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Writing from brain gain #4 - Ithaca NY - I can attest to the many reasons educated people would choose to live here, but one thing that cannot be left unsaid is
by rm_-rf_slash 10y ago
Writing from brain gain #4 - Ithaca NY - I can attest to the many reasons educated people would choose to live here, but one thing that cannot be left unsaid is that our economy is dominated by Cornell and Ithaca College, and most of the rest is the service industry for employees of the two. Our success didn't just appear out of nowhere. Aside from that, however, Ithaca has all the makings of a great place for professionals to live.
There are more restaurants per person here than NYC; the traffic is never bad except during 30-minute rush hour intervals; there is enough middle/upper-middle income here to support high-end retail and services (ex: even if there is only one very good spa and steakhouse, it is still a very good spa and steakhouse); the cost of living is...well it's ok. Housing is expensive in the City and the surrounding Town, but if you go a mere 5 minutes out of the Town of Ithaca in any direction you practically pay peanuts. Still, food and other necessities are Upstate-cheap if you don't shop at Wegmans.
But most importantly, Ithaca is a pleasant place filled with pleasant people. The average person on the street is friendly and helpful. Nobody is "too important." Maybe it's because we have a top public high school where rich and poor alike receive a quality education, but there isn't an economic "us vs them" one often finds in decrepit Rust Belt cities with wealthy suburbs or revitalized metro areas that sag professionals with "gentrifier guilt."
The point I'm trying to make is that if you want professionals (and thereby, businesses) to come and stay, you have to make your city a nice place to live. Tax breaks don't fix a lousy commute. Fancy new mixed-use high-rises don't diminish the sneers you get from service workers who see you as a disruptive yuppie who is destroying their hometown without even realizing it.
I know it's not terribly helpful to suggest "if you want to make your city attractive to professionals, it just has to have that spark," but I see it as akin to a doctor recommending the extremely difficult tasks of regular exercise and a healthy diet instead solving every problem with a pill.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- user837387 10y ago>>There are more restaurants per person here than NYC Seems like dishonest to make a comparison like this given the density of NYC. You killed your credibility right there. It reminded me of the saying: >>There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics It also reminded me of: https://xkcd.com/1102/ https://xkcd.com/1102/
- wavefunction 10y agoConsidering the op mentioned per capita rates, that seems to directly reference "density."
- user837387 10y agoMy comment went right over your head.
- danudey 10y agoThis could be a valid metric if your goal is to find a place where restaurants are less likely to be crowded. The more restaurants per person, the less likely a given restaurant will be overcrowded or have a long waitlist.
- mdergosits 10y ago>Still, food and other necessities are Upstate-cheap if you don't shop at Wegmans. Where do you suggest shopping for food then? Wegmans is cheaper than Tops.
- rm_-rf_slash 10y agoAldi is the way to go. Insanely cheap and without the temptations to dump half your paycheck every time you go. A lot of high quality genetics too.
- a3n 10y ago> A lot of high quality genetics too. That may be an attraction some time in the distant future. But maybe you meant generics?
- rm_-rf_slash 10y agoHaha thanks for pointing out that typo!
- mmmBacon 10y agoI haven't been to Ithaca in 20 years but I used to visit twice a month for a few years. I always thought it was a cool little town. I have great memories from there and agree that people were cool there. I still have a soft spot in my heart when I think of my time there. It also had a great little music scene, decent bars, coffee shops, and housing was reasonable. It's got the lake right there and easy access to hiking and biking trails. Ithaca College really balances out Cornell's presence well and creates a good mix of people. Not sure what it's like now but I can see how the quality of life would be high there.
- neuromantik8086 10y agoI moved away from Ithaca about 2 years ago and lived there for a year. It's still pretty cool. My main reason for leaving had less to do with the vibe and more to do with the job market and the fact that all of my college / high school friends and some of my family were in NYC. It has very limited opportunities, but I feel like it's a good place to move to if you're further along in your career. Also seems like a good place to raise kids. Not sure if I'd go back but it's definitely up there on the best places I've lived list.
- patmcguire 10y agoWhat other jobs are there? Is there anything that isn't the colleges? Madison is just Wisconsin and Epic.
- neuromantik8086 10y agoCBORD, Glyph and Wegman's are the only other major players in town to wit. There's a small number of start-ups too but nothing that would sustain an economy like the colleges do.
- malcol 10y ago>The point I'm trying to make is that if you want professionals (and thereby, businesses) to come and stay, you have to make your city a nice place to live. Tax breaks don't fix a lousy commute. Moving is easier and cheaper than ever before (mostly also because of the cheap communication technologies that allow us to stay connected to whatever or whoever we might leave behind.) Therefore the competition of cities for talent rises to a complete new level. Sites like https://teleport.org https://teleport.org make it super easy to compare cities worldwide for life-quality data, costs of living, salary levels whatnot... Algorithms could help you to optimise your life regarding on one of the most important life decisions: "Where should I live?"