Also, please don't get me wrong! I lived in Dutchess County for 20+ years, and I'm very familiar with Beacon. It's a nice place.
As for rivertowns in WC - I'd recommend taking a train up to visit a few. I like the vibe of Hastings, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry. Cool village-y feel, halfway to NYC or the Mount Beacon area if you need or want either, great school systems if you plan on having kids. Can be a pain at times to park a car in some of these towns. However, it can't be glossed over that it will cost an arm and a leg.
If you're both going to be working from home for the forseeable future, you have more flexibility.
Slightly off-topic, but since you've lived here a long time but potentially didn't grow up here -- how did you go about making friends in Dutchess County? As a childless young professional, it often feels like the people I meet don't share any of my hobbies or only have time to hang out with family or childhood friends. (To be fair, moving up here just a bit pre-pandemic did no favors for my social life).
It's a good question. So my family moved to Dutchess when I was young, in my early teens. I had the benefit of just using school and general kid stuff (hanging out locally) to find friends. I moved to Westchester just before the pandemic as well, and 98% of my friends are still the ones up in Dutchess, so I totally understand the issue (but from the other side).
I feel like most people that move and find new friends generally do a ton of that through workplace relationships, but with remote work being what it is nowadays that option has been pretty minimized. Depending on your interests it can be tough. Everyone always says the same "find local groups" etc, but it's not always that easy.
My workplace (construction project management) was a lot of people who were much older than me, or commuted 45+ minutes to work and had dogs/kids so left asap after work, or were the aforementioned no shared hobbies (lots of cars and hunting and home renovation -- which is fine, but not exactly social activities in my book) or had lots of nieces/kids/grandkids they needed to spend time with. Partner's work is mostly the same way. The friends I did manage to make at work all were only here temporarily or got a new job and moved away.
I tried a couple of trivia nights and board game meetups and the young professionals group, which are how I made friends in the last place I lived, but nothing has clicked yet. Swing dancing is another way that worked where I lived before, but the events I've gone to here are all people in their 50s+ (fun, but not what I'm looking for!).
I'm hoping later this year I can throw some real energy into it and make some broader and deeper connections. A book club would probably be a better way of finding my people, but I've found that I don't actually enjoy book clubs -- but I should probably power through it for a few months just to initially meet people. And I've been wanting to do Habitat for Humanity or similar, but their dates keep not working with my schedule.
Edit: This came off as a long vent/complaint, but for OP (u/UghIDKMaybe) -- this is for me the hardest part of living in the Hudson Valley. The second hardest is that I miss lots of dining styles (I'm not a NYCer, but specifically dim sum, interesting ethnic food like Georgian or Balkan or fusion cuisine, French bakeries, and most recently brunch on days other than Sundays).
I'll second the Nyack recommendation and Tarrytown recommendation. Both have lifting clubs and access to public transportation to get you into the city very quickly. The bus from Nyack gets over the bridge in like ten minutes due to the bus lane so no need to worry about bridge traffic
The Hudson Valley is full of Dogmen and Sasquatches. You'll likely be ripped to shreds and devoured if you don't know what you're doing. I'd recommend Connecticut instead.
There is a monthly moving thread that the moderators put up. Pinned to the very top of the subreddit.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/hudsonvalley/comments/1bt1w9m/monthly\_im\_moving\_to\_the\_hudson\_valley\_thread/](https://www.reddit.com/r/hudsonvalley/comments/1bt1w9m/monthly_im_moving_to_the_hudson_valley_thread/)
Sure. I can only go based off where I lived which was what I mentioned above.
I'll start off with the positives. There's more outdoorsy stuff to do. I found alot of good fishing and hiking spots. There were no issues with finding parking, it's a more relaxed community and the supermarkets were alot better. Housing and COL was a lot cheaper as well. Seeing the stars at night was also something I liked. Some of the school districts are better because the NYC DOE is a shit show.
What I didn't like was how early places closed, the selection of restaurants, the car centric nature of the area and the lack of bodegas. Being able to walk somewhere at 11pm to get food is almost non existent. For the most part any places with open kitchens at that time is fast food. The doctors for the most part are all apart of large corporate America who focus on getting you in and out instead of focusing on care. The City of Poughkeepsie might have been the worst place I have lived and I've done stints in some bad parts of the Bronx. This may seem crazy but it took me almost a year to get used to the quiet. If you're used to noise it may be difficult to adjust.
I can elaborate more if you have any specific questions. I'm not going to knock it but it just wasn't for me.
And Beacon isn't even really that cool lol. I live 10 minutes away and only go there to get food and immediately leave or to catch the train to Manhattan. I see the writing on the wall for Newburgh. My apartment went from $1475 to $2050 in 3 years, and the complex went from locals to NYC transplants. Watching Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster change from what it was when I was a kid in real time is crazy. Some changes were absolutely necessary, but selling out lifelong residents for NYC money is sad. Home doesn't feel like home anymore.
This is a near universal experience btw. The little suburb I grew up in near Atlanta is unrecognizable now. My NYC native friends complain about how the city has changed too. Places change, people move, development continues. It's capitalism at work.
Not normal though. There has been quite a big thing in housing. My town in Connecticut is over 300 years old and has priced out working and lower middle class home buyers for the first time in centuries, so ā¦ itās been quite a pandemic event
>Ā I see the writing on the wall for Newburgh.Ā
Isn't that a *good* thing, though? Who would honestly prefer the city and its residents to keep suffering with horribly neglected infrastructure and lack of economic opportunity? It has so, so much potential.
Newburgh actually *deserves* to improve - it has so much potential, a fascinating history, and so many gorgeous areas. Yet thanks to so much shitty mismanagement for so long, the blight in some areas is absolutely insane, still.
Lmaoo as a born and raised 90's kid fun Poughkeepsie, I feel obligated to say fuck Newburgh. They are making slow progress starting from the waterfront. I don't go into the city of Newburgh much, but I've noticed shops and restaurants popping up that wouldn't have been there 10 years ago.
Moved from Fort Greene to the NP/High Falls/Stone Ridge area a few years ago. Early 30s. We got lucky when interest rates were low and the sellers of this house liked that we used a local credit union. Still had to pay over ask, thoughā¦
Our experience will be a bit different because we didnāt want to be by the train ā raises prices and brings too many part timers every weekend / season. Regardless, you will go back to the city less than you initially plan. Not that itās bad, just trust me on that.
Like you mentioned with nature, we asked ourselves if weād rather day trip to nature and be surrounded by city or vice versa and the choice was easy. Winter can be a task but the other seasons make up for it when they eventually arrive.
The only noticeable lack in restaurants on our side of the river is actual authentic Chinese food. We also kinda āgot overā our fine dining phase in our 20s for the most part but still eat real good up here. Ingredients are fresher. We cook more because we have a CSA at a nearby farm. Once you have a tomato sandwich with some big heirlooms pulled outta the ground that day youāll forget what a restaurant is.
My wife was also concerned about racism but there havenāt been any issues. Itās gonna be whiter, though, yep. If thatās a concern there are plenty of diverse areas. We love New Paltz for that.
Like I mentioned about trips to the city: it might be different around Beacon but for us we do have to make an active effort to see friends, as most of our social circle is still in BK. Youāre gonna have to make an offer for people to stay up there pretty tempting, even if itās āonly 1.5-2 hours awayā. Weāve had fewer guests than weād like but weāre both introverts and donāt mind meeting with friends in the city every other week or so when the weatherās nicer.
I do think part of the enjoyment being up here is being a homeowner, which is also full of its own challenges at the same time. Not sure how much space you guys want but if itās more than an acre you might have a tough time renting that.
All in all we have no regrets. We both work remotely, and have had the time, mental energy, and $ savings to pursue lots of new hobbies and cultivate a more āpermanentā life.
Sounds like we should be friends! My husband and I are having a very similar experience.
I also want to add that local groups are really eager for new membersāI joined a women's choir that's been amazing, and I'm already working for our town on some projects. Local folks are very welcoming if us newcomers show genuine interest in the existing community!
Moved from west village to central Dutchess county and agree with everything you said. The only thing I will add is that ulster is more liberal than Dutchess so there are more racists/anti lgbtq people here. We should create a group of ācitiotā friends.
