Any info on Virgil, NY? (New York, Buffalo: ski resort, renters, condo)

[loopy12]

We are looking at moving to the Ithaca region, and have seen a house we quite like in Virgil. Does anyone have any opinions on what its like to live there, the schools, weather etc?
We are hoping for a small slice of the good life - a few animals, a good kitchen garden and plenty of fresh air.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!

[quinlan01]

I grew up in the town of Virgil, went through the education system there, and witnessed several changes the town has undergone over the past 25 years.
Virgil is a beautiful little town. Over the last 15 years or so there has been a decent amount of development in a couple areas. One is on a hill over looking town (and my parents house) where 15 houses have been built in as many years. There have also been a handful of homes built on Holer Road, and Greek Peak has built upwards of 4 condo units and a handful of houses around the hill.
I am a product of Virgil Elementary School and it is by far the best K-6 in the Cortland School District. So much so that it's become a big part of the reason people move to Virgil. Unfortunately the school has been reaching its capacity in the last decade and some kids have been bused to Barry Elementary in Cortland (my girlfriend attended school there and she seems to be OK, I guess)
Theres plenty of fresh air, and plenty of room to own animals. I grew up right in town and was surrounded by horse farms.
The commute to Ithaca is not that bad, it can be worse in the winter. My father commuted to Newfield everyday for twenty something years and my sister does it now, I don't recall either of them complaining about it but it's all relative. I live in Denver now and drive over an hour to work one way. I would give anything to just have to drive from Virgil to Ithaca. It's about 25min drive down 392 and Rt. 13.
I would say that your one deterent might be weather, if your from the Central NY or anywhere with winter you'll be just fine. If you come from anywhere with sun, the winter months might kill you. Syracuse recieves more precipitation than any other large city in the US, which means lots of cloudy days (it makes Seattle look sunny, no joke). Overcast can last days on end in the winter.
Well I hope that was helpful, if your going to be working in the Ithaca area you might also want to look into Dryden, Freeville, Lansing, or Trumansburg. Even Cortland is only a 30min drive down a decent road. Cortland has been stigmatized due to a lack of industry and poverty but there has been a large effort in the last couple years to clean up the unsavory neighborhoods and reinstill pride back into the community. Cortland has a great high school which is where children form Virgil would attend Jr and Sr high.

[Tioga]

...Would agree with much of quinlan01. Was just over in Virgil today. As quinlan01 would know, it's the "local" destination for most skiers, snowborders from the nearby counties. I usually stop by Hollenbecks whenever in the area...fall is esp. a good time to stop there.

[bellafinzi]

Originally Posted by quinlan01

I would say that your one deterent might be weather, if your from the Central NY or anywhere with winter you'll be just fine. If you come from anywhere with sun, the winter months might kill you. Syracuse recieves more precipitation than any other large city in the US, which means lots of cloudy days (it makes Seattle look sunny, no joke). Overcast can last days on end in the winter.

Why lie? This is "City Data" you know. Not "City make up silly stats".

All you need to do is look up the statistics for yourself on the internet. Is that really too hard for you?


The Precipitation myth
-Syracuse receives 40 inches of precipitation each year. Hardy the city with the most precipitation.

Top ten cities with the most precipitation:
Mobile, Ala.: 67 inches
Pensacola, Fla.: 65 inches
New Orleans, La.: 64 inches
West Palm Beach, Fla.: 63 inches
Lafayette, La.: 62 inches
Baton Rouge, La.: 62 inches
Miami, Fla.: 62 inches
Port Arthur, Texas: 61 inches
Tallahassee, Fla.: 61 inches
Lake Charles, La.: 58 inches


The Cloudiest city myth
-Syracuse averages 205 cloudy days each year
-Seattle average 226 cloudy days each year

