What to think about when looking for apartment/house in Ithaca and surroundings (New York: sublets)

[tpelaseyed]

Hi all,

I am a soon-to-be Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University and I am looking for an apartment or house (minimum 2 bedrooms) to rent from 1st January 2014. The move-in-date is negotiable. We are looking for a long-term lease of one (1) year up to two (2) years.

Furnished/semi-furnished is preferred, but not a requirement.

We are a family of three moving from Sweden to Ithaca. We are friendly and courteous neighbors. References from current employer and landlord are available upon request.

My questions are:

1. Our daughter is 4 years old so my question is which areas in Ithaca and the surroundings are suitable for families with children? How are the schools (pre-K) in Ithaca and its surroundings?

2. Are there any landlords that you can recommend?

3. We are keen on the idea of living on the countryside, that is outside of Ithaca. I am guessing that this includes buying a car. What are the ups and downs of living outside the city and commuting by car?

4. We have check out a neat, small community south of Ithaca called Boiceville Cottages ( Boiceville2012verson4.1 ). It is outside Brooktondale. Has anybody had any experience from this community/area? Do you know anybody who does?

Thanks!

[tchemgrrl]

Schools: The schools in Ithaca and Lansing are pretty uniformly good. The schools outside of that area are much more variable. You can do some comparisons using the New York State Report Cards for all public schools in the state. For preschool, I have heard excellent things about Cornell Child Care Center, Ithaca Community Childcare Center (IC3), and the Montessori schools. Some of the public and private elementary schools also have a pre-K program that needs to be applied for. I have some friends who have used that system and are happy with it, as it means the transition to kindergarten is very easy.

Landlords: A lot of the housing, particularly out of town, is owned by someone who has one or maybe two units for rent. For people coming in from out of town, I generally recommend something in the Gaslight/ Warrenwood/ Candlewyck park area, they're owned by the same company. They don't have much personality but they're pretty reliable, particularly if you don't have a chance to go apartment hunting in person (which I'm guessing you aren't). A LOT of postdocs stay in these complexes, there are lots of kids, and two playgrounds less than a block away. I came back to Ithaca for a postdoc after going to Ithaca College for undergrad, and it's where I stayed for the first 1.5 years. I'm not as familiar with the housing on the edges of town, but I know there's a place on Salem Dr. that I'm not finding further info on right now, which might suit you. It abuts the Cornell Bird Sancturary, and also is very convenient to campus.

Commuting: The primary negative will be weather, though you live in a colder climate and will be more familiar with wintertime driving than some other newcomers. The surrounding areas are very hilly, and the microclimates can be such that my house (2 miles from work) can have 6 inches of snow and downtown (2 miles in the other direction) can be raining. If you are comfortable driving in poor weather then you'll be okay but if you'd rather have the option of walking or taking the bus during a storm, living closer in is a good idea. In general, traffic is minimal compared to more urban regions.

Welcome to Ithaca!

[tpelaseyed]

Thank you for this! Great inside info for non-Ithacan.

[SJNY]

Hey tpelaseyed,
Can luck finding a place? We are moving there first week of November and finding it really hard to find a place. Looking at Northwoods and Candlewyck. Any recommendations?

[tchemgrrl]

SJNY: The vast majority of rentals start in August, and even sublets mostly open up in January or June (the rental market really revolves around the college school year). It's a bad time of year and very short notice at this point, so it is a tough place to be starting from. I also moved at an odd time of year, though, and had decent luck posting to the "housing wanted" section of craigslist. There may be a few grad students starting jobs before the semester is over, landlords with empty apartments, or families who have bought a house and are looking for someone to take over their lease.