General Ithaca questions (New York, Buffalo, Rochester: sublets, 2009, apartments)

[ImaginaryRob]

I've seen some similar questions to mine and their answers here, but wanted to get some more specific feedback.

Before I ask my questions, I want to establish some context. My wife and I are considering moving to Ithaca this fall. (We plan a visit around the end of June to help us decide. We'll be looking at jobs and apartments while we're there, too.)

The main things that attract us to Ithaca are that it seems very environmentally conscious, has a lot of intelligent, well-educated residents, gives off an artsy vibe, and looks as though it leans to the left politically.

Lawrence, KS--where we live now--meets those standards (and is something of a Mecca for Kansas liberals), but my wife would like to be closer to her family in Philly while still living in a community with those same features.

Although I'm not a big fan of winter, I lived in upstate NT (Utica) in my early teens, so I have a pretty good idea of what we're getting into weather-wise, and when I asked an old friend who lives in Albany what he thought, his response was, "Ithaca is perfect for you guys, and it's beautiful. You should go there."

And now, on to my questions--

Living
As I said, we'll be visiting this summer, and will be looking at couchsurfing.com and craigslist for accommodations while we're visiting, but just to give us a leg up, can anyone tell us how feasible it would be to find an inexpensive one bedroom apartment near downtown? We've looked up some things on teh intarwebs, but without knowing the town it's a little confusing. The main things we want in an apartment are that it be, as I said, near downtown, not be in some big complex and not trashy. A dishwasher and on-site (or close-by) laundry would be nice, but not essential. We'd like to keep rent to around the 600-700 range if possible. Anyone have an idea on our chances?

Employment
Again, we've looked at ads, but I know that around here some places seem to always be hiring and get so many apps that they don't bother with advertising most of the time, so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask about the general employment climate for people like us.

We're both artsy/geeky types. My wife has five years of fine arts and graphic design school under her belt from Tyler in Philly. She's worked in graphic design, sold paintings on eBay, and done customer service work. She hopes to find something full-time in one of the above, but would be okay with other work.

I've been a help-line call center supervisor, a nightclub and mobile disk jockey (though I'm rusty), a singer, a columnist and daily web producer for the online version of the local paper, a writer for an RPG (the paper and pencil kind) company, and a web designer, among other things. Right now I run a tiny little web hosting service (lawrencehost.com) and do a little Drupal development on the side to support my fiction-writing habit, so I'd likely be looking for something part-time. I'm also about to re-start a webcomic we used to do together (bluecrashkit.com) which, at it's peak, paid for our groceries every month, so between that and web hosting, I may not even need to work outside the house--this remains to be seen.

Overall, neither of us are overly picky about what we have to do for day jobs as long as we can pay the bills.

Other considerations and things we're used to here
Just to see if you think we'd find a comparable (not identical, of course) environment in Ithaca, here are some of the things we love about where we're at now.

Lawrence is known for its thriving arts community--everything from music to writing to fine art to crafty stuff. In addition to a tiny little gallery or two, about twice a year we have "Art in the Park," at which local artists display and sell their works. Local coffee shops (some of which import raw beans and roast them on-site) and other places regularly display the work of local artists.

There are myriad bands here (with a lot of local support, I might ad), and street musicians perform downtown almost daily when the weather is suitable. Henry Rollins does spoken word here every couple of years at our local independent movie theatre, indie bands like Tub Ring perform at some of the smaller bars, and national and regional acts frequently play the two larger venues.

To give an idea on the writing community here, it's fairly heavy on the SF&F side. One member of my writing group is a critically-acclaimed fantasy author, and our other writing friends include a finalist for both the Hugos and the Nebulas, and KU English professors. Lawrence is home to the Campbell Conference and Awards (meaning that about once a year we get to hang out with and learn from people like Brian Aldiss, Harry Harrison, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear, Frederick Pohl, etc., as well as having access to James Gunn's short story workshop and Kij Johnson's novel workshop), and to the Center for Science Fiction studies. Now, while I don't expect exactly the same kind of environment, it'd be nice to find groups of writers dedicated to learning and practicing the craft.

So... What do you think our chances are of making a go of it and being happy in Ithaca? Thanks in advance!

[ckhthankgod]

I say go for it. I think you have a good chance of getting most, if not all of what you are looking for. Here are some things to check out: Complete guide to Ithaca, NY hotels, attractions, dining, shopping and recreation with maps and driving directions. The official web site of Ithaca, New York and Tompkins County Convention and Visitors Bureau in the Finger Lakes.

Ithaca

Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY

Ecovillage at Ithaca

Cornell University

theithacajournal.com | The Ithaca Journal | Ithaca news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Ithaca, NY

Town of Ithaca

Ithaca HOURs Online: Home Page

Ithaca, N.Y.: Affordable homes, quality of life draw buyers - USATODAY.com

Castaways Music Schedule

Ithaca Farmer's Market

The Nines in Ithaca, NY

Welcome to the Ithaca Ballet

Museum of the Earth

Ithaca's Smart Monkey Cafe - Home

The Chapter House Brew Pub - Ithaca, New York

The State Theatre of Ithaca, NY

Kitchen Theatre Company

The Bookery, Ithaca, New York

http://www.greenstar.coop/

Carriage House Cafe - Ithaca, NY, near Cornell University. Breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, concerts, shows, and special event rentals.