Cloudiest Metropolitan Areas in the US/number of cloudy days
239 Anchorage, AK
230 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
229 Olympia, WA
228 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA
227 Bellingham, WA
226 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
222 Portland, OR
218 Longview, WA
212 Binghamton, NY
212 Corvallis, OR
210 Fairbanks, AK
209 Eugene, OR
208 Buffalo, NY
208 Missoula, MT
208 Salem, OR
208 Morgantown, WV
207 Erie, PA
206 Ithaca, NY
206 Pittsburgh, PA
206 Burlington, VT
206 Grand Rapids, MI
205 Wheeling, WV
205 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH
205 Youngstown, OH
205 Holland-Grand Haven, MI
205 Syracuse, NY
204 Utica, NY
203 Elmira, NY
203 Huntington, WV
202 Cleveland, OH
202 Muskegon , MI
200 Kalamazoo, MI
200 Rochester, NY

Most large Canadian cities are much cloudier than Syracuse too. Vancouver, BC averages 221 cloudy days each year, Quebec City averages 226 cloudy days every year, Ottawa 215 cloudy days each year, and Montreal 210 cloudy days each year.

[ekimballde]

And not just on the slopes. My husband and I bought a townhouse at Greek Peak Resort in Virgil about a year-and-a-half ago. Our plan was to live there part of the time when my husband retires, and spend the winter months in a warmer climate (we don't ski and my husband hates snow. I grew up in nearby Ithaca and have siblings there, my folks come up from Florida every summer to stay at Greek Peak, so we rented there for a few summers and ultimately bought the townhouse. We currently live about 18 mi. from Manhattan in Northern NJ, I've lived in the tri-state area since 1974.

The Good:

The air and water are so clean, it's wonderful coming from the pollution of Manhattan and the surrounding area. People are NICE, they have soul, and a special kind of sweetness you only find consistently in country folk. They also have a solid, centered quality, they know who they are and what matters to them, and what matters for a lot of them has nothing to do with what they can buy. Greek Peak is a very interesting, family-oriented, low key resort, with busy slopes in the winter time and quiet beauty in the summer. As a homeowner, I'm very impressed by how well Greek Peak Resort Management takes care of ski rentals, lawns and outside maintenance. They really take care of their homeowners, renters and skiers.

And the mountain, oh, the mountain. Morning mists melt into bright mountain sunshine and crisp, clean air that makes your lungs smile. Evening sunsets are magical, and summer trips down route 392 on my bike take me past fields of contented goats, cows, sheep and horses, and farmyards speckled with chickens and geese.

A short trip takes you over very picturesque hills and valleys to Dryden or Cortlandville to get food to fill your belly and gas to fill your car, and a longer drive (about half an hour) takes you to Ithaca for everything else, including concerts, theater, movies, wineries, restaurants and special festivals. (People say downtown Cortland is coming up in the world, it has some things to offer, but it has an old-town feeling with several pretty depressed looking areas, so I prefer the choices and the more modern "vibe" in Ithaca.)

Virgil's a mellow, sweet, beautiful place with nice people.

THE BAD (and more good):

If you want to be endlessly entertained and aren't a nature lover, Virgil is NOT for you. If you're used to the buzz and hum of activity near a large urban center, do NOT come to this area. It is quiet, mellow and extremely low-key. There is no town center to speak of, except for a school, a church, a few farms, a few very small businesses and Hollenbeck's, a classic cider-mill and bakery open in the fall and winter (their cider, donuts and pies are LEGENDARY and not to be missed). If you plan to live there year-round, GET READY for very long and intense winters, although I must say the past few winters haven't been bad at all, I believe due to global warming.

AND THE UGLY (and more good):

Health care costs in upstate New York are astronomical, especially for folks with individual plans (like yours truly). My NJ POS full-service plan costs less than catastrophic hospital only BC/BS in Virgil. If you have a pretty low family income (the cap is around 29K) you might qualify for Healthy New York. There aren't a lot of doctors around, I can't vouch for their quality, I haven't used any medical care there since I still live in NJ. There are a lot of empty buildings at the Four Corners in Virgil, it looks pretty deserted. There's a tiny little Historical Society building there that I've never seen open. Hope Lake, a Greek Peak creation, is quite nice, but hardly anyone is ever there. They do have a WONDERFUL Fourth of July celebration at Hope Lake that's the best I've ever seen, because the sound of the reports booms back in these amazing blasts from mountain, it's quite magical.

