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After a year long search for the "perfect place" to relocate, retire, semi-retire, start a new life, a new job, a new career, any or all of the above, My Good Friend and I will be settling in the Ithaca / Finger Lakes region of NY.
What were we seeking? What were we looking for?
It became a listing out of preferences which helped to establish a criteria which helped us in making the ultimate decision; that decision and the criteria used to decide will vary in each and everyone of us, depending on our age and our social and economic status. ..our likes and dislikes. Lord knows i scanned enough of the top ten places to retire the top twenty places not to, the top six healthiest and the top .... there are many reviews, many hypsters and hucksters ready to sell their part of the country. One conclusion I came to was: I Didn't let the minimal differnce in cost of living and taxes sway me in deciding as much as quality of life issues. This may seem obivious to some.
So to cut short an already too long Blog........
WHY ITHACA??
It is Gorges.
It has great cultural facilities.
It has Cornell and all the great things an internationally renowned University can offer.
The state parks which shelter somewhat many of the gorges from development. The lakes themselves. The Art and Science and Cheese and Wine trails.
The list grew and grew as we realized more and more, that pound for pound
the Finger Lakes region had much to offer.
There is a certain energy, a vitality which the young people and their teachers bring to the area.
It is pervasive and i think for me to pick it apart here will allow the magic to somehow dissolved. Like picking apart the golden goose only to lose the golden egg. Suffice to say every time I turn around I am pleasantly surprised by the cultural diversity, the advanced environmental and spiritual depth of the area. Did I mention all the vineyards and distilleries and organic farms of all sorts. Then there is the cheese trail. and oh yeah the farmers markets in Ithaca and Trumansburgh. But it is also the people I have met so far and continue to meet either on line or in person.
Overall enlightened and wanting to make the world their world a better place.
I somehow have put on the rose colored glasses of newness. Is there an opposing side to my view of this world our world? I would be interested to know. Have we chosen as wisely as we think we have, in choosing Ithaca to rettledown?
Oh yeah one last thing. I think it is wrong to place more value on the last belch of gas deep below the surface of the earth than on the value our of limited
water supplies Protecting this resource which should be our ultimate priority.
Peter
It's not clear to me whether you've moved here or not, or what you're looking for in your post. Am I reading you correctly in that you are looking for downsides of retiring in Ithaca? My mom has been considering it, and these are a few.
I'd say that geographic isolation is one, if you have interest in traveling regularly or if you have family that do not live close by. Ithaca's a hard place to get to and a hard place to convince people to come to (at least for 8 months of the year). I'd also be concerned about potential future mobility issues, particularly in the winter months. Big hills, icy sidewalks. I also get the sense that folks who operate outside of the college system have fewer readymade social opportunities. And although I'm nowhere near retirement, it can be disconcerting to find the average age in town staying quite low, as you get older. It's a young person's town and a lot of the social, political, entertainment, etc. culture of the town grows out of that, and there are definite positives and negative aspects to this focus on the 18-21 crowd.
All that said, I live in Ithaca and love it. But no place is perfect for anyone.
I have read more than once Ithaca is ten square miles surrounded by reality. (actually 6.1 ithink)
I can only ask if you have lived here long? how much nicer ithaca is than many other areas in which i have lived. and thought about living. To me Oregon? yes isolated, Ithaca? around the corner and everything i could need is here except warm Jan and Feb. (so ill hitchhike south for a spell)
Bottom line is yes you like it here. Nice to meet ya neighbor!!
I recently moved to Ithaca, for a job, and was excited to do so. I'd heard so many wonderful things about it, and the people. I'm in my 50's, intelligent, artistic (photographer and writer), and very much into nature. I've explored the Adirondacks and other areas, and have no problems camping. I also live a simple/minimalistic lifestyle, eat healthy, and as woman who is part Native American, and part Celtic, also have an affinity for spiritual endeavors. People have been telling me for 10 years that I should move there. Sounds like a great fit for Ithaca, right?