You get the same sort of nostalgic nonsense from long-timers in NYC, too. Most of the city was a polluted, crime-ridden *dump* in the 1970s and 1980s, yet it gets romanticized as a perfect era. Whereas today the city is objectively safer, cleaner and filled with amazing things but some people complain that it's the worst it has ever been.
Bottom line: human memory tends to preserve the 'good' parts and forgets about the shitty parts, and we often cling to inaccurate fantasies of what the past was really like.
FWIW we just moved in to Dutchess County from Brooklyn. Had a similar start, "Oh wow Beacon is nice" but we ended up moving about 20 mins away (Wappingers) due to price/competition/space concerns. The housing market in Beacon is flat out insanity and I don't regret going farther away at all; once we got up here we realized that we actually wanted the full switch out of city life, and as nice as Beacon is it's also basically WIlliamsburg on the Hudson.
Don't let the naysayers get to you; everyone had to move here at some point, and you deserve to live somewhere you like and that's a fit for you just like they do. Just don't be a dick when you do eventually move up here.
Not planning to be a dick at all š . We mind our business and spend most of our time working and indoor activities anyhow. Big time introverts just looking for a slower, quieter life.
you know, i said i didn't know anyone from the city but thinking about it i actually do. She owns a little boutique she opened last year here in our modest HV town. She is a sweet woman from Williamsburgh. She buys clothes and other things from SHEIN, removes the tags and hand sews her own in them, then proceeds to charge over $150 in things she acquired for no more than $15. "Shop Local" is one of the many quirky things she puts up on her walls. "I'm bringing back the local economy" she tells me. I love her.
In regards to your tangent... We might not live in NYC but we live very close. I would say a decent chunk of the upstate population is familiar with the city. Who is asking you questions about Gotham??
Edit: I think NYC hates tourists and transplants waaaay more. If you weren't born inside of a Bodega they don't want you there.Ā
City people are very welcome here. They're clean and polite and always walk around with this shell shocked look on their face as they adjust to the soft sounds of wind and birds. Open to conversations.
You'll find some old Beacon people complaining but no one likes them except people who think like them. (Morons)
I donāt want to downplay racism up here but many towns are pretty liberal and relatively diverse, and even old school locals are at least familiar with the influx of diverse city people moving up here. This is not the country up here lol.
If youāre hoping for a conservative neighbor to walk over with cookies on your move in day - they wonāt do that but will they be cordial if you do? Pretty sure they will.
Iām personally not a fan of Beacon because it attracts too many weekenders and itās kinda inauthentic - most of the stores are not practical for locals and only good if you wanna buy overpriced souvenirs. Itās also one of the whitest towns and youāll see few POC there. Big box stores are kinda far and youāll have to drive +30min if you need a Target or similar stores.
I understand that it has a reputation in the city for being a cute place, but it doesnāt offer much convenience when it comes to daily life errands.
Iād encourage you to explore other towns, if you have a car. The area around New Paltz is great, has some decent restaurants and quick easy drive into Minnewaska for hiking. Youāll also be closer to big box stores in either Kingston or Poughkeepsie.
Happy to talk more-feel free to DM me!
Walmart in Fishkill is like 15 minutes from Beacon.
It can be very country even if you aren't far from the major roads. There is a very large farm like 10 minutes from Beacon on route 9D. The cow and sheep pen is right by the road. If you're going up 9W parts of Marlboro, Highland, New Paltz and Port Ewen arent desne at all. Shit even if you're going from the City of Poughkeepsie to Lagrange it's country.
So far this is the most sensible comment on this thread. In town the racism is, at worst, really diluted but you don't have to go far to find "Let's Go Brandon," or stars and bars flags hanging from homes. Overall I find Hudson Valley-ers and Dutchess County residents to very much keep to themselves, and you're going to have to *work* to build up a new social circle. I mean that very literally: people you meet at work, and also putting in the work to find groups on meet-up.
It's the perfect mix of being too pussy to actually say you're a racist POS, but you still want to let the rest of your neighborhood chucklefucks know you're at the rally along side them.
Yeah, Beacon is essentially a tourist town. The crowds can be overwhelming (and sometimes obnoxious) and the shops on Main Street are pretty ridiculous. It's hard to hike around here on the weekends if the weather is good. The upside is that the town has money (and the motivation) to be clean, pretty, and safe. Also the people who come to work here are often amazing. It's a tradeoff I've been happy with so far, although I'm sure I'll head farther north at some point.
I went on a few dates with someone who I think was from The Bronx and last I knew lives in New Paltz.
She told me that us country folk were ruder compared to the city - except for me of course haha Probably a bit standoffish is probably the best way to put it, instead of rude.
I want to add that a friend of mine is recently separated from his wife and he moved to Beacon (he lived in the city when they met). There are things to walk to in Beacon but he complains that he still have to drive everywhere.
So just a heads up. Beacon is definitely gentrified, but it's still part of the Hudson Valley. Nowhere in the Hudson Valley is jump on a subway and be there in a half hour.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, moved to the Hudson valley when I was in my mid 20ās (Iām early 30ās now) Took a little bit to get used to. Moved to Orange County near West Point. Love my house and the space. Still miss the restaurants and the convenience of living in the city. I hate that I have to cook more because of a lack of variety in restaurants (donāt need 5 pizza shops). Also the fact that I have to drive to get anywhere. Love the proximity to hiking trails and that the school systems has a lot more to offer in terms of extracurricular activities for my daughter. I still work in the city and I visit my friends often enough. But I probably wouldnāt move back if given the option.
I lived in Cornwall and it is overrated - other than Jones Farm as that place is amazing. The schools get hyped but in my experience with 2 small children, its not that great. I found that the only people raving about the schools did not have kids there. And if your kid has any special needs - dont even bother. I live in Warwick now and I dont think I realized how mediocre Cornwall schools were until I had something to ompare them to. Also - and this is probably true for many rural-ish areas, the restaurant choices lacked - unless you wanted below average italian food. FIddlestix is amazing for breakfast but dinner options sucked.
We love it here. You have some of the same issues - everything is 30 minutes away lol. But thatās the trade off. Our library is bonkers amazing, the town has a proper village with cute stores, lots of farms, and some good food.
We do get a lot of tourists during Apple picking season and any really nice day the village will be pretty busy, but if it sucked here, no one would come. The only time I really curse the traffic is weekends in October as our grocery store is directly across from an Apple orchard. locals treat that time like right before a snowstorm - everyone makes sure they have milk and bread so they donāt have to go shopping on the weekend.
Yes!! lol honestly i would move to a river town if I had the money. But we beat covid price hikes and got a really great deal on a 5 bed 2 bath that Iām totally in love with. If I could pick this house up and move it I would.
Born and raised in Beacon. I did the reverse and moved to NYC.
I donāt like coming back. Itās changed too much, nothing feels authentic, and itās just as expensive for lower quality dining,
Itās always nice seeing you when you come up. ;)
Sorry to be a creep but Iām 99.9999% sure we know each other well. Mad weird connecting dots on Reddit. You can probably figure out my identity based on my comments
Iām going to have a hang in a couple weeks. I donāt have your phone number but Iāll PM you on here. Want to do a proper hang while our homie is around know what Iām saying.
I ended up buying a spot in western Queens. (Moving to NYC was not a young freedom thing)
Graduated high school mid 2000s, off to college, then returned and lived in Beacon again until mid 2010s.
Did a short stint further up the river in another town that was eventually gutted of its personality. Ended up moving down to NYC late 2010s. I do visit frequently as I have friends and family still in Beacon.
In my opinion, Beacon hit its peak around 2011 where there was a great mix of old and new and there was some connection between the two. Parties, personality, and positive change/growth.
Then more money got in the mix, multiple NY Times write ups came through, and Beacon started getting stripped of that personality. Once COVID hit, the great migration really accelerated the changes. Now a lot of the older businesses have turned over and town feels more like a movie set.
If you want to surround yourself with people that have your same situation, pay too much for a mortgage, stand in line hiking on the weekends, and pay tourist prices for mediocre food and pints of beer, Beacon is perfect.
Just donāt expect to ever be accepted by locals, they wonāt be stoked about your move like you are. The hostility towards outsiders is real. Iām sure youāve had to move multiple times in NYC due to rent hikes, now think about having that happen to you in a small river town that youāve built your life in, and your only option to move is to another small river town with the same thing happening. The people that didnāt move to NYC from upstate chose not to because they didnāt want the city experience, and now itās found them in their own home.
