Downtown Revitalization Success Story - 11/26/2022

For a small city, its downtown has grown significantly and serves as the hub of the community. The Ithaca Commons remains the central gathering space for locals, students and visitors to this city. It is welcoming to all segments of the region. Its historic Commons is tastefully surrounded by new mid-rise buildings with hotels, apartments, and other uses. It is a textbook study of community-sensitive real estate development downtown.

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Nice! - 10/1/2021

Great place to live. Lots to do, vibrant culture, and beautiful scenery. Don't fear the winter--it's even beautiful then. Only complaint is the housing market. Way overpriced considering the size of the market.

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Ithaca a liberal cess-pool - 7/12/2021

I was born, raised, educated there (Ithaca High and Cornell). In my opinion, before leaving to pursue my career, it seemed like the most beautiful, clean, low crime, God-loving, family-oriented, small sized city in the US. Many years later, when I returned, I found a cess-pool.

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Ithaca is great (if you don't want to date). - 4/27/2018

I think Ithaca is a superb community. The city is beautiful, there are tons of things to do and it's a hub for learning. The natural surroundings are exquisite. Parks are superb! It's liberal, progressive, and a fine place to raise a family. I would not recommend moving here if you're over 40 and single, however. You will not find dates here. You will find people who rarely look at you unless they know you already. You'll find a large population of folks under 30 and a lot of retired folks. You'll find lots of married people with beautiful children. And if you try online dating, you'll find lots of mentally ill men between the ages of 40 and 60. If you're a white straight woman with her sanity intact and you have the slightest bit of self-respect, you will not find a date in this town unless you look like Gemma Arterton and you're in your 20s. Sorry. It's true.

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Ithaca NY - 3/17/2018

Ithaca is the best little liberal town in America. The people are amazing and it’s a beautiful place.

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mixed review - 9/5/2013

I moved to Ithaca from the southeastern US to escape red America at the height of the Bush era, both to find a community where I felt more at home and to find a good place for public education for my children. The schools are good and I have no complaints about them. The educational climate is conducive to learning and there are many opportunities for school children to be involve in a humane and inclusive school community. The downsides for me include a high cost of living - housing and other costs are significantly higher here and taxes related to owning a home are just amazing. I estimate that the property and school taxes I pay are similar to the monthly cost of a 30-year mortgage on a house of similar value to mine. New york has passed a law that limits the growth of property taxes and proudly announces it on their ads for the state, but they don't tell you that the taxes already are about 3000 dollars per hundred thousand (per year!), or that many municipalities (Ithaca included) vote to go beyond the 2% increase per year allowed by law. The social culture for adults in Ithaca is no warmer than the weather. I attribute this to the culture of the Ivy League university that resides in Ithaca and the many transplants it attracts, and maybe a regional difference in what southerners would call "hospitality." When I moved here I took a job in a city that is a commute from Ithaca, wrongly assuming that I would find employment in Ithaca eventually (I am a professional with a terminal degree). I have found that while I might be able to find a job here, the wages are low enough in Ithaca that if I left my current employment for a job in Ithaca, I would not be able to afford to live here. I love the outdoors here and actually prefer the 200 cloudy days we have here every year. The state parks are beautiful. There is excellent public transportation and restaurants are plentiful and varied for such a small city. The infrastructure, on the other hand, is inadequate probably due to hosting 35,000 students that aren't part of the tax-base. While taxes are high, roads are marginal and can't move the traffic efficiently. Can you imagine traffic jams in a city of 30,000? We have them. The deer population is very high -- it is really difficult to grow a garden or even shrubbery unless you choose plants the deer prefer not to eat. Driving is hazardous due to deer jumping in front of moving vehicles on winding roads that are often wet with rain or snow(I have wrecked 2 cars on deer since 2007). Even so, the local politics makes it impossible to agree on culling the deer, or to carry out culling once it is passed by the populace. I came here seeking a haven for political liberals, but find that by local standards I might not fit the description.

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Gas drilling in Marcellus Shale - 2/1/2010

Many residents are worried that prospective drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale (which underlies Ithaca and much of the rest of New York west of Albany) will damage the environment and make living in the area much less appealing. Other residents believe that the economic benefits will outweigh the negatives. At present drilling in the Marcellus Shale is prohibited until the state completes a study of the process, and the governor makes a decision regarding when, and how, to allow it.

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Beauty of Ithaca - 1/12/2010

Rolling hills, numerous waterfalls and gorges make this town great for the soul

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Don't move to Ithaca! - 12/26/2009

Ithaca is an awful place to live! I moved here from Virginia to go to Cornell and regret coming! The university is nice, but the town is horrible! The local people are really strange and downtown area looks really run down. Also, the weather is unbearable, especially in winter. The sun never shines, it snows daily, and rarely gets above 20 degrees. I can't wait until graduation! I don't recommend the area at all.

