I'm planning on taking a trip to explore the Hudson Valley area of New York. I'm most interested in the town of Hudson, though will also check out Rhinebeck and a few other spots as well.
I'm going to explore these places as possible relocation spots. I'll also be exploring a few other US cities, but I'm quite interested in this area as it's only 1 1/2 to 2 hours outside of NYC with great train access.
My goal is to move to Europe in the near future, but as I've been in L.A. for 15 years now, I am in desperate need of a change. I'd also like a shorter flight to Europe!
So, tell me about this area of New York. Does anyone know much about Hudson? I've been reading that this area is being called the Napa Valley of the East Coast due to the growing wine industry there. I'd be interested to hear more about that as well.
I can tell you loads about the Hudson Valley. I went to college in Tarrytown, N.Y. right on the lower Hudson River for four years and was married in Cold Spring, another wonderful village on the upper Hudson River.
The Hudson Valley is one of my favorite parts of NY because of the sense of history I get every time I venture there. There are wonderful villages to explore; Tarrytown has the wonderful gothic mansion of Lyndhurst owned at one time by Jay Gould considered a "robber baron" in late 19th century NY history. Also located in Sleepy Hollow, NY (formerly North Tarrytown) are Sleep Hollow Cemetary (legend of headless horseman) and Philips Manor. In Irvington, a village just south of Tarrytown, is Sunnyside the home of Washingon Irving. Further north are Garrison, Cold Spring, Hudson, Etc. On the other side of the river are West Point, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and other quaint villages.
I will post more about this later, (have to run out the door) or if you would like, you can PM me.
We spent 4 days in the Hudson Valley in September 2001 - had a great time. I don't know much about Hudson or Rhinebeck - except that Frederick Church's Olana is nearby - well worth a visit.
We were based in Poughkeepsie - close to Hyde Park, Val-kill, the Vanderbilt Mansion. One day we drove south & visited Kykuit the Rockefeller estate near Sleepy Hollow, the nearby Union Church and Sunnyside, Washington Irving's home near Tarrytown.
We spent one day touring several vineyards - remember visiting Millbrook and Clinton - perhaps a couple more.
We had 2 very good meals at the CIA - Culinary Institute of America, 3 miles north of Poughkeepsie.
We drove home on September 4 - a week later the world changed.
I would only note that we tried to plan a relatively short-notice (4 weeks out) trip there last fall, and found that many accommodations and restaurants were booked. I believe the CIA and Blue Hill usually take reservations several months in advance. We were looking for two rooms, which was harder than one, and had the misfortune of picking parents' weekend at one of the nearby colleges. However, my impression is that fall is a pretty busy time, so advance reservations at least for accommodations are important. But I defer to others who have actually made it there -- we're going to try again sometime soon . . .
Posts: 123 | Location: East Coast, USA | Registered: 06 November 2006
I forgot the CIA is in that area. I'll have to pop in for a meal, no doubt.
Hi Kathy,
Better make a reservation first - quite popular when we were there.
We dined in the Italian (Ristorante Caterina de' Medici) and French (Escoffier) restaurants. Actually, we ate at the bar in the Italian restaurant - were able to see into the kitchen & inter-act with the staff working at the bar - younger staff from around the world.
One thing I remember about our desserts - I ordered a very Italian-sounding dessert one evening & and equally French-sounding dessert the next. The desserts were exactly the same.
Our daughter went to college in Poughkeepsie (Vassar) so we had a number of opportunities to see the lovely Hudson valley area. The train ride down the river to NYC is very scenic. One warning, however, that someone alerted our daughter to (after she's already arrived at college!) is that people with allergies to pollen often have a hard time in the lower Hudson valley. this is because there is a lot of agriculture in the region, and the pollen tends to blow and settle in the valley. (Daughter has asthma, so she was careful.)
We especially enjoyued the area in the spring and fall. Summer was kind of muggy.
