When I moved into my first apartment at the beginning of the semester, I was so excited about the prospect of living in Collegetown with my best friends and, for the first time, having a place entirely to ourselves. After living on campus for two years, moving just a few blocks away has felt surprisingly different. There’s a greater sense of independence, and the atmosphere of Collegetown makes life more lively, spontaneous and fun.
On any given afternoon, you can expect to see mobs of people sitting on the patio of Collegetown Bagels. You’ll find students studying or finishing up assignments, friend groups chatting and laughing over pitchers of sangria and people hoping to soak up the last few bits of Ithaca’s sunshine. The vibe is fun, social and easy-going. Honestly, I think it has become one of my new favorite spots. I’ve found joy and a sense of community in picking up a morning bagel after a night out and debriefing with my friends about weekend endeavors over an iced latte at CTB — conveniently located just a short walk away from my apartment. To add to the experience, you can usually count on seeing at least one familiar face sitting out on the patio. Whether it’s a welcome or unwelcome face, it can lead to either a good conversation or an awkward moment.
Another aspect of living in Collegetown that I have grown incredibly fond of is the accessibility of restaurants and convenience stores. Just the other night, one of my roommates and I walked next door to 7-Eleven in our pajamas to pick up a late night pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. While this convenience was also present while living on North Campus with close access to Robert Purcell Community Center, somehow our trip to 7-Eleven felt more adult. Or maybe that’s just because we had to pay with “real money” instead of relying on Big Red Bucks …
A walk down College Avenue on a weekend evening will offer glimpses of friends playing cards on porches, listening to familiar tunes on an old JBL speaker with the background lull of conversation and laughter. College students fill the street and groups of friends gather, all headed to their nightly destinations. A glance at any given house will reveal its own character — strings of warm lights, decorations or, of course, the stereotypical, colorful frat house glow. Each house has its own vibe, and this is something that I’ve realized you can’t quite replicate in a dorm, where your space is confined to a small room in a residence hall.
One of my favorite moments of the year so far was stumbling upon the Electric Buffalo Records’ Orientation Week Band Night in Collegetown. Student bands played fun classics like Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Free Bird” and “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles. People gathered around the porch, singing, dancing, sitting on the roof and having fun before the beginning of the semester. It was hard not to think: “This is so college.”
Living on campus felt very Cornell-centric. Surrounded by dining halls, residence halls and campus buildings, I never really felt like I had a place to go away from school. However, now living off campus, the environment feels different. Small businesses, restaurants and apartment buildings replace the familiar Cornell landscape. Even coming ‘home’ after class feels different, returning to a cozy apartment rather than a dorm in the middle of campus.
This depiction and essence of living in Collegetown, just slightly removed from campus, has given me an alternative taste of college — the one that I often imagined when I was growing up. The porch concerts, sleepy Sunday mornings eating bagels with my friends and spontaneous walks to get late-night ice cream is the college experience that I was promised in my Pinterest boards.
I'm 20, living in my first apartment and suddenly responsible for things I never had to think about while living in a dorm — grocery shopping, washing dishes or deciding whose turn it is to sweep the floor. And yet, I simultaneously feel more like a college student than I did living on campus.
Of course, living in the heart of Collegetown has its drawbacks. I don’t think there’s been a single day since I’ve been back in Ithaca that I haven’t heard loud sirens right outside my window. Similarly, I am often awoken by the sound of the restaurant next door throwing away its empty cans at the end of the night.
Living in a Collegetown apartment or house at some point during your Cornell experience seems like a rite of passage in a sense. The independence of living off campus seems like a preview for life after college. It isn’t particularly glamorous, but maybe that’s part of its charm.
Martha Dolan is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a staff writer for the Lifestyle department and can be reached at mmd289@cornell.edu.
