Ithaca - live downtown or bit further out? (New York, Buffalo: apartments, condos)

[superchief]

Hi Ithacans!

My husband and I, plus young son, are planning a move to Ithaca. But can't quite figure which neighborhood is best for our needs. Would like to be able to walk to most places even in winter, and ideally with a park near by or walkable distance. Would love a neighborhood with a "community" feel, ie we're not looking to be too isolated, too rural.

Do many Ithacans live "downtown" or is it one of those places where most of the residential area is a bit further out?

Any suggestions or desriptions of neighborhoods would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Superchief

[Hartwick]

Congrats on your choice of Ithaca...an excellent choice. Housing in the downtown part of Ithaca tends to be rather tight. Many landlords cater to the students and thus, you'll find most of "downtown" Ithaca neighborhoods largely made up of Cornell University and Ithaca College students, with a few from TC3. Of course, these neighborhoods are within walking distance to shopping, the Commons, parks, etc. If you are looking to buy a house in this area, be aware that the houses tend to be older, on small city lots, with neighbors literally within arm's reach. But, there are houses available and many are in very picturesque, lovely, well-established neighborhoods.

If the above does not meet your family's needs, then you'll need to look a bit further out, more on the near-fringes of Ithaca for housing. However, this will likely remove your criteria of walking to shops and parks, as you'll be relying on your family vehicle for transportation.

Many permanent residents of Ithaca live more in the suburbs rather than the downtown area.

I'd definitely visit Ithaca, look around, check out the central downtown area as well as the suburbs to see what feels best. Either way, I'm sure you'll love Ithaca.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I think you will be able to find several neighborhoods in the city which will fill what you are looking for. The one area on the flats which you should consider is Fall Creek. Walkable area and only a few blocks from downtown. it's become quite a desirable area in recent years, so the housing prices are probably a touch high for the amount of house you will get.

I don't know where you are coming from, but the Ithaca area does have higher housing costs compared to most upstate cities its size. I guess the stable economy and good schools have something to do with that.

New housing has been proposed for the downtown area itself, but they will be condos and apartments, and I'm not sure what type of housing you are looking for.
The area south of Titus avenue has some nice blocks, and is within walking distance of the many new shopping centers going up to the west of the main road through the city ( Rt 13/Meadow Street/Elmira Rd, only a few blocks away).

A car will be needed if you move outside the city, but most trips will be relatively short in your vehicle. The metro area is not that big (only 100,000 people in Tompkins county). There is a very good bus system (TCAT, they have a website), and many folks use it. There are plenty of parks, and a new trail is being developed along one of the inlets from Cayuga Lake.

Another nice area is Belle Sherman which is on East Hill (where Cornell is located). It borders Collegetown (where I grew up) which has some rowdy behavior from the partying college kids. There have been meetings between students and permanant residents about these issues.

I agree that a trip to the city will be invaluable for you to get an idea of the variety of housing and the choices of neighborhoods. One point I will make is that the area was a great place to grow up. If you can handle the tendancy toward as many(or more) gray days as sunny, and lots of snow in the winter, you should find Ithaca a unique place to live and where your son can grow up.

Let me know if you'd like some more specifics.

[superchief]

Thanks for the great replies.
As crazy as it sounds, we have fallen in love with Ithaca but haven't been yet. Needless to say we have done just about every search possible on the internet plus "chatted" with Ithacans in forums like these. We are coming in early Feb and hope to set something up with a realtor to get a good tour. We deliberately chose Feb so we'll have some idea about winter weather.

Your replies seem to confirm our feelings about the place.
We're planning on relocating from southern CA before our son gets to school age. We have yet to hear anything really bad, or off putting/or something we couldn't live with.

The descriptions of the neighborhoods really help. If you have anything to add about what constitutes "the suburbs" eg certain streets? as well as any tidbits on elementary schools (or schools to avoid!) that would be most helpful. So far all the schools have had good comments apart from Beverly Martin....?

Thanks again!

[Ex-Ithacan]

Good idea to check it out during a winter month. I will tell you that summers are beautiful there. Depending on what your price range for housing is, there's always Cayuga Heights. It's a small suburb on east hill bordering Ithaca (Cornell). Very good elementary school (in the Ithaca school system), a small town center, and only a couple of miles from several shopping centers. Some beautiful older homes and stable population.
I think most of the schools are in good shape academically-since education is a priority in the city, the main industry.
It's not all perfect. There has been a recent spurt in some violent crimes, but that seems to be related to some "gang" issues in the northside and southside neighborhoods. Not random robberies or such.
There's plenty of family activities and a real spirit of community. The only complaint I have with the city is that people tend to over analyze everything. I guess that's the nature of the residents.
btw, if you're looking for a totally different kind of living arrangement there's always EcoVillage. There is a website for it. Kind of a unique place, at least in upstate NY.