Posts: 178 | Location: Bangor, Maine | Registered: 02 March 2006
Pemquid, good to know about the allergies. I am a serious allergy sufferer, so I appreciate the information.
Wendy, I joined the Hudson Valley Magazine website so I'll look through the archives and see if I can find that issue you're talking about. Thanks for the link!
You are welcome Kathy. I believe the Hudson article was around Nov., maybe back as far as Sept. or Oct. I remember going through it on the drive to SJ one Saturday. Good luck and enjoy your trip, whenever you go. W
Posts: 3855 | Location: Monterey Peninsula, California, USA | Registered: 07 September 2003
Teachick - I lived in a small town called Germantown for practically my whole life with the exception of the last 11 yrs since moving here to NC. Germantown is just north of Rhinebeck about 20 mins and south of Hudson about 15 min. I'm not sure what you are looking for but Hudson is quite a rundown kind of small city. We were just there about 2 weeks ago visiting family and my husband and I were commenting how we don't miss the area at all. While it has a lot of history and the Hudson Valley itself is beautiful......Hudson is not one of the prettier sites. I'm not totally sure what the weather is like in LA year round but we don't miss the winters there either. I do know the city center has become big into antique shops and a lot of NYC people buying 2nd homes in the area have driven the price of housing way up. But compared to California prices I'm sure it is still dirt cheap. If you'd like to know more...let me know.
Rob grew up in Sugarloaf and Chester, both are in Orange Co. NY. Sugarloaf, which is just a hamlet, is now quite the art colony.
Funny. I went to catholic high school in Goshen, we played Chester in Basketball and used to hang out in Sugarloaf.
Kathy, this thread came back up. The lower Hudson Valley is beautiful but has gotten pricey. If that natural river bed kind of are is what you are interested in, you might want to try one river lower, the upper Delaware, which runs through New York, New Jersey and Pennylvania.
The most beautiful artisan town in the area lies directly on the northern Delaware and is called Milford, Pennsylvania. In the last fifteen years, the Victorian homes have been restored, and the town has an annual film festival and arts festival. It is one and a half hours from Manhattan. It has an extremely high quality of small town life, with lots of culture, art, and good coffee places. It is about 45 minutes from the lower part of the Hudson River Valley.
I apologise, I haven't had a chance to return to this thread. I too am curious why Hudson has you so fascinated? It was in decline for a long time and has only recently started coming into its own again in the past decade. It is now know for its many antique stores.
When I think of charming hudson valley towns and villages I think of Rhinebeck, Kinderhook, Garrison, Cold Spring, Hyde Park, even Tarrytown and Irvington because of their history.
Here are some links that I hope will help you in your research.
Diana, what a small world this really is. As I had mentioned before, Rob came from Sugarloaf and Chester. Born in Warwick in '46, spent his first 11 years in Suagarloaf - his house was next to the cemetery, quiet neighbors - and then they moved to the house in Chester on Rte.94. Do any of those years work for you?
He went one year to Oakland Academy, but only for one year. ... No girls
Posts: 3855 | Location: Monterey Peninsula, California, USA | Registered: 07 September 2003
I am rethinking the Hudson Valley. I do plan on checking it out eventually, but I am realizing that I need to have access to certain things that this area might not have to offer. I do want to explore Rhinebeck as the Omega Institute is there, but the town of Hudson may be too far north for me and sounds like it is still fairly run down. We shall see...
Hudson NY has been revitalized the person who said it was run down is incorrect. It's very close to NYC which has many more things to do and I am sure that would be to your liking.
Cruiser - Basically one street has been "revitalized" that being Warren St. which has lots of antique shops. Do you live there or have you been there recently? I don't mean to insult anyone but the facts are the facts. One street over and we're talking run down... Sorry but I'm from that area (and I was just there less than a month ago) and I do know what I'm talking about. NYC is great but it is 2 1/2 hrs from Hudson.
