This is no shock. Ithaca is a hippie valley time warp and has been for decades.
Being in Ithaca feels as though one is literally time traveling into the sixties and its creepy.
It has been a few years since I have been there - my niece graduated from Cornell about 3 years ago but it doesn’t change.
EXACTLY the same with Santa Cruz. And an immensely tired feeling as well.
But...
It's the buildings and people. The LAND has a very special energy, very high and mellow at the same time. It's definitely different, and really great to be in - as long as you're not with any Santa Cruzians. But I don't think, long ago, the natives actually live there. Nearby, yes, but not there - too powerful.
Same with Santa Fe, NM. The city sits on a plain where the natives came for giant meetings and dances and spiritual celebrations. But no one lived there - they lived nearby.
But the white folks plonked down right in the middle of both places and prompt turned into liberal hippie democrats.
The natives knew better.