Home > Downtown Ithaca Alliance

Workforce New York

Ithaca, NY Jobs | Jobs in Ithaca New York and Surrounding Areas=

https://cornellu.taleo.net/careersec.../jobsearch.ftl

https://apply.icjobs.org/applicants/...=1242515950807

Ithaca, NY Apartments and Houses for Rent, Local Apartment and Home Rentals, House, Townhome, and Condo Rentals, Vacation Rentals, Roommate and Sublet Classifieds :: Search Results - Page 1

Apartments Ithaca, NY | Cornell University Apartments | Ithaca Apartments

Housing Solution -- Ithaca New York's #1 source for rental housing, apartments, sublets, and student housing.

Ithaca Apartments for Rent - Ithaca Apartments Reviews and Ratings

Ithaca apartment rentals Center Ithaca NY

Apartments.com - Search Results

I hope this helps!

[Bloodz]

it depends on were u want to move to in Ithaca sum places are like a Ghetto sum places are like a beautiful dream that came true, i my self live in a ghetto area up on south hill choose wisely.

[AshGrace]

I graduated from Ithaca College and I loved it there. Be aware that the cost of housing is not cheap. You will get much more for your money if you look on the outskirts of town. There really aren't many complexes, which is a good thing. Housing around the commons (downtown) is primarily filled with students. Remember that Ithaca is very much a college town and college students fill the commons loudly by night!

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Bloodz

it depends on were u want to move to in Ithaca sum places are like a Ghetto sum places are like a beautiful dream that came true, i my self live in a ghetto area up on south hill choose wisely.

Ithaca ghetto? While I know there is some public housing, I wouldn't say that Ithaca has many areas that are "ghetto".

[CBaillo]

coming from having been born and raised in l.a. ithaca's "ghettos" were like l.a.'s suburbs. which is why i don't understand ithaca's "thug" culture (what little there is). gangs where i grew up arose out of a need for protection within a group, and due to kill or be killed neighborhoods. That doesnt exist here, so I don't know why the gang mentality exists still...The "hardest" looking of the "thugs" in ithaca's "ghettos" would get eaten alive in minutes on l.a. streets.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

coming from having been born and raised in l.a. ithaca's "ghettos" were like l.a.'s suburbs. which is why i don't understand ithaca's "thug" culture (what little there is). gangs where i grew up arose out of a need for protection within a group, and due to kill or be killed neighborhoods. That doesnt exist here, so I don't know why the gang mentality exists still...The "hardest" looking of the "thugs" in ithaca's "ghettos" would get eaten alive in minutes on l.a. streets.

Basically in a nutshell.

[Mercator Projection]

Rob,

I currently live in Lawrence (howdy neighbor!) and grew up in central NY with a lot of time spent in and around Ithaca. I can't help you with your specific questions because, well... I'm here, not there. But I can help with some generalities.

Regarding the above posts about ghettos, I think Ithaca and Lawrence are pretty comparable. Think of the worst problems you know of in Lawrence (the Bottleneck @ 2am, Haskell Ave, etc) and you pretty much have the worst problems in Ithaca. An Ithaca ghetto is pretty much the same as a Lawrence ghetto.

The music scene is not nearly the same. Lawrence is blessed in this regard, but a variety of bands do hit Ithaca. Syracuse gets bigger shows, but that too is not the same as KC.

Lawrence is twice the size Ithaca. I still find it hard to believe that Lawrence is so big because it feels like such a small town. But Ithaca will feel its size. Its more dense and if you drive a few minutes in any direction, you'll be out of town. Remove just about everything west of Iowa St and you'll get the picture. I think, because of its larger size, the interstate access, and its proximity to larger population centers, Lawrence will probably have more job opportunities than Ithaca. But I never looked for a job in Ithaca so what do I know?

The college environment will be a little different as well. The smaller population of Ithaca means more students per capita. KU is dominated by basketball, whereas Cornell and IC are not exactly national powerhouses. So the community dynamic is a little different. I've been to football and basketball games at Cornell and its great fun - but its not the same as KU (for better AND for worse) and you can walk around Ithaca without getting beat over the head with sports perephenalia and game schedules and Joe College type nonsense.

If you are into nature or the outdoors at all, you'll love it. The state parks in and around Ithaca are wonderful and Kansas has nothing to compare. And you can enjoy them year round, whereas here, you have to retreat indoors from the last week in July until after Labor day to escape the unbearable heat.

