Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Between New Haven and Ithaca, it's hard to say. They're very different places. New Haven has more of a city feel and the vibe is total northeast megalopolis. Yale is a big influence on the city, of course. Ithaca is a cool town and the natural setting is beautiful. It just feels very remote to me, and I wouldn't enjoy the drive along NY79 to get to the nearest interstate all the time. But if you want to "get away" it's a good place go.
What about Rochester? It's a larger city than either Ithaca or New Haven, but the local culinary scene seems to have a huge emphasis on local/farm-to-table. And certainly there is a lot of agriculture in the surrounding region to support that. The city is on Lake Ontario and a short drive to Letchworth Gorge and other places to hike in the Alleghenies, the Finger Lakes, etc.
Between New Haven and Ithaca, it's hard to say. They're very different places. New Haven has more of a city feel and the vibe is total northeast megalopolis. Yale is a big influence on the city, of course. Ithaca is a cool town and the natural setting is beautiful. It just feels very remote to me, and I wouldn't enjoy the drive along NY79 to get to the nearest interstate all the time. But if you want to "get away" it's a good place go.
What about Rochester? It's a larger city than either Ithaca or New Haven, but the local culinary scene seems to have a huge emphasis on local/farm-to-table. And certainly there is a lot of agriculture in the surrounding region to support that. The city is on Lake Ontario and a short drive to Letchworth Gorge and other places to hike in the Alleghenies, the Finger Lakes, etc.
Actually, Route 13 takes you to I-81. Its an hour to Syracuse by taking Route 13 and catching I-81 North around Homer/Cortland.
I did offer up looking at openings at Turning Stone Casino between Syracuse and Utica as an option.
Between New Haven and Ithaca, it's hard to say. They're very different places. New Haven has more of a city feel and the vibe is total northeast megalopolis. Yale is a big influence on the city, of course. Ithaca is a cool town and the natural setting is beautiful. It just feels very remote to me, and I wouldn't enjoy the drive along NY79 to get to the nearest interstate all the time. But if you want to "get away" it's a good place go.
What about Rochester? It's a larger city than either Ithaca or New Haven, but the local culinary scene seems to have a huge emphasis on local/farm-to-table. And certainly there is a lot of agriculture in the surrounding region to support that. The city is on Lake Ontario and a short drive to Letchworth Gorge and other places to hike in the Alleghenies, the Finger Lakes, etc.
Actually, Route 13 takes you to I-81. Its an hour to Syracuse by taking Route 13 and catching I-81 North around Homer/Cortland.
I like New Haven and spent a lot of time there as a kid as my father's best friend was a prof at Yale. I also spent some time in Ithaca and the surrounding southern tier area. It is a paragon of natural beauty.
My gut says Ithaca, but if you want to be less isolated (to a remote college oriented town) and or have the coast and its qualities at your disposal, New Haven may be the better choice.
That's a bit misleading - those sources are comparing the entire Philly MSA (including the higher COL suburbs like Camden) to Ithaca.
If you're just comparing cities - Philly itself vs. Ithaca - Philly is lower.
True, but it isn't a huge difference. It is comparing apples to oranges given the size difference and that the Ithaca metro is essentially Tompkins County and once you leave the city or even Downtown, the housing prices go down.
That's a bit misleading - those sources are comparing the entire Philly MSA (including the higher COL suburbs like Camden) to Ithaca.
If you're just comparing cities - Philly itself vs. Ithaca - Philly is lower.
You have to keep in mind that Philly is geographically MUCH larger than Ithaca both in terms of the city and MSA (The city of Phildelphia has a land area over 24x larger than that of the City of Ithaca(worth noting that the town of Ithaca is larger, however it is very suburban/rural in character). Someone could live on a cheap plot of rural land in Caroline or or Dryden and be in downtown Ithaca in 15 minutes. In reality, it doesn't make much sense to compare Ithaca and Philly at all just because they're completely different areas. However, the reality is that if you're offered a job in each of these locations, you'll have a much easier time finding affordable, safe, housing with a short commute time in Ithaca than you ever could in Philly. Ithaca is only pricey if you want it to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bler144
That's a bit misleading - those sources are comparing the entire Philly MSA (including the higher COL suburbs like Camden) to Ithaca.
If you're just comparing cities - Philly itself vs. Ithaca - Philly is lower.