[homeward bound]

superchief,

Just to chime in regarding your concern about your son growing up in Ithaca, particularly in terms of its winters, too. I was born in a foul part of New Jersey and lived there until I was about eight; then we moved to Williamsville, NY right outside Buffalo. Lived there, and in Buffalo, East Aurora, and Allegany County--snowier and probably cloudier places than Ithaca--until I left for grad school at 22.

Although I wasn't born into the upstate NY winters, I immediately loved it. The snowiness was fun, dramatic, and beautiful. And even as a kid, I could see that the occasionally long winters only made the splendid summers more precious. You didn't take anything for granted, so you savored it more.

I'm very confident that if you both let your son be a kid, and if you give him some guidance and companionship on enjoying (and sometimes enduring) the winter months, he'll not only soon love winter fun, but better appreciate summers, too. I just loved being able to walk or skate on the very same ponds where I swam and fished a few months before and would be again a few months hence. The change of seasons--and sometimes the extremes between them--was itself a quiet yet huge entertainment. In fact, a big reason we're gonna move from SW Virginia back to upstate NY ASAP is so our own young sons can have this special experience. Our daughters grew up in Virginia, and they YAWN through most of the summer--they take it for granted! No wonder, in part, 'cause winters here are generally blah. Very little snow, just a few ice storms to paralyze the mountain roads, no real winter customs and sports and hobbies, inaccessible rivers rather than ponds or lakes to skate, no ice-skating or hockey rinks anywhere around, no kids outside playing street hockey, and everybody panics rather than copes and enjoys the show when it does snow a paltry few inches. Winter is an annoyance here. It's a kind of living up there.

So don't let the scare-talk about the winters keep you from a great place like Ithaca! If your family is relatively happy together and you have individual and family things you already like doing, then winter can be a real bonding time, a time that adds a new dimension to these bonding traditions, whether it's building a fire in the fireplace together or cooking a big hearty meal together or building snow forts together. Just walking the dog as a family in or after a snowfall can be very special. I remember a lot of families who had most of their bonding traditions in winter, and it meant a lot to them throughout their lives. To this day, I can't smell hot chocolate without seeing my grandmother waiting for me at the door with a a cup and a smile when I finished shoveling the driveway, a big pot of stew on the stove.

Good luck!

[superchief]

Dear Homeward Bound,

Thanks for sharing your experience of growing up in winter. I totally get what you are saying about it being a bonding experience and creating great memories. I just hope we haven't "spoiled" our son with the sunny CA weather although he does claim to love snow and rain....:-) I'm actually not that worried. Kids seem to adapt no matter what.

Best,
Superchief

[Taboo]

If you REALLY want to know about the schools in Ithica area you need to go to the New York State School Report Card website and check out the scores for 2005. There is a lot of information but you want to look at the total # of kids eligible for free lunch as well as the achievement levels in ALL grades. Your son may be small now but you will be committing to a school system for awhile. Take your time and go there and LOOK. I saw over 17 houses all around the area one day and not one of them was even remotely what I thought they would be. I have given up on the area and am looking elsewhere now.

[superchief]

Hi Taboo,

Can you elaborate a bit on the housing - what kind of thing were you expecting and what was it the houses were lacking. Also where were you coming from geographically?

Thanks for your comments,
Superchief

[67cobra]

Hi Superchief. What part of So. Cal. are you from? My wife and I are from Orange County and we are also thinking about relocating, Ithaca being one of the town we are looking at. We spent a couple of days in November checking things out, and we really liked it. The schools seem to be a cut above most of the other upstate towns. The other post suggested dissatisfaction with the housing, but from where you and I are coming from you will be delighted with what you will get for $250,000. Check out Cayuga Heights if you get a chance. I have also heard that it is a very liberal town, but even if you are a republican, like we are, I wouldn't be too concerned. The people appeared to be really friendly. I have a couple of liberal friends here in the OC and we have a lot of fun with it. I would be interested to know if and when you get a chance to visit. Good luck.

P.S. Homeward Bound, I really enjoyed your post.