like having a large international airport nearby. Most importantly, I enjoy all 4 seasons (which NC does have) being evenly represented, instead of a major slant towards winter as is the case Ithaca - it’s too cold, too long here. There was a day I had to go to class this year where windchill brought the temperature down to -29 according to Weatherchannel.com. It doesn’t help that Cornell’s campus is huge and we have to walk 15+ minutes to every class in the snow. We’re all different and that’s fine - a lot of people like Ithaca, a lot of people don’t. Just deal with it.</p>
<p>Do I regret coming to Cornell? Honestly, no. Living what I consider a much harder life as an Upstate New Yorker has made me a stronger person, and the education I’ve received is top-notch. It doesn’t mean I have to blindly love Ithaca and gloss over its shortcomings.</p>
<p>Beauty is surely in the eyes of the beholder. Interestingly, Ithaca has the lowest unemployment rate in New York State. Durham has 15% of the population living below the poverty line. I know where I’d rather live.</p>
<p>@ DarkIce post #53</p>
<p>It seems that you conveniently ignored the backgrounds of the kid on the bike, and the Campbell’s soup mug pics; just like you ignored the many photos that showed Ithaca in a flattering light in the New York Times link to their Ithaca Havens report (and slideshow). Furthermore, if you think that the Commons is “terrifying,” than you should get some help on alleviating irrational fears. In my opinion the Commons is quite lovely and has much true character. Also, it seems that other posters have claimed that the nicer triangle towns are not actually adjacent to Durham, so your argument with respect to it is weak at best.</p>
<p>oh the terror!!!</p>
<p>[Danger!![/URL</a>]</p>
<p>[URL="<a href="http://www.ithaca.edu/depts/gallery_img/15323_full.jpg"]Run">http://www.ithaca.edu/depts/gallery_img/15323_full.jpg"]Run</a> away!!!](<a href=“http://www.frontiernet.net/~ithacaisgorges/LR014.jpg"]Danger!![/URL”>http://www.frontiernet.net/~ithacaisgorges/LR014.jpg)</p>
![http://www.ithaca.edu/depts/gallery_img/15323_full.jpg"]Run">http://www.ithaca.edu/depts/gallery_img/15323_full.jpg"](http://www.ithaca.edu/depts/gallery_img/15323_full.jpg%22%5DRun%22>http://www.ithaca.edu/depts/gallery_img/15323_full.jpg%22){kind=link}
![http://www.frontiernet.net/~ithacaisgorges/LR014.jpg"]Danger!
<p>“The Triangle is not adjacent to Durham”</p>
<p>Colm, Durham is part of the Triangle. 3 cities - Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill - make up the triangle. Durham residents are very much a part of the triangle and enjoy the amenities of the region. The pictures you sent, once again, showed the natural beauty of Ithaca (snow, trees, etc) that I have already said is great. Ithaca is wonderful if you only care about natural beauty. I care about both natural and man-made appearances. Outside of Cornell, very few of the buildings in Ithaca are nice, clean, or new. And you refuse to acknowledge the complete lack of anything to do in the city outside of outdoors activities, which are hard to do when there’s snow on the ground for most of the school year.</p>
<p>Gomestar - what are you…12? This thread was a student asking about Cornell vs Duke. I gave my views on the region. Disagree if you want, but stooping to your childish post (#56) is a little pathetic. </p>
<p>To the OP: Hope you are able to make the best decision for your needs. Good luck at either school, you can’t go wrong with a choice between Duke and Cornell.</p>
<p>^ What I said in the completed post was that other posters claimed that it wasn’t one of the nicer triangle towns.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>"…your childish post (#56) is a little pathetic. "</p>
<p>Probably, but I enjoyed it. Of course that only reinforces your point.</p>
<p>
25.</p>
<p>
While I completely disagree with your statements about “dirty” Ithaca, the intention of the post was not to be childish, but to post pictures highlighting the terror of the Ithaca Commons. A public service.</p>