As for Ithaca vs New Haven, I have lived in both. I'll admit I am strongly biased towards Ithaca so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Ithaca is much smaller and isolated, but also much more unique. New Haven feels pretty generic as far as cities go. However, If you like the access to NYC or just need to live in a city that has more options for restaurants, stores, etc than Ithaca can offer, it may be the better option.
With that said, even though Greater New Haven is over 8x larger than greater Ithaca, don't expect to have 8x more options. Much of the core city is somewhat impoverished, more than likely you would never have any reason to venture into many areas of the city. Ithaca may offer >8x the amount of outdoor recreation though.
Also worth noting, living in Ithaca doesn't preclude you from visiting NYC from time to time. It's only a 4 hour bus trip and many students/Ithacans will go pretty routinely.
Last edited by Planner15; 06-02-2014 at 12:39 PM..
Heh, I get what you're saying, since Camden isn't really that high either. But it's generally rated higher than Philly or Ithaca, believe it or not. I could have picked out a really high COL area in the MSA like Brandywine, but that would have been cherry-picking.
And yes, it's true that Ithaca or Philly are hard to compare apples-apples, and it is quite possible to live more cheaply in Dryden or other towns (I suggest that quite often in other threads, as well as Freeville or Trumansburg, etc.). But I also don't tend to think someone from Philly is going to rush out and embrace the most rural aspects of the Ithaca area just to save a few bucks.
Plus for a couple with only one job it makes you reliant on 2 cars, which cuts into whatever you'd be saving on housing.
Actually, Route 13 takes you to I-81. Its an hour to Syracuse by taking Route 13 and catching I-81 North around Homer/Cortland. ]
If you're going north toward Syracuse or Watertown, yes you'd take NY13. If you're going south toward almost everywhere else in the eastern US, you'd take NY79 and hit 81 at Whitney Point, just north of Binghamton.
Heh, I get what you're saying, since Camden isn't really that high either. But it's generally rated higher than Philly or Ithaca, believe it or not. I could have picked out a really high COL area in the MSA like Brandywine, but that would have been cherry-picking.
And yes, it's true that Ithaca or Philly are hard to compare apples-apples, and it is quite possible to live more cheaply in Dryden or other towns (I suggest that quite often in other threads, as well as Freeville or Trumansburg, etc.). But I also don't tend to think someone from Philly is going to rush out and embrace the most rural aspects of the Ithaca area just to save a few bucks.
Plus for a couple with only one job it makes you reliant on 2 cars, which cuts into whatever you'd be saving on housing.
The TCAT is actually exceptionally extensive and living outside of the the core city would not necessarily require two cars at all. Although, two cars would be convenient. Also, as I've said, Ithaca is such a small place that, assuming they have at least one car, living in the suburbs wouldn't be too different an experience from living right on the commons unless you absolutely can't bear to drive even 10-15. Edit: I'll also point out that you'll likely be even more car dependent in New Haven. It's not exactly walkable or transit oriented.
With that said, Ithaca's COL is driven up by the insanely expensive college town, which rely's on a steady supply of thousands upon thousands of well to do college students willing to pay any price necessary to live close to classes and the party seen. It's also driven up by the ritzy professor dominated areas (Philly has ritzy areas as well, but they make up a comparatively smaller portion of the city). The OP may have no interest in either of these. Their are plenty of very affordable areas right in the city of Ithaca.
One last thing to note is that I don't think OP has stated whether they lived in Philly itself or an outlying suburb. Their current situation may be a lot less urban that we assume which would make Ithaca less of a culture shock.
As far as the OP's criteria goes:
Good restaurants: Obviously New Haven will have more choices, but also more competition for any available jobs. The University dominant nature of Ithaca may mean the restaurant to available chef ratio will be more in your favor in Ithaca although this is speculation.
Education program: I can't comment
Nature: Ithaca by a landslide.
Culture: New Haven will certainly have more overall, but Ithaca punches far above it's weight so to speak. Also, judging by the initial post, they may fit in better with the general vibe of the culture and nightlife in Ithaca. Although, since New Haven is so much larger, they could certainly find their scene their as well.
Once again, I am far from impartial, but I wish the OP well in their decision.
Last edited by Planner15; 06-02-2014 at 02:38 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
