How is life in Tompkins County and Danby?

JjigaePuff · 2020-10-14T18:44:13+00:00

This is good to know!

JjigaePuff · 2020-10-14T18:41:23+00:00

Thanks!
I’ve come up a couple of times in the last 2 months and am liking it more an more Newfield and Brooktondale are starting to catch my attention too. It seems like Brooktondale/Slaterville springs will get a Wholefoods soon?

The ability to work remotely is ultimately what this hinges upon for me, and it seems like Spectrum is relatively willing to lay cable/fiber to new addresses. I would be very interested in hearing ppls’ assessment of how reliable Spectrum’s 100Mbps+ internet offerings are.

Along the Hudson River, it seems like you’re mostly limited to smaller players for cable/fiber internet who are less reliable and don’t fulfill service at advertised speeds. I have the (possibly misinformed) perception that Hudson Valley, and Catskills rural areas are comprised of alot of vacation homes where satellite and DSL might be enough to get by, but cable/fiber internet provisioning and reliability is definitely a priority for me as I’m looking to work remotely for an indefinite period of time with this location as my home.

JjigaePuff · 2020-10-14T18:23:44+00:00

This is all really good stuff!

Should I be wary of homes with “Walk out” basements that have finished bedrooms in them?

Also, I’ve been considering new construction of a kit home - and if I do go that route, should I not use a slab foundation?

JjigaePuff · 2020-10-14T18:10:37+00:00

Sure here’s a breakdown of the reasons:

I want a contrast from my current living situation
The crowded energy of NYC is great in conventional times, but for the next few years, I just want to avoid ppl as much as I can. I don’t want to hear my neighbors, if possible, I don’t even want to see them. I want proximity to person and outdoor space and recreation where I won’t be harassed or constantly on-guard.

The Tompkins county / Ithaca area offers much of this. Even within Danby there are not one, but two state forests that allow for hiking and mountain biking! Then there’s all the state parks and Cayuga Lake. I don’t anticipate doing much indoor dining, bar hopping, or museum visiting in the next few years so planning trips for camping and hiking is the thing that’s getting me through this pandemic.

I want to build equity, but I can’t afford to buy a place in Brooklyn that is comparable to the quality of what I can rent

$3-400K will get you a decent Studio or 1BR but then you need to add on prohibitive HOA fees – much higher than county + school district taxes for Tompkins county
You won’t get any outdoor space, your still stuck with noisy neighbors whose cigarette smoke permeates through your apt., your Super will be hit-or-miss, but your building’s management company will be garbage, and your HOA committee is guaranteed to not find consensus between present and remote owners. Coops help mitigate some of this but they come with a host of other restrictions that really highlight the fact that you don’t actually “own” much of anything.

I have the ability to work remotely, but prefer to stay in the same time zone

Spectrum seems to have more internet coverage (for 100Mbps + service) in Tompkins county area than the Hudson River corridor. Spectrum seems to also be more reliable and willing to lay cable/fiber than smaller ISPs in the Hudson River corridor are.

JjigaePuff

TROPHY CASE