Weekend in Ithaca, NY

Having lived in Ithaca for six years while in grad school, I had mixed feelings about the little city. And I have to admit towards the end of my degree, I couldn’t wait to get out of the town fast enough. But in retrospect it’s hard to differentiate the feels about the town and those associated with grad school. Most of my time, while living in Ithaca was spent at Cornell - attending classes, studying for exams and conducting research. The Cornell community is a lot different than the Ithaca community.

But now when I return, ten years later, nostalgia seems to prevail regardless, manifesting only good memories of living there. I guess this is just human nature. Besides I have little to do with Cornell during my return visits. My return visits are mostly centered on visiting friends. They remain in Ithaca, because of the life style. It's is definitely unique. There’s a large, semi-rural, crunchy, leftist, socially conscience and environmentally aware community that exists. I do miss it at times. Life seems a lot more laid back there.