THE RESORT:

Greek Peak is building a four-seasons resort with a Water Park next to Hope Lake. Locals are shaking their heads over it, it might fly, it might not, who knows? If it does, I wonder what it will do to Greek Peak magic. We're thinking of selling the townhouse if the area becomes overrun, but we're hoping we'll be settling in someday.

So I guess the upshot is, Virgil rocks.....very gently.

[quinlan01]

Originally Posted by bellafinzi

Why lie? This is "City Data" you know. Not "City make up silly stats".

All you need to do is look up the statistics for yourself on the internet. Is that really too hard for you?


The Precipitation myth
-Syracuse receives 40 inches of precipitation each year. Hardy the city with the most precipitation.

Top ten cities with the most precipitation:
Mobile, Ala.: 67 inches
Pensacola, Fla.: 65 inches
New Orleans, La.: 64 inches
West Palm Beach, Fla.: 63 inches
Lafayette, La.: 62 inches
Baton Rouge, La.: 62 inches
Miami, Fla.: 62 inches
Port Arthur, Texas: 61 inches
Tallahassee, Fla.: 61 inches
Lake Charles, La.: 58 inches


The Cloudiest city myth
-Syracuse averages 205 cloudy days each year
-Seattle average 226 cloudy days each year

Cloudiest Metropolitan Areas in the US/number of cloudy days
239 Anchorage, AK
230 Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
229 Olympia, WA
228 Bremerton-Silverdale, WA
227 Bellingham, WA
226 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
222 Portland, OR
218 Longview, WA
212 Binghamton, NY
212 Corvallis, OR
210 Fairbanks, AK
209 Eugene, OR
208 Buffalo, NY
208 Missoula, MT
208 Salem, OR
208 Morgantown, WV
207 Erie, PA
206 Ithaca, NY
206 Pittsburgh, PA
206 Burlington, VT
206 Grand Rapids, MI
205 Wheeling, WV
205 Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH
205 Youngstown, OH
205 Holland-Grand Haven, MI
205 Syracuse, NY
204 Utica, NY
203 Elmira, NY
203 Huntington, WV
202 Cleveland, OH
202 Muskegon , MI
200 Kalamazoo, MI
200 Rochester, NY

Most large Canadian cities are much cloudier than Syracuse too. Vancouver, BC averages 221 cloudy days each year, Quebec City averages 226 cloudy days every year, Ottawa 215 cloudy days each year, and Montreal 210 cloudy days each year.

I live in Denver now where they claim over 320 days of sunshine a year (by the way I didn't look that up so feel free to go ahead), and trust me it's not that sunny here. I also lived in Tacoma and I find it to be just as drab if not worse in Syracuse.

[quinlan01]

Originally Posted by ekimballde

And not just on the slopes. My husband and I bought a townhouse at Greek Peak Resort in Virgil about a year-and-a-half ago. Our plan was to live there part of the time when my husband retires, and spend the winter months in a warmer climate (we don't ski and my husband hates snow. I grew up in nearby Ithaca and have siblings there, my folks come up from Florida every summer to stay at Greek Peak, so we rented there for a few summers and ultimately bought the townhouse. We currently live about 18 mi. from Manhattan in Northern NJ, I've lived in the tri-state area since 1974.

The Good:

The air and water are so clean, it's wonderful coming from the pollution of Manhattan and the surrounding area. People are NICE, they have soul, and a special kind of sweetness you only find consistently in country folk. They also have a solid, centered quality, they know who they are and what matters to them, and what matters for a lot of them has nothing to do with what they can buy. Greek Peak is a very interesting, family-oriented, low key resort, with busy slopes in the winter time and quiet beauty in the summer. As a homeowner, I'm very impressed by how well Greek Peak Resort Management takes care of ski rentals, lawns and outside maintenance. They really take care of their homeowners, renters and skiers.