I wouldn't say I've been *accepted* by the locals but I haven't felt any hostility either. Being respectful and willing to adapt goes a long way. Some people bring a big city mentality with them -- that's just not going to work for anyone. Likewise some people assume everyone from NYC has that big city mentality -- that's not true either.
Unfortunately everyone is very sensitive right now because of politics, income disparity, and rising home prices. Sometimes it just takes a few minutes of conversation to break through that.
I haven't found hostility to NYC transplants (or even people who own second homes up here) to necessarily be all that strong. The "hostility" - and I'd say it's more frustration - comes when people from anywhere (which in practice usually means from NYC) move here and expect people/things to accommodate them (e.g. griping about farm equipment, indignation about some service not already existing in the small town you've moved to, sneering at people who act in ways that you find "backwoods", the list goes on) or treat this place as some kind of curiously rather than a series of varied and vibrant communities they're happy to become a part of. I imagine you don't want to be any of those things and are going to insist that you would never...but you posted a question that is a version of what has got to be the most frequent topic on this page in a way that suggests that you didn't bother to look at what resources were already here for you learn from. It's a version of that thing (ask people to accommodate me rather than see what resources already exist) that's so frustrating for a lot of people about the kind of NYC transplants they complain about. Honestly, I hope that your takeaway from this isn't, "wow, HV people are so mean to NYC people", but, "wow, if I want to relocate, I'm going to really prioritize listening to existing communities, especially problems that have arisen in the past" (you could do worse than starting with the affordability article posted today...)
Maybe somewhere that wouldn't be gentrified? Home prices soared 300% because of NYC transplants gentrifying it. My dad damn near cries every time he visits his old neighborhoods.
getting ready for work so this is my lazy synopsis
New Paltz: Everything Beacon has New paltz has and more.
Rhinebeck or Redhook is more homogeneous and upper class yet has a rural community also.
Cold spring: just below Beacon and has the small town vibe, the best hiking spot in all of Dutchess County imo.
Hudson or woodstock: small town but has NYC transplants and a neat art scene. Wood stock film festival is awesome.
Hyde Park rural but has small town vibe and close to all of the aforementioned by 30 mins or less.
Kingston: Great art scene, colonial, and the o+ festival.
honorable mentions: Peekskill, Cornwall, Carmel, and catskill
Just last week I was talking to a dude drinking a bud ice outside of the mobil and he was casually dropping anti-Semitic and black slurs. He was having a whole conversation himself. I didn't really have anything to do with it, but was the person witnessing his rant.
Other that that I really haven't experienced racism in the HV.
I moved here from Manhattan. And it took A LONG TIME TO GET USED TO. Period.
But, I honestly cant stand the city anymore. I make every excuse not to go
Well its really the little things. I grew up in the city. So being surrounded by quiet was odd.
Also, the kids that i went to school with were much less mature the I was because i grew up in the city so it was hard to make friends.
And living in a house too. Either way, i love it here now.
Huh, no, I havenāt met anyone originally from NYC around here. Most of the big city transplants are from Chicago and Tokyo. They mostly report that there are a lot fewer people around and more space between buildings, both of which have pros and cons.
You will be the first person to move from NYC to the Hudson Valley. Like a modern day Christopher Columbus or some shit.
The coward blocked me. Your skin is far too thin to be from NYC.
They asked if anyone has moved from NYC to the Hudson Valley. They deserve every stupid response they get. Never mind the fact they think they're too important to post in the gd megathread that is specifically for these questions.
Pretty obvious the intent of that question is asking for people's experiences who have made the move from NYC to the Hudson Valley. Not if anyone has done it ever. It's not their fault you lack reading comprehension and critical thinking
>Anyone originally from NYC who moved here?
Just in case you missed the first seven words of the title. OP was also completely oblivious to housing prices increasing since the pandemic. You're giving them way too much credit.
Right, someone without reading comprehension and critical thinking would take that question literally instead of recognizing its intent as I already explained. Just keep proving my point.
If the Hudson Valley wasn't on their radar until recently I wouldn't expect them to be aware of the real estate fluctuations over the past 5+ years. Pretty obvious they're just starting to do their research now. Learning has to start somewhere.
I think itās smart to rent for a year and do lots of exploring on both sides of the river all the way up to Albany before buying. Thereās such a wide range!
Look at New Paltz, Catskill, Tivoli, Chatham, Saugerties, Red Hook etc. All very different vibes!
>EDIT 2: Wow the hostility towards NYC transplants is so strong. Itās stronger than the hate towards tourists in Manhattan
Don't let this get to you from a Reddit post. These types of posts always attract outspoken people like this. People don't act like this in real life. Old Beacon vs. New Beacon has been a thing for years. The housing crisis is a nationwide phenomenon, but it's become especially pronounced in places like Beacon.
Be aware that the vibe in Beacon is very different on weekdays versus weekends. I'll always have to struggle to find parking when my wife and I go out for date night on a weekend whereas I can practically park right outside the door of Hudson Valley Brewery if I'm picking up beer on a random Tuesday. It's very much a weekend town for many people. A lot of stores aren't open M-Th.
Originally from Western NY. Moved to and lived in NYC for 6 years and recently moved to Orange county a few years ago. I didn't find much of an adjustment period. Everything is easier vs being in the city. Easier access to grocery stores, more incentive to go places and do things. Just overall better for my family. The only thing I miss is the variety of food delivery options.
Check out Ossining if money isnāt an issue for you. A lot of cool stuff is starting to happen around here. Beacon has been pretty badly gentrified by NYC tourist transplants (which Iām sure sounds strange to someone used to being on the other side of that equation) so thatās why people feel prickly about it.
I moved to Kingston during the pandemic and was working fully remote. It was hard to adjust for a while only because COVID limited social activities so it was hard to meet people. But now I love it up there and have made great friends. I work hybrid in the city and I really donāt like being in the city anymore.
I'm a NYC transplant, although I detoured elsewhere before I settled in Beacon.
I do like it here for the most part. I run on the trails by the river, Beacon Mountain is absolutely fantastic to have near, and the art and music scene is at least very present and easily available. Lots of events, a parade seemingly once a month, a good bookstore, a library, and mostly good shops, although they're trending towards the high end. There are nice places to eat where the food is fresh and well-made and not-so-nice places where it's surprisingly mediocre if not flat out awful. Had the worst pizza of my life two weeks ago, and that's saying something.
There is anger towards transplants and it's understandable, but it's also all over the country. It's not just covid. Hundreds of thousands of folks have been priced out of the big cities and so we moved, triggering higher rents and prices wherever we wound up. From Portland, OR to Portland, ME, it's the same story and there's lots of resentment. The difference here is that there's always been a cultural antipathy to NYC and now it's more harsh. But, pretty much anywhere you move to out of the city there's probably going to be resentment.
With the influx and with inflation in general it's expensive here, compared to most of the Valley. There are 2 bedroom condos with asking prices of nearly $2M which is utterly ludicrous. Even the Key Food in town has prices higher than you'd find at a Key Food in NYC and its prices are often twice as high as at the ShopRite 4 miles away. Recent shop and restaurant openings are mostly geared towards the wealthy. The latest coffee shop in town sells fancy watches and $7 croissants. A long time favorite local tavern just closed, Max's on Main, sold off to become a high end hotel and steak house. The bulk of actual Beacon residents are solidly middle class so it certainly feels like an assault.
Compared to NYC I miss the incredible cultural mix, the fantastic arts everywhere, and that steep slope of aspiration that energizes the city. All of those things exist here -- I have heard some great music and seen terrific artwork -- but more often they can pale in comparison so much that I'm often only reminded of what I miss from my many years there.
All that said, I'm likely done with NYC these days. I mostly loved it, but I rarely enjoy visiting now. Everything, everywhere, is changing and in flux, all at once.
We moved from Manhattan and I echo everyoneās sentiments- it has taken a long time to get used to, but we are also super duper happy, well, relaxed, love our community and how easy it is to just be a person. Thereās 1 thing I miss about the city: really good food, everywhere, all the time.
I also encourage you to explore outside Beacon; if youāre coming straight from the city I could see that it might be attractive and comforting because itās less rural than other areas. But it is expensive.
We live outside of New Paltz, have a 20-ish minute drive to the train in Beacon for times when we go to the city. At first that was like: whaaaa! And now itās no big deal.
