seeking liberal, veggie/eco/outdoorsy friendly small town. help? (New York: housing, rent)

[veggiecook]

Local new englander, newly married. I've lived in Seattle for the past 4 years and love the proximity to the mountains, water and general liberal attitude. I feel like Seattle is too big for me now and am seeking that quaint small town without the ignorance and lack of jobs, which I'm sure is rare...I'm a vegetarian cook, he's in IT and we want to open a B&B one day...but my main goal is finding a liberal, supportive community that isn't all standoffish like the folks in Seattle. 4 years here, and I've been an active friend and it's so hard to get people to just make time for you in this city,even when you know they are not busy...
that's my biggest issue with seattle, and i've learned it's a distinct seattle thing. i also need more days of sunlight out of the year. my brother lives in vermont and we've considered moving there or upstate ny, but obviously the job market isn't fabulous and the bugs....i've decided i don't mind the cold in the winter if i can have a little sunshine.
we are both rock climbers and like a little bit of a social scene...we plan on having kids in a few years and i just don't want to settle down somewhere and not be able to make any friends like in seattle...
my dream place: sunshine! access to swimming holes, hiking, rock climbing, farmer's markets, food co-op. supportive of vegetarian food/lifestyle. humidity is rough on my husband (he lived in ct for a summer and that was it!) i am flexible to either coast. i'd like to have a few acres but be somewhat close to a liberal town with some diversity (i get scared of the high percentage of old white people in vermont, no offense...it was never apparent until i moved to the west coast)
anyways, let's discuss and i welcome all advice. i need to leave this city before i get sucked in and regret not taking action...

[honeychrome]

It seems like this kind of question has been coming up a lot here lately! The place in upstate NY that most fits what you seem to be looking for is Ithaca. More small city than small town, but it is certainly the most 'liberal, veggie/eco/outdoorsy' place in NY. The Moosewood restaurant is there, there are two or three intentional communities (I think the oldest ecovillage in the country is there), its on a beautiful lake, there is hiking, etc. etc. Generally speaking upstate NY isn't known as being particularly sunny, but it also isn't endless grey like Seattle. In your stated fields you'd probably find work in Ithaca relatively easily, which can't be said for much of upstate. Do a little bit of searching of the forums for more info and opinions on Ithaca. Personally it's my favorite city in the state.

[Rachael84]

Ithaca is a very nice small city, I recommend it.

[vicarian]

Wow, I knew Ithaca was going to mentioned early on. I am a current resident, and I admit that I am fond of Ithaca. Ithaca is home to about 30,000 permanent residents, and a metro area of 100,000. It's off the beaten path, since the nearest interstate is 25 miles away, but it's only about an hour to one hour and a half to the major cities in the area, Rochester and Syracuse. The region is located in a geographically diverse locale. There are gentle hills to the north, and steep hills in the city and points south. A major attraction is the large number of waterfalls and gorges in the area, which have cut steep cliffs hundreds of feet into some of the hills. After all, as the bumper stickers here say, "Ithaca is gorges".

The summers are sunny and very warm, with temps often in the 80s. Spring can be very Seattle-ish, usually cool to mild and rainy, and fall is cool as well. Winters are cold and most often, cloudy/snowy. November is the worst month, as half the days are cloudy (and the rest of the winter is only a little sunnier). As a result, Ithaca is very busy indoors. A large college student population from Ithaca College and Cornell University keep the area active and progressive. There are vegetarian restaurants, two eco communities (EcoVillage and one that just broke ground called White Hawk), and a significant liberal political tilt in the area.

The surrounding area is more moderate in general. A local joke is that "Ithaca is ten square miles surrounded by reality". The suburbs are small, and most of the towns here have significant investments in "smart planning". They're a little more affordable than the city, and do not have to tolerate the college students and tourists as much.

