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Cortland should bill itself as "The Normal side of the Owasco valley". Ithaca just weirds me out. Seems like such a leftist paradise. Whenever I am there, I can't wait to leave. I feel like if I order something from a fast food restaurant and get the pronouns wrong, a mob of blue haired feminists will scream and throw rocks at me.
Never happened, but it feels on the verge of that type of atmosphere. I like that Cortland is mostly normal, even with a college presence.
Yeah, Cortland has more of a rural feel to it, but it is a legitimate small city with enough going on. It is also more affordable than Ithaca and some people that work in Ithaca, live in Cortland.
It is also in a good location in between Syracuse(about 30-35 minutes away) and Binghamton(about 35-40 minutes away) just off of I-81 and Ithaca is only about 25 minutes away down Route 13.
Yeah, Cortland has more of a rural feel to it, but it is a legitimate small city with enough going on. It is also more affordable than Ithaca and some people that work in Ithaca, live in Cortland.
It is also in a good location in between Syracuse(about 30-35 minutes away) and Binghamton(about 35-40 minutes away) just off of I-81 and Ithaca is only about 25 minutes away down Route 13.
Its a decent little city, just a little isolated. But definitely not a bad place to live.
^Yeah, it seems to be solid, safe and with enough to do for its size. To be fair, a half hour, give or take, isn’t terrible in terms of access to bigger cities. As mentioned though, it gets quite rural once you leave the city minus the village of Homer to the north.
My children and I just spent five weeks in upstate NY and we spent about a week in Cortland. I am sure not many people vacation there, but we had a blast. I understand a vacation is not the same as residency, but I grew up near there and it was nice to be back.
The appeal for me is the location. I have access to the amazing Finger Lakes region where we went swimming, boating and hiking. Syracuse and Binghamton are a short easy (less so in winter) drive. I was less thank two hours from all the Adirondacks have to offer. We enjoyed summer activities at Greek Peak. The indoor waterpark, while not unique, seems rare to me and is a great option for days with inclement weather. Hollenbeck's cider mill was quiet while we were there and seems like a great fall treat. Target and other shops in Lansing are not too far away. Suggett park had lots of other friendly kids with room for them to run around. They also enjoyed the water playpad.
We spent a lot of time driving the surrounding area with the windows down, enjoying the amazing weather, and taking in the views, beautiful barns and hills, and stopping at the occasional out-of-the-way spot.
I'm sure most will disagree but Cortland is food Mecca for me. If there's a better fish fry than Doug's, I don't know where it is. We had two meals at Mangia and both were outstanding. Playing mini-golf and going to the vintage A&W afterwards is a treat my kids wanted to do every day. The root beer there is the best I've had. And all the adorable ice cream stands are lovely. Eating ice cream under the trees behind Footies Freez was a favorite. Super Cream in Homer has the best, creamiest, soft serve I've ever had, and they still have my childhood favorite--Black Raspberry/Vanilla Twist!
We even went to the fair and the kids got to pet all the animals and interact with their very friendly and informative owners.
By the way, if you are considering a visit, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn on 281. The rooms are clean and modern, the breakfast is pretty good, and I enjoyed many nights at the firepit in the back--there may have been drinks and cigars involved -- watching the kids play in the field, gazebo, etc.
My children and I just spent five weeks in upstate NY and we spent about a week in Cortland. I am sure not many people vacation there, but we had a blast. I understand a vacation is not the same as residency, but I grew up near there and it was nice to be back.
The appeal for me is the location. I have access to the amazing Finger Lakes region where we went swimming, boating and hiking. Syracuse and Binghamton are a short easy (less so in winter) drive. I was less thank two hours from all the Adirondacks have to offer. We enjoyed summer activities at Greek Peak. The indoor waterpark, while not unique, seems rare to me and is a great option for days with inclement weather. Hollenbeck's cider mill was quiet while we were there and seems like a great fall treat. Target and other shops in Lansing are not too far away. Suggett park had lots of other friendly kids with room for them to run around. They also enjoyed the water playpad.
We spent a lot of time driving the surrounding area with the windows down, enjoying the amazing weather, and taking in the views, beautiful barns and hills, and stopping at the occasional out-of-the-way spot.
I'm sure most will disagree but Cortland is food Mecca for me. If there's a better fish fry than Doug's, I don't know where it is. We had two meals at Mangia and both were outstanding. Playing mini-golf and going to the vintage A&W afterwards is a treat my kids wanted to do every day. The root beer there is the best I've had. And all the adorable ice cream stands are lovely. Eating ice cream under the trees behind Footies Freez was a favorite. Super Cream in Homer has the best, creamiest, soft serve I've ever had, and they still have my childhood favorite--Black Raspberry/Vanilla Twist!
We even went to the fair and the kids got to pet all the animals and interact with their very friendly and informative owners.
By the way, if you are considering a visit, we stayed at the Fairfield Inn on 281. The rooms are clean and modern, the breakfast is pretty good, and I enjoyed many nights at the firepit in the back--there may have been drinks and cigars involved -- watching the kids play in the field, gazebo, etc.
Can't forget Bob's Barbecue in Homer on Route 281 north of the village as well.
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-- watching the kids play in the field, gazebo, etc.
