<p>BearInHoney, I find it ironic you call someone (me) a ■■■■■ then sign off with “Peace”. I suppose I’m a ■■■■■ simply because I have a different view of Ithaca and upstateNY than you do. Interesting mindset.</p>
<p>I’ll try to address your concerns.</p>
<p>“… only get your distorted view of the place…”</p>
<p>Why is my view the distorted one? Because it disagrees with yours? I too am VERY familiar with upstateNY. I’ve been doing business there for decades and have witnessed it’s decline (which started well before I started doing business there). I too am trying to give young people and their parents a realistic view of the area. The entire area surrounding Ithaca is economically depressed. Even Ithaca, which relies heavily on Cornell is depressed with regards to anything outside the school. The economic state up there isn’t a matter of opinions. It’s a matter of fact.</p>
<p>“Frankly, much of the MetroNY area has much more in the way of ‘armpits’ – some just a short walk from Hoboken!”</p>
<p>Yes, all regions have not-so-great areas. I could have over-played that angle. </p>
<p>“Sure it’s colder/grayer in Ithaca than NYC, but do you really need to add the slam(s) about the suicides? Rather tastless, really…”</p>
<p>We agree. It’s colder and grayer in Ithaca, no doubt! Tasteless? Really? You’d leave out something as important as a high suicide rate when you talk to kids and their parents about attending a particular school?! :-/</p>
<p>Actually the suicide data is available. Cornell’s official rate is just about average… except for the fact they had to average many decades of data to get there. If they use just the last ten years, they push the top of the stats. IMHO, the reason we don’t see similar things at Syracuse, Colgate, Cortland, RIT, Binghamton and others, is because the kids aren’t under as much pressure there. If you can’t hack it at Cornell, you leave an Ivy. Ranking systems have hyped and glorified these schools to the point that kids feel like their lives will be worthless if they don’t make it through. It’s sad.</p>
<p>“The northeast’s weather is what it is.” </p>
<p>Not exactly. If you look at a horticultural map, you can better see the stark difference UpstateNY has with the rest of the Northeast. ([USDA</a> Plant Hardiness Zone Map](<a href=“USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map”>USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map)) Nobody should even begin to believe the weather in Ithaca will be anything but far colder, darker and drearier than the weather in NYC, Harford, or even Boston.</p>
<p>“But you say ‘the rest of the place’ – ever been to Cayuga Heights? Lansing?”</p>
<p>These are neighborhoods, are they not? Is there a “downtown” associated with these neighborhoods? Do you mean the small mall (small, relative to malls where I live)? I reserve the right to be wrong. 
I’m not at all aware of any other downtown type areas that kids could frequent.</p>
<p>“ If you don’t like that neighborhood, stay up on the hill, go to the mall, Collegetown, Wegmans, whatever… problem solved.”</p>
<p>OK… anyone reading this must realize you just made my point for me. Wegman’s? Seriously? C’mon! They could also go cow tipping, I guess. </p>
<p>“I thought this was actually kind of humorous until I got to the part about how you were serious about it.” (In response to my mentioning of light therapy for SAD - seasonal affective disorder) </p>
<p>You cannot be serious. First, depressed people don’t just decide to break their depression and go skiing. Second, SAD is due to the reduced amount of sunlight in Winter. Make fun all you want, but kids (especially from the South) have an issue with the limited daylight hours. This is amplified by the very common overcast during winter in UpstateNY. The lake effect can make snow, but it seems to always make clouds. Ithaca and the area in general is really gray in Winter.</p>
<p>[List of companies in UpstateNY] “Yes I know Ithaca isn’t in the Hudson Valley, but you made the 200 miles statement, not me.”</p>
<p>If you had any knowledge of the companies on your list, you’d know they mostly in decline. You wrote “ya, I know” for Kodak, but you should have that comment on a lot of them. Some of these companies are shells of what they once were, with a few exceptions thrown in (Sematech and Global). Harris seems up lately, after a long slide. Corning is probably doing well with gorilla glass. But these can’t make up for the rest of what’s going on upstateNY. Do you want me to list upstate companies that have either shut their doors or moved away entirely? </p>
<p>You actually missed a few good companies. Fisher-Price, Carrier, Honeywell (Scanning), etc… I never meant to say there was nothing upstateNY. Clearly, there is business. I’m called to assist up there quite a bit. My point is the area has had a negative technical/engineering/science job growth for quite some time. I’ll argue the area, as a whole, as been in decline, continues to be in decline, and will remain in decline for the foreseeable future.</p>
<p>“I work at one of the above places…”</p>
<p>OK. Let’s say… for whatever crazy reason… you were laid off tomorrow. Are you really so confident in the tech market upstate that you would not have to move your family to find a position of equal value? The truth is there aren’t a lot of tech jobs and there isn’t a lot of turn-over. People with tech jobs upstateNY tend to hold on to them. This is in contrast to the metro corridor. There is enough critical mass of companies and tech jobs here that people move around all the time. </p>
<p>Actually, you want to know me. With my connections in the semi industry, I’ve been of great assistance to many people’s careers. And I’m always glad to help match good people with good companies. ;-)</p>
<p>“…Hey, I don’t disagree there are advantages of going to school in the big city, but you are making it out like it’s all or nothing…” </p>
<p>You’ve lost context. I was responding to people implying that a degree from Cornell has more of a National demand than another college. The recruiting conferences were used as an example of that. I was simply saying the recruiting conferences are a “must have” for colleges remotely located (with respect to industry and population). I’m not saying Cornell is at a disadvantage. My point was the metro located schools were not at a disadvantage for not having grandiose recruiting fairs… they don’t need them. If I implied otherwise, I over-spoke. </p>
<p>“ and have no problem going downtown, shopping, nightlife – stuff that people do. Plus I get to enjoy the nature nearby (hiking, fishing, mountain biking, golf), my short easy commute, the extra time with my family – you know - other stuff people do. Just maybe not you. Plus I can be in Times Square (or Hoboken) in 3 hrs if I want to enjoy the big city life. Not a bad life…”</p>
<p>Again, I think you lost context. My comments meant to compare a school near the city versus Cornell. People kept talking about walking in the woods. Great! Just as one cannot argue the outdoor life at Cornell is superior to a metro located school, there is no argument that the social scene, nightlife, shopping, and anything else along those lines are far superior for a metro located school. That’s the point I was trying to make and I stick by it. You simply can’t begin to argue the nightlife prospects of a Cornell student rivals that of a Stevens, NYU, Columbia, Cooper Union, etc… student.</p>
<p>“My recommendation to my children would be to never walk alone anywhere past dusk”
Point made. I agree.</p>
<p>“…for Wall Steet and Broadway types maybe, but technology – not as much as you seem to think.” </p>
<p>Actually the total available market for semiconductors in the MetroNY region eclipses upstate. From your work description, you probably have access to the numbers to confirm this.</p>
<p>“… While many large firms have a presence in the (NYC) area, they may not have any R&D in the area.” </p>
<p>Not sure why this is being said. Maybe lost context again? My point was never that NYC was the Mecca for tech jobs. We have an awful lot… far, far more than you seem to indicate, but my point was simply NYC was the gateway to the world. Again, that was in defense of people saying career opps were not as good for a metro based school compared to Cornell. In fact, they might be better for a metroNY based school, because of the proximity to so many world-wide companies.</p>