As for housing, Ithaca has everything from million-dollar lakefront homes to little bungalows nestled away in the hills. Apartments are overpriced in much of the area because of the colleges, especially in the eastern and southern parts of the city. Ithaca city schools are (unsurprisingly) highly regarded.

If I have to raise qualms about Ithaca, which I will to give you a full picture, is that Ithaca is known for having rather high taxes. It's a little less in other parts of Ithaca's county (Tompkins), but the area is regarded to be rather expensive when compared to surrounding regions.

My favorite part about Ithaca- it's growing. Ithaca metro is growing at a slow but steady rate of about 6% per decade, which is quite an accomplishment in economically impoverished upstate New York. It's an island of prosperity in a sea of depression. However, I must admit that it mainly due to the colleges. Cornell itself employs 1800 faculty and 7300 staff/research personnel, and still adding positions. Tourism has also grown in recent years.

I know I've rambled, but if you take a look, Ithaca, the little village of Trumansburg, and the suburbs of Dryden and Lansing are worth a look.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by veggiecook

Local new englander, newly married. I've lived in Seattle for the past 4 years and love the proximity to the mountains, water and general liberal attitude. I feel like Seattle is too big for me now and am seeking that quaint small town without the ignorance and lack of jobs, which I'm sure is rare...I'm a vegetarian cook, he's in IT and we want to open a B&B one day...but my main goal is finding a liberal, supportive community that isn't all standoffish like the folks in Seattle. 4 years here, and I've been an active friend and it's so hard to get people to just make time for you in this city,even when you know they are not busy...
that's my biggest issue with seattle, and i've learned it's a distinct seattle thing. i also need more days of sunlight out of the year. my brother lives in vermont and we've considered moving there or upstate ny, but obviously the job market isn't fabulous and the bugs....i've decided i don't mind the cold in the winter if i can have a little sunshine.
we are both rock climbers and like a little bit of a social scene...we plan on having kids in a few years and i just don't want to settle down somewhere and not be able to make any friends like in seattle...
my dream place: sunshine! access to swimming holes, hiking, rock climbing, farmer's markets, food co-op. supportive of vegetarian food/lifestyle. humidity is rough on my husband (he lived in ct for a summer and that was it!) i am flexible to either coast. i'd like to have a few acres but be somewhat close to a liberal town with some diversity (i get scared of the high percentage of old white people in vermont, no offense...it was never apparent until i moved to the west coast)
anyways, let's discuss and i welcome all advice. i need to leave this city before i get sucked in and regret not taking action...

New Paltz is the place for you!! Also check out Minnewaska(spelled right?) for hiking,swimming holes(some naked). Good luck.

[I'minformed2]

I'll go with the majority here and suggest Ithaca hands down. It's been called the most liberal city in NYS, it's in the higher, hilly elevations of Western NY (i.e much less humidity in the summer than near NYC/Coastal Northeast region) in the heart of the beautiful Finger Lakes region (TONS of wineries, second only to Napa in the nation). Coming from the west coast property costs will be dirt cheap (taxes will be higher...but over all cost of living will be much lower). I really can't think of a place that could fit your bill any better than Ithaca. As someone else also said, if you need a bit more "City" every once in a while, Rochester and Syracuse are both within reasonable distance..

[Ex-Ithacan]

It's been summed up quite well in previous posts; Ithaca.

[pidaho]

warning for veggie cook: while Ithaca is absolutely fabulous, winters are drearier than Seattle. New Paltz would be a better choice if weather is really a factor although prices there have gotten out of hand since it has been "discovered". If you haven't been there it is a bit like Hood River, Oregon, east coast style.

Good luck, I tried moving back to be close to family but ended up moving back to the intermountain west for sunshine, jobs, winter without shoveling.

[dennis s]

Originally Posted by sheena

New Paltz is the place for you!! Also check out Minnewaska(spelled right?) for hiking,swimming holes(some naked). Good luck.

I need more information on the naked swimmin' holes............please

[carolinajack]

Rosendale ny is a cool little town