jobs for new grads in ithaca?

Cherry2000 · Jul 7, 2008

I live near Ithaca and will be starting my program this fall. Our rotations will be at Cayuga Medical Center. This is the hospital in Ithaca. They are usually hiring for RN's so you should be able to contact them about new grad positions. The only other hospital that I know of near there is in Elmira and is called Arnot-Ogden Medical Center...or something like that. I know in Ithaca they are usually looking for RNs at the convenient care clinic also.

That being said.... Ithaca is expensive as far as buying a house goes. They haven't been hit very hard by the "housing slump". You would probably want to live outside of Ithaca unless you want to be downtown. Cornell and Ithaca College bring a lot of students into the area. It is a beautiful area. The city is on the end of Cayuga Lake and there is a very beautiful park right there. There are many places to go hiking and many beautiful things to see. There are also many wineries in driving distance if you like that kind of thing.

Daycare is probably about $150 or so depending on how old your child is.

Ithaca is a very "academic" town. Many people LOVE Ithaca, but its just not my cup of tea. I am a country girl and have a different perspective than the type of people that live there.

If you have any other specific questions, ask away. I will try to help if I can. Its not too often I run in to anyone on here that knows that NY isn't all about the City! :yeah:

MagnesiuM · Jul 7, 2008

I think i'd love ithaca....i'm just nervous about jobs for my partner and i. of course, as an RN, i don't think it would be hard to find a job, but sometimes it is hard for brand new grads to find one. my partner does non-web-based graphic design (print media, layout, etc....currently works for a magazine), so another big concern is her job market.

buying a house wouldn't be something we'd be doing in the first year or so, so we would have time to look in a larger area when we were ready.

what about syracuse? is that a larger job market? we have NO desire to live in NYC, but NY is a beautiful state that offers some legal protections for our children that we are interested in (second parent adoption).

thanks for your reply!

Cherry2000 · Jul 7, 2008

Syracuse is definitely a larger job market. There are some very good hospitals there. Ithaca is much smaller. Either way you go, I would start contacting the local hospitals or checking out their websites in the beginning of '09 if you are graduating in May of next year. The hospitals in Syracuse are St. Joseph's, Upstate, Crouse-Irving... They are all located right next to Syracuse University.

I wouldn't rule out both of you being able to find jobs in the Ithaca area. Your best bet (if you can) would be to make a trip up and check it out. Ithaca is a very liberal town and supportive of alternative lifestyles. They have a more "at home" attitude for a city than Syracuse does. Ithaca is also much cleaner and safer for children than Syracuse would be. (I'm just not a fan of living in big cities so my perspective on this is definitely biased.)

The other thing I wanted to mention yesterday but forgot to, is the weather. I see that you are from Florida. You may be in for a shock when winter rolls around! Our winters around here can be quite nasty. Syracuse usually has the worst of it because it is closer to the bigger lakes. It can start snowing in October and not end until May, depending on the year. I'm not sure if you've ever experienced something like that, but sometimes it is hard for people to handle. Heck, I've lived here all my life and I still dream of leaving the state in the winter!!! LOL Actually I just might once my kids grow up!

Other resources...local newpapers are: Ithaca Journal, Press Sun Bulletin (south of Ithaca), The Post Standard. Those are the larger papers. There are many smaller ones also.

If you can think of anything else, just let me know!

MagnesiuM · Jul 7, 2008

o, i'm from wisconsin, so i know alllllll about it :-D LOL

i love seasons.....what i hate is 90 degrees for 11 months out of the year, with beating sun and unflagging humidity. hence, moving up north.

thanks so much for all your helpful info!

SiennaGreen · Feb 13, 2010

Magnesium -

I'm wondering if you would share any further info you learned on the RN job market in Ithaca? Are the jobs available within 30 minutes drive? How is the child care situation?

We're very interested in Ithaca also and I will be graduating from an ADN program this year. I may end up staying here if I can stay on in the L&D unit I have a internship in...but that's no guarantee. Either way...even if we wait a year or two, I'm still quite interested.

Thanks!