Known because the “southeastern gateway to the Finger Lakes area” — a well-liked vacation spot in central New York with eleven lakes — Cortland is home to about 18,000 residents and covers four square miles. The town, which dates again to the nineteenth century, sits on the banks of the Tioughnioga River in a predominantly rural county, surrounded by a number of state forests. One such place is Cortland, New York, which Realtor.com just lately named the most affordable small city in America. The web site points out that properties here price round one-third of the nationwide median at about…