You know of that liberal stronghold in the hills of NY state?
Oh yes, indeed. I had the intense displeasure of spending an entire year in Ithaca, NY 14850.
I have a sister who lives there and she invited me up to regroup after a very rough spot in my life: "A change of scenery will do you good". After a few months in Ithaca I was able to secure employment, doing a $40,000/yr. job for $20,000 and relocated to the only "affordable" housing I could find, out in the boondocks of Spencer, NY. There I was able to burn black rocks for heat, pay $400/mo for electricity to run a light-bulb, water heater, and television and had snow on the ground from Halloween to Mother's Day. When things thawed out in June, I packed all my worldly possessions in a U-haul and moved my ass back to GA. Gratefully so.
You have my heartfelt sympathy for your year of internment
It was quite an experience and one I don't wish to revisit.
I went fishing in Cayuga Lake and caught a decent sized bass, carried it back to my sister's place where I planned on fixing it for dinner. My sister came in while I was cleaning it and informed me that none of the fish from the lake were fit to eat, can't remember if it was PCB's or Mercury, but WTF, here I am in this supposedly pristine hippy-city and the food is toxic. Go figure.