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I've definitely seen many complaints about Ithaca getting more dangerous in recent years. But I also notice people almost everywhere seem to feel less safe lately compared to pre-pandemic times.
You say you were led to believe there are no bad neighborhoods in Ithaca. I've had the opposite experience in my research. I get the impression there are no good neighborhoods. But Cayuga Heights just outside Ithaca seems nice and upscale. (I wouldn't personally want to live there, but it does look nice.)
What do you mean housing is "bad" - like it's ugly or in poor shape?
Housing is extremely expensive and houses are in bad condition for the most part. Cayuga Heights is definitely another reasonable neighborhood.
Great to read that the young crowd is actually a smaller group than one might expect! Do the Cornell and IC students generally clear out in the summer or do they stick around? When you say crusty do you mean surly and ornery? Or like gross and dirty?
They do clear out in the summer and during breaks. Roads are noticeable quieter. I think when I mean crusty, the native Ithacan. Generally uneducated, more redneck than you would think.
Yes I have seen a lot of talk about these topics on other forums, in local newspapers, and there's also a Youtube guy that makes videos about Ithaca and he did one titled "Ithaca is not safe anymore" (not sure how seriously to take that one.) Many complaints about police not caring about crime. Lots of stories about break-ins, muggings, and other violent crime. People saying they no longer feel safe in the areas and neighborhoods they previously considered to be safe (including Fall Creek.)
There is a middle ground. You definitely get some further rightwing people (like that youtuber) who might even take it too far in my opinion. But yes, Ithaca is definitely not somewhere I would claim is a safe place to raise a family.
I bet the food is pretty good in Ithaca. Do you really consider the restaurants to be a downside of Ithaca?
Food is average. While downside isn't the right word, I would say it is another piece of Ithaca that is tremendously overhyped and overvalued in both quality and quantity.
Thanks for getting specific and naming street names, that's helpful. Do you think Fall Creek is definitively the best part of town to live in? I've read it's not as nice as it used to be.
In the city of Ithaca, except for Collegetown, I would say Fall Creek is the only place that I would be comfortable with a family and kids - even then you'll find a lot of Ithaca is block to block or street to street. Because Tompkins Community Action and INHS sweep up dilapidated properties and then place Section 8 or other low income, you'll see that you can have issues on one block vs another. The commons and surrounding areas are not good, the Northside triangle is degraded, anything Southside is definitely a personal safety risk about all else.
Do you feel unsafe pretty much everywhere throughout downtown Ithaca and the Commons? How about the Wegmans? How's the area west of the inlet?
I would say yes, basically. I think you could find a nice walk through Fall Creek. I have lived in many countries, continents, cities big and small - I would argue a twilight walk from the tip of the Commons through when it becomes State Street to 13 would arguable one of the grossest, dirtiest, and unsafe walks.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! Sad to read that the downtown and Commons are not good. Would you recommend against visiting that area as a tourist?
Belle Sherman, which is a residential neighborhood east of Collegetown, is another nice area of the city on its eastern edge. It has an elementary school of the same name.
You will also find nice homes on West Hill, South Hill and what is left of SFH's in the Cornell Heights area near Cayuga Heights as well. As told to me by Ex-Ithacan, West Hill tends to be more affordable, as it is away from the highly developed Downtown and the college campuses.
Stewart Park is a nice park on the lake that is worth checking out as well.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 04-17-2023 at 02:20 PM..
Belle Sherman, which is a residential neighborhood east of Collegetown, is another nice area of the city on its eastern edge. It has an elementary school of the same name.
You will also find nice homes on West Hill, South Hill and what is left of SFH's in the Cornell Heights area near Cayuga Heights as well. As told to me by Ex-Ithacan, West Hill tends to be more affordable, as it is away from the highly developed Downtown and the college campuses.
Stewart Park is a nice park on the lake that is worth checking out as well.
It's true, Belle Sherman is a nice neighborhood. But supply is so limited that unless you can wait and pick and choose your exact date to move to Ithaca (say over the course of a year or two), you'll be out of luck to live there.
With all due respect to those who post here, I will add my thoughts. My experience with the Ithaca area goes back over 35 years. Living a county away, Ithaca was a nice alternative for recreation(Cayuga Lake) and going out in my dating days(bars and restaurants). With a bunch of my time spent all over the place in the military (here and across the big pond), I would see the Ithaca area at random times/seasons. Has the area changed since the 80's?...YES. Not all bad, not all good. Economically..it has weathered some of our downturns, upstate. While some aspects of Ithaca are somewhat too "left of center" for me, if that works for those who live there...fine. Redirection/cuts in law enforcement have not helped(my opinion). Rents and home prices are higher than surrounding counties, due for the most part, to the 2 colleges located in Ithaca. As for any fixes/solutions to issues mentioned by the OP, that's "above my pay grade"...but just looking around the entire City Data forum...things seem to be in transition , everywhere.
Correction - Every single one of those took place within the city of Ithaca.
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Would you recommend against visiting that area as a tourist?