Also, I think Ithaca is probably more worldy and cosmopolitan than Lawrence in some ways, despite being half the size. Because Lawrence is such an oddity for the midwest (an island of blue in a sea of red), people who come here from small town KS tend to revere it and think of it as the pinnacle of civilization and can't imagine living anyplace else. (And from their perspective, I don't blame them!) Ithaca on the other hand draws students from around the country and world. They've been to better places and they've been to worse places. I think everyone agrees that Ithaca is what it is - a fantastic little college town with a liberal bend in beautiful setting. I know there are some die-hard Ithaca fan club members, but I think they are few in comparison to the I Heart Lawrence club. And again, its not because Lawrence is better per se, its because Ithaca has a different perspective. And YES, I AM generalizing.

Keep in mind that things will be pretty tame during your visit as a lot of students and maybe even faculty will be gone for the summer. But the traffic will be better and you shouldn't have trouble finding a table for dinner.

Best of luck to you! If you take the plunge, I think you will like it very much.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by Mercator Projection

Rob,

I currently live in Lawrence (howdy neighbor!) and grew up in central NY with a lot of time spent in and around Ithaca. I can't help you with your specific questions because, well... I'm here, not there. But I can help with some generalities.

Regarding the above posts about ghettos, I think Ithaca and Lawrence are pretty comparable. Think of the worst problems you know of in Lawrence (the Bottleneck @ 2am, Haskell Ave, etc) and you pretty much have the worst problems in Ithaca. An Ithaca ghetto is pretty much the same as a Lawrence ghetto.

The music scene is not nearly the same. Lawrence is blessed in this regard, but a variety of bands do hit Ithaca. Syracuse gets bigger shows, but that too is not the same as KC.

Lawrence is twice the size Ithaca. I still find it hard to believe that Lawrence is so big because it feels like such a small town. But Ithaca will feel its size. Its more dense and if you drive a few minutes in any direction, you'll be out of town. Remove just about everything west of Iowa St and you'll get the picture. I think, because of its larger size, the interstate access, and its proximity to larger population centers, Lawrence will probably have more job opportunities than Ithaca. But I never looked for a job in Ithaca so what do I know?

The college environment will be a little different as well. The smaller population of Ithaca means more students per capita. KU is dominated by basketball, whereas Cornell and IC are not exactly national powerhouses. So the community dynamic is a little different. I've been to football and basketball games at Cornell and its great fun - but its not the same as KU (for better AND for worse) and you can walk around Ithaca without getting beat over the head with sports perephenalia and game schedules and Joe College type nonsense.

If you are into nature or the outdoors at all, you'll love it. The state parks in and around Ithaca are wonderful and Kansas has nothing to compare. And you can enjoy them year round, whereas here, you have to retreat indoors from the last week in July until after Labor day to escape the unbearable heat.

Also, I think Ithaca is probably more worldy and cosmopolitan than Lawrence in some ways, despite being half the size. Because Lawrence is such an oddity for the midwest (an island of blue in a sea of red), people who come here from small town KS tend to revere it and think of it as the pinnacle of civilization and can't imagine living anyplace else. (And from their perspective, I don't blame them!) Ithaca on the other hand draws students from around the country and world. They've been to better places and they've been to worse places. I think everyone agrees that Ithaca is what it is - a fantastic little college town with a liberal bend in beautiful setting. I know there are some die-hard Ithaca fan club members, but I think they are few in comparison to the I Heart Lawrence club. And again, its not because Lawrence is better per se, its because Ithaca has a different perspective. And YES, I AM generalizing.

Keep in mind that things will be pretty tame during your visit as a lot of students and maybe even faculty will be gone for the summer. But the traffic will be better and you shouldn't have trouble finding a table for dinner.

Best of luck to you! If you take the plunge, I think you will like it very much.

Great post....I would just like to add that Rochester is also not that far for bigger shows. Buffalo is pretty close as well.

[Bloodz]

well im only 13 and were i live it seems like a ghetto. crip and dueces graffiti on walls. constant cops servaying the area about two drug busts every year like rlly big ones hasnt happened in awhile but its gotten better also some guy just ran up and stabbed another guy. also at the high school there are gangs, u get beat up for wearing the wrong colors, depending on whos doin the beating. also some guy was shot over money a couple of yrs ago. so to me its ghetto. im sure that ithaca thugs wich there are thugs. (theres a group of black gangsta disciples that i see alot). wouldnt last 10 minutes in l.a. i know i would last long but thats cause i got gangsta blood in me. dad born down south in some small town. grew up in harlem. anyway. ithaca is nice just dont move to grandview ct. were i live. or grandview ave.

oh and speaking of music being better in lawrence suposedly. well i disagree on slope day snoop dogg came once. has snoop dogg ever came too lawrence? i think not. also globetroters come here two. right now the new york jets are up in cortland. so dont think that this is some little town thats bliss cuz we got stuff. also speaking off famous ppl and things woopie goldberg lives somewhere arround here. and ithaca was gonna be hollywood but it rained and snowed too much so they moved it to california. thts a fun fact for ya.