A. A. Augustine

This Small Town Is a Gem in New York’s Finger Lakes — and It Was Just Named One of the Most Affordable Places to Buy a House in the U.S.

7/15/2023

Dobrina Zhekova
Wed, July 12, 2023 at 11:30 AM EDT
    Proximity to ski resorts, golf courses, lakes, and real estate that’s a third of the national median draws people to this quaint New York town.
Picture
Photo: Courtesy of Experience Cortland
    With the average home value reaching $436,800 in the first quarter of this year — a whopping 33 percent increase since 2020 — and record-high mortgage rates, buying a house has become more challenging. However, there are still pockets of affordable real estate markets in the country that offer budget-friendly options, various urban amenities, and proximity to vacation-style recreation.
    One such place is Cortland, New York, which Realtor.com recently named the most affordable small town in America. The website points out that homes here cost around one-third of the national median at about $159,250. But there’s much more to love about this quaint town in central New York.
    Known as the "southeastern gateway to the Finger Lakes region" — a popular vacation area in upstate New York with 11 lakes — Cortland is home to about 18,000 residents and covers four square miles. The town, which dates back to the 19th century, sits on the banks of the Tioughnioga River in a predominantly rural county, surrounded by several state forests.
    “The town is just big enough where you can have your privacy but small enough that you still know your neighbors. We have a lot of land and nice little neighborhoods here, but there are tons of leisure activities and community events that residents can enjoy year-round,” Dana Decker, owner and broker at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Heritage Realty and a Cortland native, told Travel + Leisure. 
Courtesy of Experience Courtland
    The town has a year-round program of cultural events and recurring festivals, such as its summer Cortland Main Street Music Series and The Great Cortland Pumpkinfest. The latter is a weekend-long fall event that has been taking place for 26 years.
However, Cortland’s main draw with nature and sports enthusiasts is its location. The town is a 15-minute drive to central New York’s largest ski resort: Greek Peak Mountain Resort. It has 55 ski trails, a beginner’s slope, eight lifts, and a Nordic Center for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, and tubing.
    Two more ski areas — Labrador Mountain, known for its top-notch night skiing facilities, and Song Mountain Resort, which boasts 250 acres — are both within 15 miles of Cortland.
    On a sunny day, Cortland County residents can practice their swing at one of five 18-hole golf courses while adrenaline-seekers can try mountain biking and zip lining at the town’s Outdoor Adventure Center.    
    Of course, with so many lakes and rivers nearby, the town also offers excellent fishing and water sports opportunities. Oenophiles can also explore the country’s first wine trail, which runs along the banks of Cayuga Lake.
    Decker noted that Cortland is currently undergoing a downtown revitalization project that is expected to be completed in 2024.
Matt Baldelli.
    The town is also home to the 191-acre SUNY Cortland campus, where about 6,300 students pursue undergraduate degrees.
“Cortland is a bedroom community for Ithaca, Syracuse, and Binghamton, so residents might work in one of those cities, yet prefer to live in Cortland, so they can get away from work while still having an easy commute,” he added.
    The affordable real estate in the area has attracted many potential buyers, and Decker explained that the town’s Westend neighborhood is a particularly sought-after area. A budget of $200,000 goes a long way in Cortland and gives you plenty of options in terms of location and home style.
    “You can expect to see old quaint farmhouses as well as single-family homes in the actual city of Cortland,” Decker said. “Our offerings range from farmhouses with some acreage to your typical, turn-of-the-century and midcentury Cape Cods and two-story homes. There’s a wide variety of options for everyone.”

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure!


Comments are closed.
    Picture


    The
    Blog

    Travel,
    commentary,
    insight & rants!

    Picture

    PAPERS

    PODCASTS

    PICS

    SPONSORS

    SHOWS

    SHOP

    MUSIC

    JOBS

    HIRE ME

    TALES

    EB'S WOODS

    COMICS

    BOOKS

    BIOS

    ABOUT

    ON TV

    HOME

    Picture

    Archives

    July 2023
    December 2021
    August 2020
    September 2018
    August 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017

    Categories

    All
    Insights
    Moving
    Rants
    Social Media
    Travel

    RSS Feed

    © 2022 A. A. Augustine

Company pages

SHOWS
SHOP
PAPERS
PODCASTS

PICS
BOOKS
COMICS
MUSIC

ON TV
BLOG
TALES
SPONSORS

BIOS
ABOUT

HIRE ME
JOBS
Picture

Broadcast partners

250+ episodes have been broadcast on these networks
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Watch the episodes on YouTube
Picture

TV series

Regional Travel
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Kids & Tweens
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Picture

ABOUT MY MEDIA CO.

    Established in the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the heady-mix of the earliest days of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Google way back in 2004, A. A. Augustine's Media Co. was incubated for 3 years as a "retro-style", traditional and digital media company. The company officially launched in 2007 and since then, has gone on to create and produce multiple children's, tween and teen book series as well as their accompanying hard and soft product lines, podcasts and gobs of music and comic strips and of course, my flagship, kids and regional travel series encompassing over 300 episodes which have been broadcast on PBS, My Network TV, COZI-TV, KOFY, AMG and RTV as well as hundreds of smaller, local stations all across the US.
~Anthony Arthur Augustine

    CONTACT ME

Submit
NOTE:
All the media on this website was conceived, written, edited, filmed, produced, directed, sold, composed & performed by myself solely to be able to keep my sponsorship ad rates affordable for any small business.
Thank you for your support! ~AA

Picture
Picture
© 2022 A. A. AUGUSTINE MEDIA CO. LLC / FIVE MINUTE FILMS
All Rights Reserved