I'm not impressed. Not at all. Yes, it's gorgeous - and gorges. Yes, there is a lot of community involvement and movements, and such. But what I've found is that it's all a bit pretentious, and I've also discovered a huge "reverse snobbery". If' your NOT "into" the latest natural trend, you're not one of them. If you shy away from the art galleries and openings, anyone who thinks they're an artist shuns you. If you don't chant and drum and seek refuge in the spiritual group, well, then you're just not really spiritual. If you don't want to live in a community group, dance naked, grow dreadlocks and become vegan ... well, then you're just an "outsider". Sorry, but I was a hippie way back where there were real hippies, and I've been studying various eastern philosophies and natural ways long before they became fashionable.
Personally, I think it's a neat place ... IF you want to groove or pretend to groove. But if these things, these philosophies, are an actual part of who you are and the way you've chosen to actually LIVE your life (in a quiet way, not having to shout it from the mountain tops), then the whole thing screams of pretention and snobbery. I don't see a lot of REAL change being affected, particularly anything being carried outside of the community ... I just see a lot of pretending to be "cool".
Ithacan55
Interesting perspective. As I settle in I'll try not to become a reverse snob. I am too old to groove but am trying to re-groove certain aspects of my life but
i don't think I'll join any organized religion or cult soon. Coming from where I have been, I will appreciate the overall diversity and newness. the pretending to be cool ? That's what i felt in the napa valley not too long ago and maybe what the fingerlakes needs is a little disneyfication if it helps to upgrade the standard of living of the hardworking avg. people the majority of who live in energy leaking trailers. Maybe that would help keep the hydrofrack trucks laden with chemicals off the road. I applaude the idea of sustainable in the sense of living wage and the environment and the growing and cinsuming of pure foods. Maybe the area is still in the state of change as we all are. I would like to think If I look with the right intention I will find a good life in a "neat place" Yes Ithaca has "theater" and I think it is partly done as a matter of choice with music and performing arts. The green sector is sincere in lowering the carbon foot print. Hell If I graduated from Cornell and stuck around and became successfull at something through hardwork and brains I might fall prey to the deadly sin of pretention.
Did you decide to stay. I hope you'll give it a chance. I know i will, but I still seek gainful employment. I hope your job goes well and you find things to do and people to do the with, Pura Vida
I recently moved to Ithaca, for a job, and was excited to do so. I'd heard so many wonderful things about it, and the people. I'm in my 50's, intelligent, artistic (photographer and writer), and very much into nature. I've explored the Adirondacks and other areas, and have no problems camping. I also live a simple/minimalistic lifestyle, eat healthy, and as woman who is part Native American, and part Celtic, also have an affinity for spiritual endeavors. People have been telling me for 10 years that I should move there. Sounds like a great fit for Ithaca, right?
I'm not impressed. Not at all. Yes, it's gorgeous - and gorges. Yes, there is a lot of community involvement and movements, and such. But what I've found is that it's all a bit pretentious, and I've also discovered a huge "reverse snobbery". If' your NOT "into" the latest natural trend, you're not one of them. If you shy away from the art galleries and openings, anyone who thinks they're an artist shuns you. If you don't chant and drum and seek refuge in the spiritual group, well, then you're just not really spiritual. If you don't want to live in a community group, dance naked, grow dreadlocks and become vegan ... well, then you're just an "outsider". Sorry, but I was a hippie way back where there were real hippies, and I've been studying various eastern philosophies and natural ways long before they became fashionable.
Personally, I think it's a neat place ... IF you want to groove or pretend to groove. But if these things, these philosophies, are an actual part of who you are and the way you've chosen to actually LIVE your life (in a quiet way, not having to shout it from the mountain tops), then the whole thing screams of pretention and snobbery. I don't see a lot of REAL change being affected, particularly anything being carried outside of the community ... I just see a lot of pretending to be "cool".
You may like the Westcott area of Syracuse and the Syracuse area has a relatively strong Native American presence due to the Onondaga Nation and Haudenosaunee(aka Iroquois). Westcott is pretty close to Syracuse University and has been known for its hippy like vibe. With this said, Ithaca is a nice community/area and it could be a matter of meeting the right people.
Ithacan55- you should have moved to a suburb like Lansing, where the "real people" live.
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The surrounding reality