And the mountain, oh, the mountain. Morning mists melt into bright mountain sunshine and crisp, clean air that makes your lungs smile. Evening sunsets are magical, and summer trips down route 392 on my bike take me past fields of contented goats, cows, sheep and horses, and farmyards speckled with chickens and geese.

A short trip takes you over very picturesque hills and valleys to Dryden or Cortlandville to get food to fill your belly and gas to fill your car, and a longer drive (about half an hour) takes you to Ithaca for everything else, including concerts, theater, movies, wineries, restaurants and special festivals. (People say downtown Cortland is coming up in the world, it has some things to offer, but it has an old-town feeling with several pretty depressed looking areas, so I prefer the choices and the more modern "vibe" in Ithaca.)

Virgil's a mellow, sweet, beautiful place with nice people.

THE BAD (and more good):

If you want to be endlessly entertained and aren't a nature lover, Virgil is NOT for you. If you're used to the buzz and hum of activity near a large urban center, do NOT come to this area. It is quiet, mellow and extremely low-key. There is no town center to speak of, except for a school, a church, a few farms, a few very small businesses and Hollenbeck's, a classic cider-mill and bakery open in the fall and winter (their cider, donuts and pies are LEGENDARY and not to be missed). If you plan to live there year-round, GET READY for very long and intense winters, although I must say the past few winters haven't been bad at all, I believe due to global warming.

AND THE UGLY (and more good):

Health care costs in upstate New York are astronomical, especially for folks with individual plans (like yours truly). My NJ POS full-service plan costs less than catastrophic hospital only BC/BS in Virgil. If you have a pretty low family income (the cap is around 29K) you might qualify for Healthy New York. There aren't a lot of doctors around, I can't vouch for their quality, I haven't used any medical care there since I still live in NJ. There are a lot of empty buildings at the Four Corners in Virgil, it looks pretty deserted. There's a tiny little Historical Society building there that I've never seen open. Hope Lake, a Greek Peak creation, is quite nice, but hardly anyone is ever there. They do have a WONDERFUL Fourth of July celebration at Hope Lake that's the best I've ever seen, because the sound of the reports booms back in these amazing blasts from mountain, it's quite magical.

THE RESORT:

Greek Peak is building a four-seasons resort with a Water Park next to Hope Lake. Locals are shaking their heads over it, it might fly, it might not, who knows? If it does, I wonder what it will do to Greek Peak magic. We're thinking of selling the townhouse if the area becomes overrun, but we're hoping we'll be settling in someday.

So I guess the upshot is, Virgil rocks.....very gently.

Ah the Greek Peak Issue. I would have to disagree with you on Greek Peaks Management. They've wasted so much time and effort with their "Four Seasons Resort" that they have forgot to maintain the ski hill. I worked in the Rental Shop for years and have only seen them replace the rentals two or three times, the service is usually terrible and the chairlifts decrepid. Greek Peak has a pretty solid record of claiming bankruptcy regularly.
The waterpark, Greek Peaks newest addition has been on hold for almost two years now. Greek Peak recieved a large sum of funding for the project which they have done very little with other than place into an account and collect interest on. They poured one or two walls of the foundation and the concrete subs walked of the site due to the fact that management wasn't paying them. They even attempted to make the town of Virgil by a 200k ladder truck for the Fire Deaprtment which was required due to the size of the new building. On top of that locals will not be welcome to use the waterpark, you have to stay at the resort.
Greek Peak will continue to develop driving up already outrageous property taxes and driving locals and the soul of the community out. I understand the quest for money but the Krygers need to understand the ramifications it will have on our community. A community they are a large part of.

[Alt Dach]

I'm 68,haved lived in 17 states,Japan and Europe.
Virgil is as good as it GETS on this planet!