I am NOT from Hudson and only been there once, but as an outsider, I do have a few comments.Every summer we do a combo trip - Catskills area and NYC for a week. The area around Hudson is beautiful. There are lots of nice little towns - weaving up from Kingston and on both sides of the Hudson are charming communities. We have stayed near Phonicia and Cairo.
It is an interesting area of the state. Sure it has seen it's share of downsizing and out-migration - indicative of whats happening prety much all over the north east - except for certain pockets. We went to Hudson for the first time last summer, so its fresh in my mind. Compared to alot of downtowns I have seen, it's looking pretty darn good. But it is hedging its bets, it looks, entirely on growth through Antiques!
I think it is trying to promote itself and surroundings as a "get-away" and "second-home" from NYC. This strategy can revive a community to a certain extent but it's also not good to build your economic base from "people from away" and be at their whims. We had a great lunch there - there are lots of little stores, but it is one loooong street - and yes, just behind that street with nice storefronts, there are housing that need attention. It was a surprise, but it also looked as though some of those are being renovated and fixed up.
Anyways, I cannot speak for Hudson at all other than that, but I do find the Kingston-Woodstock-Big Indian-Hudson area interesting and scenic. It has seen it's heydey, but who knows....
Last summer we picked up a car in NYC on the west side and within one minute were on that west side parkway (is it the Hudson?) with no traffic and it took like one minute to get over the Washington(?)Bridge and smooth sailing from there. It was the same way coming back - no traffic at all!
I think you hit it right on the head! I truly believe the Hudson Valley is one of the prettiest places to visit. The scenery of all those places you mentioned is just wonderful..quaint villages/quaint shops. But as you also mentioned ......"just behind that street with nice storefronts, there are housing that need attention." That was exactly what I was referring to when I said 'rundown'. Street after street that is exactly what we saw...housing that was in desperate need of repair. I'm not poking fun of this place. I truly understand that it is a very small community and the economy being what it is in that area makes it understandable. It just struck me when Teachick mentioned she was thinking of moving there from LA. It just seemed a drastic (different?) move from LA to Hudson that's all.
It just struck me when Teachick mentioned she was thinking of moving there from LA. It just seemed a drastic (different?) move from LA to Hudson that's all.
Yes, it is drastic! Trust me when I tell you that I am thinking very carefully about all of this. I like the idea of moving to a place that is still on the rise, but I am a city girl at heart. I'm not entirely sure I could swing small town life, though there is a lot about it I find alluring. I'll see as I go along...
The articles I have read about the town of Hudson suggest that those run down houses are being snapped up and people are flooding in from the city to either live there full time (to then open businesses there), or to have that second home some of you have mentioned. I am eager to at least visit this area so I can see what all the fuss is about.
Kathy, this is the tendency in the outlying areas of New York City-- everything which is within a reasonable distance (make a circle of everything within a three hour drive of the GW Bridge) has either already been or is being snapped up by people either escaping NYC or wanting a second home.
As you go from Orange to Putnam to Dutchess to Sullivan county you can find a myriad of types of housing: run down areas, fully renovated hipster towns (with the appropriate price tags attached). The Hudson River Valley and upper Delaware Valley have more or less been "done" in terms of gentrification -- although there are still pockets of still available real estate which can be snapped up at relatively reasonable prices. It is very much hit or miss, much more so than in So Cal. Property taxes vary greatly. Go further north (Hudson is really north, IMO, with corresponding winters - get ready for massive northerly deep freezes for which Upstate NY is known). It is so far away from Manhattan that I would feel isolated.
I am just going to revisit the upper Delaware for an example. Milford, which I spoke of before, has property values which are really inflated (Milford is very known for its arts/crafts/gay scene) - in the town, which has 1200 residents, property taxes are sky high, considering this is Pennsylvania we are talking about. You can get there in an hour and half from NYC. But it is still very much country.
