Considering moving to Ithaca

[Anonymous]

My kids are born and raised in DC, same house, neighborhood, starting middle and high school. I have a job offer in Ithaca. Considering the move for a few years but really worried about how it will impact my kids.

[Anonymous]

One of my biggest concerns would be the lack of diversity. I have family there so visit fairly frequently. My kids are mixed race.

[Anonymous]

With 3 colleges there, I would think there would be diversity. My kid is there. I love visiting. Ithaca has lots of restaurants and shopping (even TJs) and the surroundings are beautiful. There is a small airport with flights to Newark and Syracuse is not that far.

[Anonymous]

Way too cold for me!

[Anonymous]

Good choice. Upstate NY is high on the list of places better positioned to tolerate climate change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Way too cold for me!

While it is colder than here, it is not the north pole or even Buffalo or Michigan. The biggest complaint I hear is that the sky is very grey in the winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too cold for me!

While it is colder than here, it is not the north pole or even Buffalo or Michigan. The biggest complaint I hear is that the sky is very grey in the winter.

This is all so relative and about what you are used to. I’ve known people who went to college there who won’t ever return because of the rough winters.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you'll love it or maybe you'll hate it. There is no way to predict. The thing that makes a place truly great is the community you build. A good friend group makes a gray winter sky or a muggy summer afternoon a small nuisance instead of the focus of your life.

Having moved around a bunch due to the military, I can tell you that moving to Ithaca would be an enriching aspect in many ways. Your kids would be able to easily ski, sail, swim at the base of a waterfall, and experience other things that are hard to find in DC. I'm not saying these experiences have more worth than numerous experiences that can be found for kids in DC, but I think there is always value in getting outside your bubble and seeing how a different area lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Way too cold for me!

While it is colder than here, it is not the north pole or even Buffalo or Michigan. The biggest complaint I hear is that the sky is very grey in the winter.

This is all so relative and about what you are used to. I’ve known people who went to college there who won’t ever return because of the rough winters.

My kid chose it to have a "real" winter as opposed to DC and the summers are much better up there...you are right. It depends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Way too cold for me!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my biggest concerns would be the lack of diversity. I have family there so visit fairly frequently. My kids are mixed race.

The fact that there are colleges (including an Ivy) should mitigate that. If I retired to a college town, it would be Ithaca.

[Anonymous]

I hope some posters can report on the middle and high school options in Ithaca. My faculty friends there with little kids are very happy with Fall Creek Elementary, but I don't have any intel on other schools or the upper levels. Do faculty kids usually stay in the local public schools?

There are lots of threads about Ithaca weather on DCUM, but none on other aspects of life there, so I hope others will weigh in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One of my biggest concerns would be the lack of diversity. I have family there so visit fairly frequently. My kids are mixed race.

The fact that there are colleges (including an Ivy) should mitigate that. If I retired to a college town, it would be Ithaca.

Eh, 5% Black doesn’t do it for me (both Cornell and Ithaca). I need my kids to not be “onlies” all the time and to not see people like them/their family represented in different careers, etc. But different strokes.

[Anonymous]

IIRC, Ithaca HS is very good. I know a few people who went there a million years ago. Don’t have current knowledge though.

I think Ithaca itself is great and I wouldn’t hesitate to move there if I had a good job offer. But be aware that outside of town it’s rural NY (conservative).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:IIRC, Ithaca HS is very good. I know a few people who went there a million years ago. Don’t have current knowledge though.

I think Ithaca itself is great and I wouldn’t hesitate to move there if I had a good job offer. But be aware that outside of town it’s rural NY (conservative).

A feature, not a bug.