Areas surrounding Ithaca? (Dryden, Lansing, Danby: homes, school, organic)

[lesetlo]

I have yet another question about Ithaca... well, surrounding areas, really. We are moving to the Ithaca area in the fall, and still debating where to live. We are currently quasi-homesteading outside of Pittsburgh. ("Quasi-" because we still have day-jobs in the city, while raising chicken and doing organic large-scale gardening on the side.) When we relocate, we would like ideally to still have a little land, a little breathing room, but would really like to ditch the current 45 minute commute. Kinda hard to justify homesteading out of love of the earth, while shoving that much CO2 back into the atmosphere every day, ya know? What is within about 30 minute real-time commute of Ithaca (even in the winter!) but could still get me at least a decent yard for under 200K? What about Dryden? Is it still fairly liberal through it's Ithaca proximity, or would a couple of crunchies like us stick out like sore thumbs?

[tchemgrrl]

Ithaca is small and rural enough that you get well into the country in a 15-minute drive from downtown in any direction (that might end up as 30 during a storm though). I'm not sure about prices offhand, but pretty much any of the surrounding towns will give you some breathing room. I have some very crunchy friends with a similar plan, so it seems doable.

[vicarian]

Towns like Dryden and Lansing and Danby are fairly close commutes, yet have plenty of breathing room. And though there's not as far left as Ithaca, they still are home to plenty of crunchy folks.

I would check the ithaca paper's website, The Ithaca Journal - www.theithacajournal.com - Ithaca, NY, to see if you can find anything in your price range (which I think you will).

The trick is just making sure you're gainfully employed.

[rubygreta]

I wouldn't worry about moving to the surrounding areas. The more conservative residents of these areas are much more tolerant of liberals/socialists/crunchies than the liberal/socialist/crunchies who live in the City of Ithaca are of conservatives. The liberal/socialists/crunchies think conservatives are "fascists," when they are the ones who are actually the fascists.

[vicarian]

Originally Posted by rubygreta

I wouldn't worry about moving to the surrounding areas. The more conservative residents of these areas are much more tolerant of liberals/socialists/crunchies than the liberal/socialist/crunchies who live in the City of Ithaca are of conservatives. The liberal/socialists/crunchies think conservatives are "fascists," when they are the ones who are actually the fascists.

Could've done without the poli-talk rubygreta.

The area is, on the whole, fairly open-minded.

[lesetlo]

Thanks, all. I don't mind the poli-talk. I suppose I did ask for it... lol. I think fascist is one of those words that has to mean "powerful people with whom I disagree," anyway. Wherever there exists a force of powerful people with extreme views, those who oppose them with equal vehemence (but with less power) call them "fascists." I'm just looking for a place where my car won't be routinely keyed/egged for having liberal (but really fairly mild) bumper stickers, and where my kids wouldn't be the only ones in the school to have ever been to a peace rally.