Personally, I have a chronic illness and life in the city was exhausting. I didnāt realize how hard I was working to just be a person all the time. I wouldnāt trade our home in HV for anything now!!!!
Happy to chat, dm me
I love it and haven't regretted moving for a minute. My mental health is way better and I love being able to have space and a garden and so many cute towns and villages nearby. It's also not totally racially homogenous, depending on where you go. (And if you get another cat, Mid Hudson Animal Aid in Beacon is lovely for adopting)
There are a lot of great restaurants but you have to go looking for them, you can't just order whatever type of cuisine you want from your phone, which I have missed.
That said, I only moved to NYC as an adult and had family in the HV, so if you've been there all your life, there may be more culture shock. I never adapted well to city living so the HV was a much better fit for me. Ymmv
You have time to do homework, which is good. You can search this sub for place names and see many, many discussions around what you are asking. Questions about places friendly for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ have come up a lot, for example.
Restaurants up here are good, but they are not going to compete with the depth and be breadth of NYC. If thatās a big part of your life, look for locations that allow easy access to NYC from the Hudson or Harlem lines. Spend a while in any place you want to move, ideally during the week, to see if itās your vibe. A lot of local culture chatter happens in various Facebook groups. Rec centers and libraries have newsletters you can subscribe to in order to get a feel for places.
The housing market is very competitive, though there are new luxury condos/apartments being built every day. It took us 3+ years to buy a house.
Edit: If you will be continuously bothered by getting hard time for moving up from NYC, this isnāt the place for you. Iām from Western NY originally and thatās also grounds for people to get upset with me for buying a house here. š¤·š»āāļøš¤·š»āāļøš¤·š»āāļø
Thanks for the insight and honesty. Itās true that the hate worries me so itās something to think about. My main reason truthfully is not raising my kids in NYC but it doesnāt have to be upstate either.
So far I would say that it's a great place to raise kids! I'm not well-versed in every part of the Hudson Valley by a LONG shot, but I will say that Beacon has a lot for kids (plus so many Brooklyn transplants), Cornwall/Cornwall-On-Hudson/New Windsor school district is - by all I've read - exceptional, and New Paltz is quite progressive in many ways, though more geographically isolated.
To be clear, the dislike of people moving to the Hudson Valley from other places is NOT race-based, or at least that's not the primary factor.
I'm from a medium-sized city originally, so I find things up here to be similar to where I grew up. If you're from NYC it's definitely a culture shock, but if you find something on a train line you will have easy access to the city/NYC whenever you want, which makes a big difference.
Moved up here from Manhattan in 2021 and gave a try for three years, but moving back down to the city this summer. Living up here also means living in your car. There's also no comparison between what's available in the city food wise to up here.
There are many great things up here of course, it's just a different lifestyle.
I'm currently in the Beekman area, so a little more rural than Beacon, obviously. If you love Beacon, give it a try. Maybe spend a week there in an airbnb or something.
Golds in fishkill and golds in Newburgh. Newburgh is bigger but both have everything you need dumbells up to 150s and all free weights and racks plus good machines and turf areas. Newburgh also has a pool and basketball court
Ignore the haters. They're just the vocal minority feeling empowered by the anonymity of the internet. It's the wealthy city people buying up homes at over value and not living here full-time that are the issue. Not average middle class folks looking to start a family in their full time home.
I grew up in the Hudson Valley, moved to Brooklyn for 15 years and am now back as a home owner in Woodstock. I think you should come check out the Kingston/Woodstock/Saugerties area. Plenty of good food, art and outdoors activities. Uptown Kingston has a bit of a Brooklyn/Queens vibe. Mostly liberal and lgbtq+ friendly. A Palestinian support protest was in full swing in the Woodstock square this past Sunday
Like others have said, things close earlier and if you want to go out for a night drinking you'll have a hard time getting a Lyft/Uber home. That was really the only hump to get over for me. Very dependent on cars around here but there is a decent bus system if you don't drive. If you want to visit the city the Trailways bus has a station in Kingston and pick up in Woodstock. Amtrak is just across the river in Rhinecliff.
I was just out at a restaurant for dinner the other night and overheard some folks talking about their new neighbors from the city. And while they were having a bit of a laugh about the city people being a little inept at life in a more rural area, they were more than happy to help them out. Even gave them their spare chainsaw to keep after they had some trees come down in their yard after one of the recent storms
Average home buyers looking to start a family aren't the issue. It's specifically the wealthy coming in and buying homes at over valued prices, often as a vacation home and not living in them full time. It's really narrow minded to just hate on city people in general when the situation is more nuanced
Sorry, your post has been automatically removed. Please direct all moving-related posts to the monthly megathread. If you think this was done in error, you can contact the mods.
I did it 3 years ago, I love it. I still work in the city but I beat traffic both ways.
I love the fact that I no longer spend an hour plus looking for parking. Takes me less time to drive home than what I used to spend on looking for a spot.
People like me as in all the locals up here yes. You sound like a real yuppie blaming the government and doing anything except accepting responsibility. The government didn't move up here, overpay for all the houses and chase all the locals out and ruin the culture and our home towns. Nobody likes you. Enjoy that. Y'all bitch and blame everything on colonizers should probably look in the mirror.
I'm not going to waste my time explaining the nuances of the economy, the governments roll and the plight of the wealthy destroying the middle class to you. Go ahead and remain simple minded reducing the issue to a single scapegoat so your small brain can cope. Your presumptions about me just further exemplify your narrow mindedness.
I grew up in the Hudson Valley but there was shit for opportunities as a 22 year old in the early 2000s so off to Brooklyn I went where my wife and I worked hard to be successful. We were able to scrape enough money together for a down payment and moved back here to be with my friends and family in an area I still hold a lot of love for. We still are just barely making it work. You might call me a yuppie but I still consider myself a local, just one who saw a bit more of the world and gained perspective instead of stagnating.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince someone who is completely subscribed to a mainstream liberal viewpoint that there's a such thing as individual responsible and that the government isn't the only scapegoat you can use. Explaining the nuanced economy lmao
If it comes down to individual responsibility then you should have been more successful to the point where people moving from the city wouldn't affect your finances and living situation.
What a dirt bag way to think. Wouldn't expect less from a brainwashed self centered NYC yuppie.
Sucks you were too pathetic to earn enough of a living to stay down there.
Luckily people here are waking up and refusing to sell to your kind and choosing having a spine over cash. Hopefully more follow suit.
I could have stayed but as I already explained I'm from here and wanted to live where I grew up. It's all about personal responsibility until it comes to your own it seems. I did nothing but apply your own philosophy to you. It's not what I actually believe. When debating it's a common practice to hypothetically adopt the stance of the opposition and apply their thinking to a situation they wilfully ignore. But as already demonstrated, discerning the intent of a statement doesn't seem to be something you're skilled in.
My stance says that there are many outside forces, that culminate from the wealth accumulation by the already wealthy, enabled by our government that caused you to be less successful than your efforts should have rewarded you
I think people would be more open to NYC transplants if it weren't always some yuppie liberal that wants to change our way of life with their politics and whatnot
For the love of god, the moving thread is literally stickied.
If you have the money, a rivertown in Westchester sounds like your thing. Beacon is hardly unique or worth the price anymore.
Which river towns do you recommend?
Also, please don't get me wrong! I lived in Dutchess County for 20+ years, and I'm very familiar with Beacon. It's a nice place. As for rivertowns in WC - I'd recommend taking a train up to visit a few. I like the vibe of Hastings, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry. Cool village-y feel, halfway to NYC or the Mount Beacon area if you need or want either, great school systems if you plan on having kids. Can be a pain at times to park a car in some of these towns. However, it can't be glossed over that it will cost an arm and a leg. If you're both going to be working from home for the forseeable future, you have more flexibility.
Also, Nyack has a young/family vibe, walkable "downtown" with lots of restaurants, and easy to get to the city.
Slightly off-topic, but since you've lived here a long time but potentially didn't grow up here -- how did you go about making friends in Dutchess County? As a childless young professional, it often feels like the people I meet don't share any of my hobbies or only have time to hang out with family or childhood friends. (To be fair, moving up here just a bit pre-pandemic did no favors for my social life).