The next town up is Matamoras. 5 miles from Milford. No urban development to talk of. Delapidated. Old clapboard victorians, screaming for renovation. Property values less than half of what they are in Milford, taxes also. The next town, over the bridge - Port Jervis, New York. 7 miles from Milford. Worse than Matamoras. But now, the properties in Matamoras and in Port Jervis are starting to get snapped up because of the gentrification which started in Milford. This is sort of how NYC gentrification works. It radiates out, takes over an area, and then radiates out from that area. Finding the deals and predicting the next gentrified area becomes the trick. Becuase you can believe me, up there, you don't want to be in an area which does not at least have the HOPE of improving.
"Run down" is the term I would use for the areas up and down that entire stretch which have not been attacked by hungry Manhattanites!!
One other thing to keep your eye open for. Many of the towns which have gone through this process have internal problems. The local population, which has been there forever, is not necessarily crazy about the New Yorkers. From the locals' perspective, taxes have increased, Historical Committees dictate how you can (must) renovate your house, tax dollars are spent on cobble stones and other beautiful materials. THere are often big scasms in these towns. SOmetimes hatred. Think of how Seattle felt when it was discovered by the Californians. Now take that down to a very small town, closed mentality. It can be very ugly at the town council meetings. You might want to ask people about these kind of things on the street when you visit.
I am writing all this only to try to help--it is really, really important to visit the areas you are curious about several times, at different times of year to fully understand how it is going to be for you. I get the feeling you need to be in an area with good energy, people to whom you can relate to some degree (meaning a certain degree of open mindedness), and while perfectly renovated downtown areas might not be required, some nice small stores and a coffee shop would be nice. Would that be correct?
I was driving around LA today and enjoying the wonderful sunny weather. I realized it will be HARD to walk away from the light here. It's rather magical... I can handle the seasons and I do so miss the fall, but long dreary winters might do me in.
I'd like nothing more than to pick and move to Italy or France, but I'm simply not prepared to make that jump at this time. I'll have more options in 6 months to a year, so I'm thinking of making my way east and I may very well land in Providence for a while. I have family business to attend to there and it is where I am from. It has become a progressive city and there is so much about the area I still love and miss.
I am taking all of this in and your comments are greatly appreciated. I'm having a bugger of a time just giving myself permission to leave LA! I am ready, but it is hard. Where to begin?
Diana is ABSOLUTELY correct! We moved because I just couldn't take the winters there any longer. Now I really enjoy sunlight/warm most of the year here. I'm not sure if you have children but that was the next reason we moved....schools. The close-mindedness of the people who had been there for generations was beginning to get to me when attending board mtgs. No matter how many years you live there, you will always be an 'outsider'. My family moved from NYC to upstate when I was very young and after 36 yrs of living there I was still not 'one' of them.
I live in a 'transplant' state now. Just about everyone is not from here. We are all 'outsiders'! But this place is getting too crowded.....schools included. So no matter where one lives, it has its pros and cons.
I wish I could buy 10 more years and then like you Teachick I'm off to Italy for retirement!
FYI: this months issue of "Hudson Valley" is all about "7 Hot Hometowns". Beacon, Catskill, Cornwall on Hudson, Highland, Kinderhook, Mahopac and Suffern.
Posts: 3855 | Location: Monterey Peninsula, California, USA | Registered: 07 September 2003
Hello, I have lived in the lower Hudson Valley my whole life in a town of East Fishkill. It is 10 minutes from Poughkeepsie. I often travel through Hudson as I go to Oneonta, NY often. It is a small town. Very country like. Not that built up or city like. That area even for me would be hard to live in. I am not saying it's not nice. But if your from a big city life Hudson might be hard to get adjusted to. Maybe Albany would be an option. As for the weather, I hate driving in the snow, but having the seasons is wonderful. There is nothing like traveling through this area during the fall and seeing the trees change color. It is absolutely beautiful. Good luck in your decision and let me know if you have any other ?'s
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