It is about 4 hours west of NYC. I'm originally from Rochester, NY and I've honestly only ever been to NYC once because it's far away. So, it's not really a city. It's very small and once you get about 20 minutes west, east, or south outside of Elmira you are in rural farmlands. Which is nice because Elmira itself is not the greatest so being able to live outside of Elmira is a great option. Crime is also not a great topic. Elmira College is trying really hard. They're buying up a lot of the area around the college and trying to push out the townies, but there is still crime. If you're on campus, you're fine. But if you're trying to walk to like the Sand Dollar at night........ I wouldn't. I would raise kids in Elmira Heights, Big Flats, Beaver Dams, or Pine City. I lived in Pine City with my fiance and our two dogs and it was a very nice area. We had our own property with a large lawn and it was set back from the main road and we paid 695$ a month, not including utilities. Corning is nearby and there's a lot of things to do there. Also, Seneca Lake is nearby and there are a TON of wineries that are really nice and nationally known. My fiance and I are actually getting married at one in June. I recommend Glenora, Rasta Ranch, or Starkey's Lookout. There's the gorges at Watkins Glen that are nice to hike and my fiance still goes home to attend the 6 hour race every summer at Watkins Glen International.
Oh! Also, I asked at my LECOM Erie interview if there would be research available through Elmira College and they said that they have members of the Elmira College faculty who will be accepting LECOM students to work on research with them until LECOM builds their research building. Which is great because the professors there are amazing! I'm still friends with a lot of them. However, Elmira College is a small school (about 1,800 people in total) so they don't have large research labs.