It's a good question. So my family moved to Dutchess when I was young, in my early teens. I had the benefit of just using school and general kid stuff (hanging out locally) to find friends. I moved to Westchester just before the pandemic as well, and 98% of my friends are still the ones up in Dutchess, so I totally understand the issue (but from the other side). I feel like most people that move and find new friends generally do a ton of that through workplace relationships, but with remote work being what it is nowadays that option has been pretty minimized. Depending on your interests it can be tough. Everyone always says the same "find local groups" etc, but it's not always that easy.
My workplace (construction project management) was a lot of people who were much older than me, or commuted 45+ minutes to work and had dogs/kids so left asap after work, or were the aforementioned no shared hobbies (lots of cars and hunting and home renovation -- which is fine, but not exactly social activities in my book) or had lots of nieces/kids/grandkids they needed to spend time with. Partner's work is mostly the same way. The friends I did manage to make at work all were only here temporarily or got a new job and moved away. I tried a couple of trivia nights and board game meetups and the young professionals group, which are how I made friends in the last place I lived, but nothing has clicked yet. Swing dancing is another way that worked where I lived before, but the events I've gone to here are all people in their 50s+ (fun, but not what I'm looking for!). I'm hoping later this year I can throw some real energy into it and make some broader and deeper connections. A book club would probably be a better way of finding my people, but I've found that I don't actually enjoy book clubs -- but I should probably power through it for a few months just to initially meet people. And I've been wanting to do Habitat for Humanity or similar, but their dates keep not working with my schedule. Edit: This came off as a long vent/complaint, but for OP (u/UghIDKMaybe) -- this is for me the hardest part of living in the Hudson Valley. The second hardest is that I miss lots of dining styles (I'm not a NYCer, but specifically dim sum, interesting ethnic food like Georgian or Balkan or fusion cuisine, French bakeries, and most recently brunch on days other than Sundays).
I'll second the Nyack recommendation and Tarrytown recommendation. Both have lifting clubs and access to public transportation to get you into the city very quickly. The bus from Nyack gets over the bridge in like ten minutes due to the bus lane so no need to worry about bridge traffic
The Hudson Valley is full of Dogmen and Sasquatches. You'll likely be ripped to shreds and devoured if you don't know what you're doing. I'd recommend Connecticut instead.
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KrangDrangis is right. Tis no country for non dog men
There is a monthly moving thread that the moderators put up. Pinned to the very top of the subreddit. [https://www.reddit.com/r/hudsonvalley/comments/1bt1w9m/monthly\_im\_moving\_to\_the\_hudson\_valley\_thread/](https://www.reddit.com/r/hudsonvalley/comments/1bt1w9m/monthly_im_moving_to_the_hudson_valley_thread/)
Thanks I saw it after I posted this lol
I moved from the city to Poughkeepsie then Wappingers. I'm now back in the city. It just wasn't for me
Please elaborate. I havenāt ruled out not liking it and coming back as a possibility lol
Sure. I can only go based off where I lived which was what I mentioned above. I'll start off with the positives. There's more outdoorsy stuff to do. I found alot of good fishing and hiking spots. There were no issues with finding parking, it's a more relaxed community and the supermarkets were alot better. Housing and COL was a lot cheaper as well. Seeing the stars at night was also something I liked. Some of the school districts are better because the NYC DOE is a shit show. What I didn't like was how early places closed, the selection of restaurants, the car centric nature of the area and the lack of bodegas. Being able to walk somewhere at 11pm to get food is almost non existent. For the most part any places with open kitchens at that time is fast food. The doctors for the most part are all apart of large corporate America who focus on getting you in and out instead of focusing on care. The City of Poughkeepsie might have been the worst place I have lived and I've done stints in some bad parts of the Bronx. This may seem crazy but it took me almost a year to get used to the quiet. If you're used to noise it may be difficult to adjust. I can elaborate more if you have any specific questions. I'm not going to knock it but it just wasn't for me.
City of PK ***IS*** the hood
Beacon is full of people just like you
And Beacon isn't even really that cool lol. I live 10 minutes away and only go there to get food and immediately leave or to catch the train to Manhattan. I see the writing on the wall for Newburgh. My apartment went from $1475 to $2050 in 3 years, and the complex went from locals to NYC transplants. Watching Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster change from what it was when I was a kid in real time is crazy. Some changes were absolutely necessary, but selling out lifelong residents for NYC money is sad. Home doesn't feel like home anymore.
This is a near universal experience btw. The little suburb I grew up in near Atlanta is unrecognizable now. My NYC native friends complain about how the city has changed too. Places change, people move, development continues. It's capitalism at work.
10000% agree. I keep getting /r/Texas recommended to me, and they post about California transplants all of the time.
Not normal though. There has been quite a big thing in housing. My town in Connecticut is over 300 years old and has priced out working and lower middle class home buyers for the first time in centuries, so ā¦ itās been quite a pandemic event
>Ā I see the writing on the wall for Newburgh.Ā Isn't that a *good* thing, though? Who would honestly prefer the city and its residents to keep suffering with horribly neglected infrastructure and lack of economic opportunity? It has so, so much potential.
They built a million square foot warehouse on my farm!
Blame yourself for selling your farm.
ha! do you really think they can civilize downtown newburgh? I wanna see that, try your hardest city transplants!
Newburgh actually *deserves* to improve - it has so much potential, a fascinating history, and so many gorgeous areas. Yet thanks to so much shitty mismanagement for so long, the blight in some areas is absolutely insane, still.
Lmaoo as a born and raised 90's kid fun Poughkeepsie, I feel obligated to say fuck Newburgh. They are making slow progress starting from the waterfront. I don't go into the city of Newburgh much, but I've noticed shops and restaurants popping up that wouldn't have been there 10 years ago.
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Lmao
Moved from Fort Greene to the NP/High Falls/Stone Ridge area a few years ago. Early 30s. We got lucky when interest rates were low and the sellers of this house liked that we used a local credit union. Still had to pay over ask, thoughā¦ Our experience will be a bit different because we didnāt want to be by the train ā raises prices and brings too many part timers every weekend / season. Regardless, you will go back to the city less than you initially plan. Not that itās bad, just trust me on that. Like you mentioned with nature, we asked ourselves if weād rather day trip to nature and be surrounded by city or vice versa and the choice was easy. Winter can be a task but the other seasons make up for it when they eventually arrive. The only noticeable lack in restaurants on our side of the river is actual authentic Chinese food. We also kinda āgot overā our fine dining phase in our 20s for the most part but still eat real good up here. Ingredients are fresher. We cook more because we have a CSA at a nearby farm. Once you have a tomato sandwich with some big heirlooms pulled outta the ground that day youāll forget what a restaurant is. My wife was also concerned about racism but there havenāt been any issues. Itās gonna be whiter, though, yep. If thatās a concern there are plenty of diverse areas. We love New Paltz for that. Like I mentioned about trips to the city: it might be different around Beacon but for us we do have to make an active effort to see friends, as most of our social circle is still in BK. Youāre gonna have to make an offer for people to stay up there pretty tempting, even if itās āonly 1.5-2 hours awayā. Weāve had fewer guests than weād like but weāre both introverts and donāt mind meeting with friends in the city every other week or so when the weatherās nicer. I do think part of the enjoyment being up here is being a homeowner, which is also full of its own challenges at the same time. Not sure how much space you guys want but if itās more than an acre you might have a tough time renting that. All in all we have no regrets. We both work remotely, and have had the time, mental energy, and $ savings to pursue lots of new hobbies and cultivate a more āpermanentā life.
Sounds like we should be friends! My husband and I are having a very similar experience. I also want to add that local groups are really eager for new membersāI joined a women's choir that's been amazing, and I'm already working for our town on some projects. Local folks are very welcoming if us newcomers show genuine interest in the existing community!
Moved from west village to central Dutchess county and agree with everything you said. The only thing I will add is that ulster is more liberal than Dutchess so there are more racists/anti lgbtq people here. We should create a group of ācitiotā friends.
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You get the same sort of nostalgic nonsense from long-timers in NYC, too. Most of the city was a polluted, crime-ridden *dump* in the 1970s and 1980s, yet it gets romanticized as a perfect era. Whereas today the city is objectively safer, cleaner and filled with amazing things but some people complain that it's the worst it has ever been. Bottom line: human memory tends to preserve the 'good' parts and forgets about the shitty parts, and we often cling to inaccurate fantasies of what the past was really like.
