12 Reasons Why Ithaca, New York Is The Best College Town In America
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Cornell University in autumn.
Ithaca is home to both Cornell University and Ithaca College, and is truly a welcoming and comfortable setting for students. As a former four-year resident of the town, I could not agree more with the AIER's findings (I graduated from Cornell last year).
Based on my own experiences, Ithaca is the perfect mixture of giving students everything they would want in a college experience and offering seemingly endless opportunities to explore a unique local culture.
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Ithaca Is Gorges.
It's the most cliched line anyone has ever said about the city, but it's also true — Ithaca's gorges are gorgeous, as is much of the surrounding area.
The gorges, waterfalls, and green hills of Ithaca not only make great scenery, but also give the local area a cool calling card and a fun place to explore — just make sure you're staying safe.
Students basically make up half the population.
Ithaca is home to two major colleges — Cornell University and Ithaca College — which bring more than 20,000 to the city when school is in session, almost doubling the local population.
The young average age helps reinforce the feel of Ithaca as a college-centric city, and makes it more comfortable and fun to socialize.
Its bar scene and nightlife are tailored to college living.
To be blunt, one of the most important aspects of any college town is the local nightlife — and Ithaca has a great, student-oriented bar scene.
Many of the bars are centered around Cornell's off-campus area known as "Collegetown," but there's also a thriving downtown at the Ithaca Commons.
There's an awesome local music scene.
Ithaca also cultivates a great hometown music scene from Porchfest — where local musicians perform on their porches — to the nearby GrassRoots Music Festival.
There are a ton of venues around the city, and in recent years Ithaca has also become a destination for major touring artists, such as The National, who kicked off their latest tour at Ithaca's State Street Theater.
There is a huge range of great food.
There's a local legend that Ithaca has more restaurants per capita than anywhere else in United States, and while this is unproven, there's certainly a wide range of great food to try.
The city is known for having outstanding Thai food, including the well regarded restaurant Taste of Thai.
There's also a lot of great local alcohol.
For many students, alcohol is a key part of college, and Ithaca makes sure you're not just shotgunning cheap beers (although students certainly do that too).
Ithaca Beer Company is an awesome local brewery, and when the weather is nice students go out and explore the wineries in the surrounding Finger Lakes region.
It's really easy to get around.
Most places in Ithaca you would ever need to go are within walking or biking distance, although sometimes you'll have to face some pretty nasty hills.
If you'd rather rest your feet, the local TCAT bus system is inexpensive, reliable, and can take you pretty much anywhere you need to go.
It has a unique and endearing local culture.
People often write off Ithaca as a too-liberal hippie town with a penchant for headshops and alternative currencies — and that's what makes it great.
From its amazing Farmer's Market to cult-run coffee shops, Ithaca's unique local culture makes it an amazing place to spend four or more years. Ithaca was recently named one of the "quirkiest" towns in America by Travel & Leisure magazine.
It's pretty far from most major cities.
Ithaca is around four hours away from the New York City area, where a lot of students come from, and is about an hour away from the nearest major city.
While some students lament Ithaca's isolation, it actually serves to help foster a tighter local community.
The mayor is a recent college graduate.
In 2011, Ithaca took a chance on a young city official — Svante Myrick, Cornell Class of 2009 — by electing him mayor when he was only 24 years old.
Myrick continued to live in Collegetown — Cornell's off-campus student area — following his election, and has become a strong leader for both the city and its student residents.
The winters are brutal, but they're also beautiful...
Ithaca is perhaps most notorious for having unbearably cold and snowy winters — which is at least partially true.
However, upstate New York is arguably at its most picturesque at this time and the fact that the area gets true seasons is something you may be surprised by how much you appreciate.
Although you need to spend a summer there to truly appreciate the city.
Ithaca in the summertime is the perfect culmination of all of its greatest traits — great weather, lots to explore, and a general relaxing overtone that feels like a break from real life.
While school might be out, there's still enough students who stick around to remind you that this is, in fact, America's greatest college town.
Now that you've looked around Ithaca check out some other awesome places to go to school.
The 20 Best College Towns In America >>
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