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Couldn't Wait to Leave! - 11/4/2009

I lived there for 28 years and it was about 20 years too long. We moved in 2001 and I was so happy. I hated the weather - the cloudiness and the LONG winters that start in October and sometimes end by April - the end of April that is. It's so cold. We moved south and I love it! I do not miss Ithaca at all!!! It's in the middle of nowhere and it takes so much time to get anywhere! I do however miss access to NYC. It took a little over 3 hours driving and there were always flights daily. NYC is a place I love and really do miss but Ithaca and surrounding areas - forget it.

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All-Around Great Quality of Life - 7/13/2009

Ithaca, New York has a wonderful quality of life. The city has many of the cultural trappings of a major city, such as a plethora of restaurants, professional theatre troupes, museums, arthouse cinema, and a major university. It also has much of the charm of a small town. While hilly, it's a bicycle-friendly city with an excellent public transit system. The city is small enough that a bicycle is a viable primary mode of transportation. With a large lake, forests, extensive hiking trails, and three state parks within a fifteen-minute drive, Ithaca is an outdoors enthusiast's dream. All-in-all, Ithaca NY is a great place to live.

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Educated, conscious living - 5/26/2009

Ithaca is gorges

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Wonderful place to live - 4/6/2009

It's true, the weather is less than ideal. But if a lot of weather doesn't bother you, Ithaca is a unique and beautiful town. As a college town, hosting Ithaca College and Cornell University, it is culturally far more urban and cultured than most towns its size. Small business that know how to address the local market can thrive here, despite the small city growth rate. People take personal freedom, the environment and education very seriously here, which means of course that Ithaca is liberal politically and quite socially conscious. It is blessed with beautiful natural features, especially Cayuga Lake and many stunning waterfalls. Near Ithaca you can enjoy farmland, woods, and vineyards, since this is also Finger Lakes wine country. Crusty conservatives might not agree, but Ithaca is a great place to live and raise children if your values are so inclined.

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outdoors - 1/24/2009

Ithaca really is gorges. Beautiful place for winter activities, camping, kayaking, swimming, running, hiking. Beautiful.

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Cost of living in Ithaca - too high - 12/2/2008

Ithaca is a great place to live and raise a child, but if you want to live within the city limits plan on spending a lot of money on housing/taxes etc.

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Ithaca - 9/29/2008

Lovin' it

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Quality of life...poor. - 6/23/2008

Don't believe the safety, the crime reports, the business reports. It is in the middle of no where. Socialistic. Many homeless. The pretty gorges not worth the trade off. Poor qualiy or life. Hide faults.

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Not how it appears online. - 6/23/2008

Many people disappointed in moving here, especially if starting a business. Very closed minded, socialistic environment. Not happy with hard working individuals trying to make a living. Happier with poor people. Would like NY to be annexed to Canada...embarrassed about their country and their policies. Much more crime than ever reported. High School has vast racial issues. So leftist, socialistic, that no one can make any decisions about anything. If you are thinking about moving here, visit for at least a week first. Check out The Commons, their "vibrant" downtown, which they do nothing to help. If starting a business, be sure to notice the fact that noone goes downtown, but drunks, beggers and the homeless. There isn't any free parking...meters, garages. The list goes on. It is really sad. I hope that you don't get caught in the same trap that I got caught in. Oh, so beautiful. If you want beauty or a family environment, go to the real upstate NY. Go to the Adirondacks. Ithaca is not a welcoming place, unless you are a communist. If you are middle of the road or a republican, you will not be happy here. Trust me. Again, tons more crime than reported.

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Not how it appears online. - 6/23/2008

Many people disappointed in moving here, especially if starting a business. Very closed minded, socialistic environment. Not happy with hard working individuals trying to make a living. Happier with poor people. Would like NY to be annexed to Canada...embarrassed about their country and their policies. Much more crime than ever reported. High School has vast racial issues. So leftist, socialistic, that no one can make any decisions about anything. If you are thinking about moving here, visit for at least a week first. Check out The Commons, their "vibrant" downtown, which they do nothing to help. If starting a business, be sure to notice the fact that noone goes downtown, but drunks, beggers and the homeless. There isn't any free parking...meters, garages. The list goes on. It is really sad. I hope that you don't get caught in the same trap that I got caught in. Oh, so beautiful. If you want beauty or a family environment, go to the real upstate NY. Go to the Adirondacks. Ithaca is not a welcoming place, unless you are a communist. If you are middle of the road or a republican, you will not be happy here. Trust me. Again, tons more crime than reported.

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Jobs - 3/9/2008

Finding a job in Ithaca is close to impossible. Although this is a national problem, it has been a problem in Ithaca for years.

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