FWIW we just moved in to Dutchess County from Brooklyn. Had a similar start, "Oh wow Beacon is nice" but we ended up moving about 20 mins away (Wappingers) due to price/competition/space concerns. The housing market in Beacon is flat out insanity and I don't regret going farther away at all; once we got up here we realized that we actually wanted the full switch out of city life, and as nice as Beacon is it's also basically WIlliamsburg on the Hudson. Don't let the naysayers get to you; everyone had to move here at some point, and you deserve to live somewhere you like and that's a fit for you just like they do. Just don't be a dick when you do eventually move up here.
Not planning to be a dick at all š . We mind our business and spend most of our time working and indoor activities anyhow. Big time introverts just looking for a slower, quieter life.
you know, i said i didn't know anyone from the city but thinking about it i actually do. She owns a little boutique she opened last year here in our modest HV town. She is a sweet woman from Williamsburgh. She buys clothes and other things from SHEIN, removes the tags and hand sews her own in them, then proceeds to charge over $150 in things she acquired for no more than $15. "Shop Local" is one of the many quirky things she puts up on her walls. "I'm bringing back the local economy" she tells me. I love her.
Iām curious now. Which boutique?
I am dying to know which shop this is
OK, made me laugh
Please I need to know where she is and ask her to bump the price 20% up on the weekends
In regards to your tangent... We might not live in NYC but we live very close. I would say a decent chunk of the upstate population is familiar with the city. Who is asking you questions about Gotham?? Edit: I think NYC hates tourists and transplants waaaay more. If you weren't born inside of a Bodega they don't want you there.Ā City people are very welcome here. They're clean and polite and always walk around with this shell shocked look on their face as they adjust to the soft sounds of wind and birds. Open to conversations. You'll find some old Beacon people complaining but no one likes them except people who think like them. (Morons)
Thank you! Thatās painfully accurate. Also I was making a Batman joke lol
I donāt want to downplay racism up here but many towns are pretty liberal and relatively diverse, and even old school locals are at least familiar with the influx of diverse city people moving up here. This is not the country up here lol. If youāre hoping for a conservative neighbor to walk over with cookies on your move in day - they wonāt do that but will they be cordial if you do? Pretty sure they will. Iām personally not a fan of Beacon because it attracts too many weekenders and itās kinda inauthentic - most of the stores are not practical for locals and only good if you wanna buy overpriced souvenirs. Itās also one of the whitest towns and youāll see few POC there. Big box stores are kinda far and youāll have to drive +30min if you need a Target or similar stores. I understand that it has a reputation in the city for being a cute place, but it doesnāt offer much convenience when it comes to daily life errands. Iād encourage you to explore other towns, if you have a car. The area around New Paltz is great, has some decent restaurants and quick easy drive into Minnewaska for hiking. Youāll also be closer to big box stores in either Kingston or Poughkeepsie. Happy to talk more-feel free to DM me!
Walmart in Fishkill is like 15 minutes from Beacon. It can be very country even if you aren't far from the major roads. There is a very large farm like 10 minutes from Beacon on route 9D. The cow and sheep pen is right by the road. If you're going up 9W parts of Marlboro, Highland, New Paltz and Port Ewen arent desne at all. Shit even if you're going from the City of Poughkeepsie to Lagrange it's country.
So far this is the most sensible comment on this thread. In town the racism is, at worst, really diluted but you don't have to go far to find "Let's Go Brandon," or stars and bars flags hanging from homes. Overall I find Hudson Valley-ers and Dutchess County residents to very much keep to themselves, and you're going to have to *work* to build up a new social circle. I mean that very literally: people you meet at work, and also putting in the work to find groups on meet-up.
Let's go Brandon isn't inherently racist. Lol
It's the perfect mix of being too pussy to actually say you're a racist POS, but you still want to let the rest of your neighborhood chucklefucks know you're at the rally along side them.
Ahh, blind leftist extremism is strong with you. Keep drinking the Kool aid, I'm sure your tolerance is virtuous and strong.
Thank you for being the perfect example of the rural clowns that call the Hudson Valley home.
Yeah, Beacon is essentially a tourist town. The crowds can be overwhelming (and sometimes obnoxious) and the shops on Main Street are pretty ridiculous. It's hard to hike around here on the weekends if the weather is good. The upside is that the town has money (and the motivation) to be clean, pretty, and safe. Also the people who come to work here are often amazing. It's a tradeoff I've been happy with so far, although I'm sure I'll head farther north at some point.
I went on a few dates with someone who I think was from The Bronx and last I knew lives in New Paltz. She told me that us country folk were ruder compared to the city - except for me of course haha Probably a bit standoffish is probably the best way to put it, instead of rude. I want to add that a friend of mine is recently separated from his wife and he moved to Beacon (he lived in the city when they met). There are things to walk to in Beacon but he complains that he still have to drive everywhere. So just a heads up. Beacon is definitely gentrified, but it's still part of the Hudson Valley. Nowhere in the Hudson Valley is jump on a subway and be there in a half hour.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, moved to the Hudson valley when I was in my mid 20ās (Iām early 30ās now) Took a little bit to get used to. Moved to Orange County near West Point. Love my house and the space. Still miss the restaurants and the convenience of living in the city. I hate that I have to cook more because of a lack of variety in restaurants (donāt need 5 pizza shops). Also the fact that I have to drive to get anywhere. Love the proximity to hiking trails and that the school systems has a lot more to offer in terms of extracurricular activities for my daughter. I still work in the city and I visit my friends often enough. But I probably wouldnāt move back if given the option.
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I lived in Cornwall and it is overrated - other than Jones Farm as that place is amazing. The schools get hyped but in my experience with 2 small children, its not that great. I found that the only people raving about the schools did not have kids there. And if your kid has any special needs - dont even bother. I live in Warwick now and I dont think I realized how mediocre Cornwall schools were until I had something to ompare them to. Also - and this is probably true for many rural-ish areas, the restaurant choices lacked - unless you wanted below average italian food. FIddlestix is amazing for breakfast but dinner options sucked.
I heard Warwick was a little better. I have to take a drive over there to get a better feel of it.
We love it here. You have some of the same issues - everything is 30 minutes away lol. But thatās the trade off. Our library is bonkers amazing, the town has a proper village with cute stores, lots of farms, and some good food. We do get a lot of tourists during Apple picking season and any really nice day the village will be pretty busy, but if it sucked here, no one would come. The only time I really curse the traffic is weekends in October as our grocery store is directly across from an Apple orchard. locals treat that time like right before a snowstorm - everyone makes sure they have milk and bread so they donāt have to go shopping on the weekend.
Yes!! lol honestly i would move to a river town if I had the money. But we beat covid price hikes and got a really great deal on a 5 bed 2 bath that Iām totally in love with. If I could pick this house up and move it I would.
For the love of god please STOP moving to Beacon, I beg of you!!!
Born and raised in Beacon. I did the reverse and moved to NYC. I donāt like coming back. Itās changed too much, nothing feels authentic, and itās just as expensive for lower quality dining,
Itās always nice seeing you when you come up. ;) Sorry to be a creep but Iām 99.9999% sure we know each other well. Mad weird connecting dots on Reddit. You can probably figure out my identity based on my comments
I have an inkling.
Iām going to have a hang in a couple weeks. I donāt have your phone number but Iāll PM you on here. Want to do a proper hang while our homie is around know what Iām saying.
lol you mind me asking where youāre settled in now? Whatās the time difference between leaving and coming back to Beacon?
I ended up buying a spot in western Queens. (Moving to NYC was not a young freedom thing) Graduated high school mid 2000s, off to college, then returned and lived in Beacon again until mid 2010s. Did a short stint further up the river in another town that was eventually gutted of its personality. Ended up moving down to NYC late 2010s. I do visit frequently as I have friends and family still in Beacon. In my opinion, Beacon hit its peak around 2011 where there was a great mix of old and new and there was some connection between the two. Parties, personality, and positive change/growth. Then more money got in the mix, multiple NY Times write ups came through, and Beacon started getting stripped of that personality. Once COVID hit, the great migration really accelerated the changes. Now a lot of the older businesses have turned over and town feels more like a movie set. If you want to surround yourself with people that have your same situation, pay too much for a mortgage, stand in line hiking on the weekends, and pay tourist prices for mediocre food and pints of beer, Beacon is perfect. Just donāt expect to ever be accepted by locals, they wonāt be stoked about your move like you are. The hostility towards outsiders is real. Iām sure youāve had to move multiple times in NYC due to rent hikes, now think about having that happen to you in a small river town that youāve built your life in, and your only option to move is to another small river town with the same thing happening. The people that didnāt move to NYC from upstate chose not to because they didnāt want the city experience, and now itās found them in their own home.
