What's so bad about Ithaca? Forum

[awesomepossum]

I've always wondered why people hate on Ithaca more than say Ann Arbor or Durham. They are all relatively small(er) towns. So is there really THAT much more to do in Ann Arbor than in Ithaca?

Yes there is.

I was in Ithaca for 7 years and I'm on 2 years in Ann Arbor. There IS that much more to do here in AA.

Don't get me wrong...I actually really like Ithaca. It helped that I played a lot of ultimate which is really popular in both places. There are some really good options for most things in Ithaca (bars/restaurants etc) it's just that the number of options are quite limited. Take shopping for example....your options are pretty much Wegmans (high end), Tops (middle) or P&C (low).
You like mall-type shopping? There's pretty much ONE place to go...and it's tiny.

Additionally, if you're a sports fan in Ithaca you're pretty much sunk unless you really like hockey.

The vibe in both towns is somewhat similar. The one difference is that there is a much better town-gown relationship in Ann Arbor than in Ithaca.

One thing I have to say though....Ithaca is MUCH BETTER when it comes to snow removal on the roads than Ann Arbor or Michigan in general.

That having been said, if I hadn't spent so much time in Ithaca already I would have no problem going to law school there. It's a really nice place to spend a few years....I just don't think I would want to live there forever.

[NancyBotwin]

/thread.

It snows at Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, Penn, and Michigan too...

Cornell is the farthest north of all those schools

Actually, it's only a TINY bit north of Boston and Ann Arbor, and only a bit further north of Chicago. I think its latitude has less to do with the weather than does its location relative to the lakes/hills nearby.

[Pizon]

I don't get the gripes against Ithaca and Charlottesville for being "small towns." True, they're nothing like NYC or LA, and they're not even as big as areas like Durham or Ann Arbor, but these complainers have no idea what the definition of "small town" really is. I go to college in a town of 3000 people, ~5000 counting the college population. The nearest Wal-Mart is 40 minutes away. Charlottesville has ~45k people; Ithaca has ~30k. That's the size of a small suburb... by no means a "small town".

I'm from the NYC area. Until very recently, the nearest Wal-Mart was 40 minutes away from me too. I don't think distance from the nearest Wal-Mart is a good indicator for how small your town is.

[Pizon]

One of those stories says this: "Last fall, Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations for Gannett, told The Sun that Cornell’s suicide rate is in keeping with the national average for higher education, which is seven per 100,000 students per year."

More like Darren Shittman, am I right?

[billyez]

/thread.

It snows at Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, Penn, and Michigan too...

The following is hearsay, but it comes in as a present sense impression. My cousin, a Minnesota native and a new college student at Loyola in Chicago, thinks the winters are actually worse in Chicago than lower Minnesota due to the wind off Lake Michigan. I believe

Such a crappy hearsay exception. Always tried to get stuff in with a better one than that.

Anyway, I hate the cold with a passion but I don't know about you guys but I'll take a quiet, boring, college town with moutains of snow and temperatures that a Texan has never dealt with before to have a chance to attend Cornell. Just sayin'

[094320]

..

[LawandOrder]

I grew up in Buffalo so I am 100% biased (as I look out my window there is a ton of snow) but that picture is gorges.

http://www.instantrimshot.com

I don't get the gripes against Ithaca and Charlottesville for being "small towns." True, they're nothing like NYC or LA, and they're not even as big as areas like Durham or Ann Arbor, but these complainers have no idea what the definition of "small town" really is. I go to college in a town of 3000 people, ~5000 counting the college population. The nearest Wal-Mart is 40 minutes away. Charlottesville has ~45k people; Ithaca has ~30k. That's the size of a small suburb... by no means a "small town".

My high school had 3000 people.

[Tanicius]

I grew up in Buffalo so I am 100% biased (as I look out my window there is a ton of snow) but that picture is gorges.

http://www.instantrimshot.com

I don't get the gripes against Ithaca and Charlottesville for being "small towns." True, they're nothing like NYC or LA, and they're not even as big as areas like Durham or Ann Arbor, but these complainers have no idea what the definition of "small town" really is. I go to college in a town of 3000 people, ~5000 counting the college population. The nearest Wal-Mart is 40 minutes away. Charlottesville has ~45k people; Ithaca has ~30k. That's the size of a small suburb... by no means a "small town".

My high school had 3000 people.

Right. So when people say their town of 30,000 people is "small," I roll my eyes.

[Tanicius]

/thread.

It snows at Chicago, Northwestern, Columbia, NYU, Harvard, Yale, Penn, and Michigan too...

The following is hearsay, but it comes in as a present sense impression. My cousin, a Minnesota native and a new college student at Loyola in Chicago, thinks the winters are actually worse in Chicago than lower Minnesota due to the wind off Lake Michigan. I believe

Such a crappy hearsay exception. Always tried to get stuff in with a better one than that.

Take it to Perjuries and we'll duke it out there, you and me, B.

[awesomepossum]

I grew up in Buffalo so I am 100% biased (as I look out my window there is a ton of snow) but that picture is gorges.

http://www.instantrimshot.com

I don't get the gripes against Ithaca and Charlottesville for being "small towns." True, they're nothing like NYC or LA, and they're not even as big as areas like Durham or Ann Arbor, but these complainers have no idea what the definition of "small town" really is. I go to college in a town of 3000 people, ~5000 counting the college population. The nearest Wal-Mart is 40 minutes away. Charlottesville has ~45k people; Ithaca has ~30k. That's the size of a small suburb... by no means a "small town".

My high school had 3000 people.

Right. So when people say their town of 30,000 people is "small," I roll my eyes.

That means you are a hick.

[Tanicius]

I grew up in Buffalo so I am 100% biased (as I look out my window there is a ton of snow) but that picture is gorges.

http://www.instantrimshot.com

I don't get the gripes against Ithaca and Charlottesville for being "small towns." True, they're nothing like NYC or LA, and they're not even as big as areas like Durham or Ann Arbor, but these complainers have no idea what the definition of "small town" really is. I go to college in a town of 3000 people, ~5000 counting the college population. The nearest Wal-Mart is 40 minutes away. Charlottesville has ~45k people; Ithaca has ~30k. That's the size of a small suburb... by no means a "small town".

My high school had 3000 people.

Right. So when people say their town of 30,000 people is "small," I roll my eyes.

That means you are a hick.

Nah, I come from a suburban hell hole with fewer operator-owned businesses than sports cars. Now, the populace that lives next to my college... they're hicks. Ex.: The bio teacher at the local high school openly professes creationism in her classroom without incident from the administration.

[awesomepossum]

fewer operator-owned businesses than sports cars.

huh?

[Tanicius]

fewer operator-owned businesses than sports cars.

huh?

I can count the locally-owned businesses in my hometown on my hands. Chain corporations dominate almost everything -- Wal-Mart, the usual fast food places, pseudo dining trash like Olive Garden, and stores that create artificial needs for their products, such as Hollister and Hot Topic. Then you've got the upper middle class folks who think they're hot shit and roll around in their sports cars at the age of 60. Couldn't pay me to live in a place like that after law school.