[ekimballde]

Not being a skier, I haven't had any experience with the ski situation at Greek Peak, but I have heard that it is antiquated and needs a lot of updating. I've also heard a LOT of different points of view about the Water Park, but I didn't know Greek Peak has regularly gone bankrupt. I agree that it seems very strange that townhouse owners can't use the park, but folks who rent townhouse units can. My sense is that they will need revenue, and will likely relax their restrictions after this thing is launched. From what I understand they did get the rest of their funding and are moving forward - I have noticed that nothing at all was happening on the site for months.

We'll just have to wait and see how it all pans out. It is very ambitious, especially for the area, but there aren't any parks like it in the immediate vicinity, so I'm trying to look on the bright side (even though I have had more than a small degree of skepticism about this plan).

As far as the post about Virgil being the best place on the planet - well, I tend to agree! I haven't traveled the whole world, but I've been to many lovely places, and I have to say there's something very special about Virgil.

[Tx-Jr]

For anyone thinking of living there and for whom the area seems like the right place to live, to raise a family, to live on the quite side,for sure Virgil is wonderfull.
Here's my view as I too grew up in Virgil. The talk of Greek Peak Ski Resort, the Kryger family, and such of other point's of view.
Well, The mountains Greek Peak is built on, My family owned and sold to the resort.
And as for the Kryger family, they are wonderful people, people I grew up with, one of them fired me when I worked on that mountain, but.....It didn't matter I still respected him then, and the older I got the more and more respect I had for him, and all the more with his family.
See Virgil is like this, people there are family, rather blood kin or not. The Hollbeck Cidermill, that's traditioneven talking of Hollenbecks mill the owner come wintertime, worked in that very rental shop at the resort,and his Boss at Greek Peak, the very same Kryger his boss, and who did he go to school with, play sports with in high school? Al and Dave Kryger, the School, more tradition, as it once was K thru 12 th grade senior high school w/ a wooping 30 + grads, until 1965 when my class was the first Seniot class to suffer the migration to Cortland Senior high. The Gold course, another Virgil high school grad & close friend during the korean conflick, and former Marines, and in the winter month's his place of employment? Greek Peak Ski resort.
The Kryger family gave my family, myself, my aunts, and uncle's, even grand father employment,but not just my family, MUCH of Virgil folk owe graditude to the KRYGER's.
For me personally, This same time was also Viet Nam era.
The little village of Virgil lost some of it's son's and everyone SUFFERED this terrible loss, and Yet I like to think of my Buddies who's lives given, did so to preserve our little Virgil, and I'm sure people of Virgil feel the same. The Shermans, The Baker's, Kryger's. Hollenbecks, Price, Warner's, Poole's, Eatons, Cutler's, all with family roots buried very deeply in Virgil's generations.
My parents are buried there, my grand parents are there, my nephew's, cousins, aunts and uncles, all buried there, so I know this little Virgil pretty well.
The winter's Cold as Hell, wind blowing the snow banks to the top of the telephone lines at times.
Other winter's I was wearing summer short sleve shirts. The One single automobile garage in the four corner's, the two little grocery stores, there, the Church, and the fire department. That was it folks.
Winter lasted to the last day of May, summer was the 4th of July, and winter again Sept 1st, (by my looking back so it seemed) Yes, some fun being pooked that the community here, just fun though, Just fun.
Me, ? Well to be honest, I loved the place, but the winter's, the so little sun, the rain, the cloudy cold, just wasn't my bag. I moved to Florida, and once in the sun, once able to do what ever I wanted each and every day something new, I was hooked. Could never figure WHAT can people enjoy about gloomy day's, Cold, cars sliding all over on ice, worse yet, the slush, the mud in the spring, most of all shoveling EVERY SINGLE day, and the plows every day filling your driveway in again, V/S going to the beach?
Finally the answer............Virgil in the good weather, the good people, Hollbecks cider, knowing your children can play safe, where you don't have to keep both eyes on them 24/7.
Virgil's beautiful fresh air. THE PEOPLE. The wonderful family people.
I want to say my very own personal thank you to two men there,
Al Kryger, and also Former Sheriff Arniwe Price, Just the best friends.