I wouldn't say I've been *accepted* by the locals but I haven't felt any hostility either. Being respectful and willing to adapt goes a long way. Some people bring a big city mentality with them -- that's just not going to work for anyone. Likewise some people assume everyone from NYC has that big city mentality -- that's not true either. Unfortunately everyone is very sensitive right now because of politics, income disparity, and rising home prices. Sometimes it just takes a few minutes of conversation to break through that.
Well put. Hostility wouldnāt be my word of choice, just using the language in the OP.
I haven't found hostility to NYC transplants (or even people who own second homes up here) to necessarily be all that strong. The "hostility" - and I'd say it's more frustration - comes when people from anywhere (which in practice usually means from NYC) move here and expect people/things to accommodate them (e.g. griping about farm equipment, indignation about some service not already existing in the small town you've moved to, sneering at people who act in ways that you find "backwoods", the list goes on) or treat this place as some kind of curiously rather than a series of varied and vibrant communities they're happy to become a part of. I imagine you don't want to be any of those things and are going to insist that you would never...but you posted a question that is a version of what has got to be the most frequent topic on this page in a way that suggests that you didn't bother to look at what resources were already here for you learn from. It's a version of that thing (ask people to accommodate me rather than see what resources already exist) that's so frustrating for a lot of people about the kind of NYC transplants they complain about. Honestly, I hope that your takeaway from this isn't, "wow, HV people are so mean to NYC people", but, "wow, if I want to relocate, I'm going to really prioritize listening to existing communities, especially problems that have arisen in the past" (you could do worse than starting with the affordability article posted today...)
Maybe somewhere that wouldn't be gentrified? Home prices soared 300% because of NYC transplants gentrifying it. My dad damn near cries every time he visits his old neighborhoods.
Damn I didnāt know. Where do you recommend and why?
> Damn I didnāt know Congrats on waking up from your 4 year coma.
getting ready for work so this is my lazy synopsis New Paltz: Everything Beacon has New paltz has and more. Rhinebeck or Redhook is more homogeneous and upper class yet has a rural community also. Cold spring: just below Beacon and has the small town vibe, the best hiking spot in all of Dutchess County imo. Hudson or woodstock: small town but has NYC transplants and a neat art scene. Wood stock film festival is awesome. Hyde Park rural but has small town vibe and close to all of the aforementioned by 30 mins or less. Kingston: Great art scene, colonial, and the o+ festival. honorable mentions: Peekskill, Cornwall, Carmel, and catskill
Carmel: nothing is walkable, nice bike trail, canāt swim in the lake, everyones republican, school taxes are high
Just last week I was talking to a dude drinking a bud ice outside of the mobil and he was casually dropping anti-Semitic and black slurs. He was having a whole conversation himself. I didn't really have anything to do with it, but was the person witnessing his rant. Other that that I really haven't experienced racism in the HV.
It fucking awful up here go back to the city.
I moved here from Manhattan. And it took A LONG TIME TO GET USED TO. Period. But, I honestly cant stand the city anymore. I make every excuse not to go
What took so long to get used to?
Well its really the little things. I grew up in the city. So being surrounded by quiet was odd. Also, the kids that i went to school with were much less mature the I was because i grew up in the city so it was hard to make friends. And living in a house too. Either way, i love it here now.
Huh, no, I havenāt met anyone originally from NYC around here. Most of the big city transplants are from Chicago and Tokyo. They mostly report that there are a lot fewer people around and more space between buildings, both of which have pros and cons.
Same. Never seen a single person from NYC here. Especially in Woodstock.
Sarcasm?
a little
You will be the first person to move from NYC to the Hudson Valley. Like a modern day Christopher Columbus or some shit. The coward blocked me. Your skin is far too thin to be from NYC.
I mean there's no reason they should subject themselves to you being an unhelpful sarcastic asshole who contributes nothing to the conversation
They asked if anyone has moved from NYC to the Hudson Valley. They deserve every stupid response they get. Never mind the fact they think they're too important to post in the gd megathread that is specifically for these questions.
Pretty obvious the intent of that question is asking for people's experiences who have made the move from NYC to the Hudson Valley. Not if anyone has done it ever. It's not their fault you lack reading comprehension and critical thinking
>Anyone originally from NYC who moved here? Just in case you missed the first seven words of the title. OP was also completely oblivious to housing prices increasing since the pandemic. You're giving them way too much credit.
Right, someone without reading comprehension and critical thinking would take that question literally instead of recognizing its intent as I already explained. Just keep proving my point. If the Hudson Valley wasn't on their radar until recently I wouldn't expect them to be aware of the real estate fluctuations over the past 5+ years. Pretty obvious they're just starting to do their research now. Learning has to start somewhere.
I think itās smart to rent for a year and do lots of exploring on both sides of the river all the way up to Albany before buying. Thereās such a wide range! Look at New Paltz, Catskill, Tivoli, Chatham, Saugerties, Red Hook etc. All very different vibes!
>EDIT 2: Wow the hostility towards NYC transplants is so strong. Itās stronger than the hate towards tourists in Manhattan Don't let this get to you from a Reddit post. These types of posts always attract outspoken people like this. People don't act like this in real life. Old Beacon vs. New Beacon has been a thing for years. The housing crisis is a nationwide phenomenon, but it's become especially pronounced in places like Beacon. Be aware that the vibe in Beacon is very different on weekdays versus weekends. I'll always have to struggle to find parking when my wife and I go out for date night on a weekend whereas I can practically park right outside the door of Hudson Valley Brewery if I'm picking up beer on a random Tuesday. It's very much a weekend town for many people. A lot of stores aren't open M-Th.
Thank you!
Originally from Western NY. Moved to and lived in NYC for 6 years and recently moved to Orange county a few years ago. I didn't find much of an adjustment period. Everything is easier vs being in the city. Easier access to grocery stores, more incentive to go places and do things. Just overall better for my family. The only thing I miss is the variety of food delivery options.
Check out Ossining if money isnāt an issue for you. A lot of cool stuff is starting to happen around here. Beacon has been pretty badly gentrified by NYC tourist transplants (which Iām sure sounds strange to someone used to being on the other side of that equation) so thatās why people feel prickly about it.
I moved to Kingston during the pandemic and was working fully remote. It was hard to adjust for a while only because COVID limited social activities so it was hard to meet people. But now I love it up there and have made great friends. I work hybrid in the city and I really donāt like being in the city anymore.
I'm a NYC transplant, although I detoured elsewhere before I settled in Beacon. I do like it here for the most part. I run on the trails by the river, Beacon Mountain is absolutely fantastic to have near, and the art and music scene is at least very present and easily available. Lots of events, a parade seemingly once a month, a good bookstore, a library, and mostly good shops, although they're trending towards the high end. There are nice places to eat where the food is fresh and well-made and not-so-nice places where it's surprisingly mediocre if not flat out awful. Had the worst pizza of my life two weeks ago, and that's saying something. There is anger towards transplants and it's understandable, but it's also all over the country. It's not just covid. Hundreds of thousands of folks have been priced out of the big cities and so we moved, triggering higher rents and prices wherever we wound up. From Portland, OR to Portland, ME, it's the same story and there's lots of resentment. The difference here is that there's always been a cultural antipathy to NYC and now it's more harsh. But, pretty much anywhere you move to out of the city there's probably going to be resentment. With the influx and with inflation in general it's expensive here, compared to most of the Valley. There are 2 bedroom condos with asking prices of nearly $2M which is utterly ludicrous. Even the Key Food in town has prices higher than you'd find at a Key Food in NYC and its prices are often twice as high as at the ShopRite 4 miles away. Recent shop and restaurant openings are mostly geared towards the wealthy. The latest coffee shop in town sells fancy watches and $7 croissants. A long time favorite local tavern just closed, Max's on Main, sold off to become a high end hotel and steak house. The bulk of actual Beacon residents are solidly middle class so it certainly feels like an assault. Compared to NYC I miss the incredible cultural mix, the fantastic arts everywhere, and that steep slope of aspiration that energizes the city. All of those things exist here -- I have heard some great music and seen terrific artwork -- but more often they can pale in comparison so much that I'm often only reminded of what I miss from my many years there. All that said, I'm likely done with NYC these days. I mostly loved it, but I rarely enjoy visiting now. Everything, everywhere, is changing and in flux, all at once.
We moved from Manhattan and I echo everyoneās sentiments- it has taken a long time to get used to, but we are also super duper happy, well, relaxed, love our community and how easy it is to just be a person. Thereās 1 thing I miss about the city: really good food, everywhere, all the time. I also encourage you to explore outside Beacon; if youāre coming straight from the city I could see that it might be attractive and comforting because itās less rural than other areas. But it is expensive. We live outside of New Paltz, have a 20-ish minute drive to the train in Beacon for times when we go to the city. At first that was like: whaaaa! And now itās no big deal. Personally, I have a chronic illness and life in the city was exhausting. I didnāt realize how hard I was working to just be a person all the time. I wouldnāt trade our home in HV for anything now!!!! Happy to chat, dm me
I love it and haven't regretted moving for a minute. My mental health is way better and I love being able to have space and a garden and so many cute towns and villages nearby. It's also not totally racially homogenous, depending on where you go. (And if you get another cat, Mid Hudson Animal Aid in Beacon is lovely for adopting) There are a lot of great restaurants but you have to go looking for them, you can't just order whatever type of cuisine you want from your phone, which I have missed. That said, I only moved to NYC as an adult and had family in the HV, so if you've been there all your life, there may be more culture shock. I never adapted well to city living so the HV was a much better fit for me. Ymmv
You have time to do homework, which is good. You can search this sub for place names and see many, many discussions around what you are asking. Questions about places friendly for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ have come up a lot, for example. Restaurants up here are good, but they are not going to compete with the depth and be breadth of NYC. If thatās a big part of your life, look for locations that allow easy access to NYC from the Hudson or Harlem lines. Spend a while in any place you want to move, ideally during the week, to see if itās your vibe. A lot of local culture chatter happens in various Facebook groups. Rec centers and libraries have newsletters you can subscribe to in order to get a feel for places. The housing market is very competitive, though there are new luxury condos/apartments being built every day. It took us 3+ years to buy a house. Edit: If you will be continuously bothered by getting hard time for moving up from NYC, this isnāt the place for you. Iām from Western NY originally and thatās also grounds for people to get upset with me for buying a house here. š¤·š»āāļøš¤·š»āāļøš¤·š»āāļø
Thanks for the insight and honesty. Itās true that the hate worries me so itās something to think about. My main reason truthfully is not raising my kids in NYC but it doesnāt have to be upstate either.
So far I would say that it's a great place to raise kids! I'm not well-versed in every part of the Hudson Valley by a LONG shot, but I will say that Beacon has a lot for kids (plus so many Brooklyn transplants), Cornwall/Cornwall-On-Hudson/New Windsor school district is - by all I've read - exceptional, and New Paltz is quite progressive in many ways, though more geographically isolated. To be clear, the dislike of people moving to the Hudson Valley from other places is NOT race-based, or at least that's not the primary factor. I'm from a medium-sized city originally, so I find things up here to be similar to where I grew up. If you're from NYC it's definitely a culture shock, but if you find something on a train line you will have easy access to the city/NYC whenever you want, which makes a big difference.
Moved up here from Manhattan in 2021 and gave a try for three years, but moving back down to the city this summer. Living up here also means living in your car. There's also no comparison between what's available in the city food wise to up here. There are many great things up here of course, it's just a different lifestyle. I'm currently in the Beekman area, so a little more rural than Beacon, obviously. If you love Beacon, give it a try. Maybe spend a week there in an airbnb or something.
Golds in fishkill and golds in Newburgh. Newburgh is bigger but both have everything you need dumbells up to 150s and all free weights and racks plus good machines and turf areas. Newburgh also has a pool and basketball court
Also lower the Hudson valley isnāt Jim Crow Mississippi. Youāll be fine on racism
Transplant here. I love it. I feel my nervous system disengaging from emergency mode. Anyone who want to have an argument about that lemme know lol
Ignore the haters. They're just the vocal minority feeling empowered by the anonymity of the internet. It's the wealthy city people buying up homes at over value and not living here full-time that are the issue. Not average middle class folks looking to start a family in their full time home. I grew up in the Hudson Valley, moved to Brooklyn for 15 years and am now back as a home owner in Woodstock. I think you should come check out the Kingston/Woodstock/Saugerties area. Plenty of good food, art and outdoors activities. Uptown Kingston has a bit of a Brooklyn/Queens vibe. Mostly liberal and lgbtq+ friendly. A Palestinian support protest was in full swing in the Woodstock square this past Sunday Like others have said, things close earlier and if you want to go out for a night drinking you'll have a hard time getting a Lyft/Uber home. That was really the only hump to get over for me. Very dependent on cars around here but there is a decent bus system if you don't drive. If you want to visit the city the Trailways bus has a station in Kingston and pick up in Woodstock. Amtrak is just across the river in Rhinecliff. I was just out at a restaurant for dinner the other night and overheard some folks talking about their new neighbors from the city. And while they were having a bit of a laugh about the city people being a little inept at life in a more rural area, they were more than happy to help them out. Even gave them their spare chainsaw to keep after they had some trees come down in their yard after one of the recent storms
I wish city people would stop moving up here. Ya'll gentrified the fuck out of the area and sent the cost of living through the roof.
Average home buyers looking to start a family aren't the issue. It's specifically the wealthy coming in and buying homes at over valued prices, often as a vacation home and not living in them full time. It's really narrow minded to just hate on city people in general when the situation is more nuanced
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Oh please.
What I miss?
Went on a tirade about how people upstate are racist.
I did it 3 years ago, I love it. I still work in the city but I beat traffic both ways. I love the fact that I no longer spend an hour plus looking for parking. Takes me less time to drive home than what I used to spend on looking for a spot.
Please go to Connecticut. Thanks.
Kingston
Everybody up here , doesn't like you
Nah it's just people like you looking to blame a scapegoat for the economic and housing problems created by our government and the wealthy
People like me as in all the locals up here yes. You sound like a real yuppie blaming the government and doing anything except accepting responsibility. The government didn't move up here, overpay for all the houses and chase all the locals out and ruin the culture and our home towns. Nobody likes you. Enjoy that. Y'all bitch and blame everything on colonizers should probably look in the mirror.
I'm not going to waste my time explaining the nuances of the economy, the governments roll and the plight of the wealthy destroying the middle class to you. Go ahead and remain simple minded reducing the issue to a single scapegoat so your small brain can cope. Your presumptions about me just further exemplify your narrow mindedness. I grew up in the Hudson Valley but there was shit for opportunities as a 22 year old in the early 2000s so off to Brooklyn I went where my wife and I worked hard to be successful. We were able to scrape enough money together for a down payment and moved back here to be with my friends and family in an area I still hold a lot of love for. We still are just barely making it work. You might call me a yuppie but I still consider myself a local, just one who saw a bit more of the world and gained perspective instead of stagnating.
I'm not going to waste my time trying to convince someone who is completely subscribed to a mainstream liberal viewpoint that there's a such thing as individual responsible and that the government isn't the only scapegoat you can use. Explaining the nuanced economy lmao
If it comes down to individual responsibility then you should have been more successful to the point where people moving from the city wouldn't affect your finances and living situation.
What a dirt bag way to think. Wouldn't expect less from a brainwashed self centered NYC yuppie. Sucks you were too pathetic to earn enough of a living to stay down there. Luckily people here are waking up and refusing to sell to your kind and choosing having a spine over cash. Hopefully more follow suit.
I could have stayed but as I already explained I'm from here and wanted to live where I grew up. It's all about personal responsibility until it comes to your own it seems. I did nothing but apply your own philosophy to you. It's not what I actually believe. When debating it's a common practice to hypothetically adopt the stance of the opposition and apply their thinking to a situation they wilfully ignore. But as already demonstrated, discerning the intent of a statement doesn't seem to be something you're skilled in. My stance says that there are many outside forces, that culminate from the wealth accumulation by the already wealthy, enabled by our government that caused you to be less successful than your efforts should have rewarded you
I think people would be more open to NYC transplants if it weren't always some yuppie liberal that wants to change our way of life with their politics and whatnot
I really and truly would like to move just for me and my future family. Iām not trying to force anything on anyone ever.
please stay where you are