Moving to Hudson NY need help....PLEASE! (New York, Albany: rental, crime)

[militarywife08]

Greetings,

I would like to get some detailed information about Hudson NY and the surrounding area. We are a military, african- american family who will be moving to Hudson at the end of the year. I would like to know if this area and the surrouding areas are diverse and a good area to raise a family. Are there a lot of crime in the area. What areas to stay away from. I would also like to know about the elementary school system as well as rental houses in the area. WHats a good hospital in the area to have a baby at? Places to do family activites. Any additional information that may be helpful would be greatly appreciated.

THanks so much to whoever takes the time to read and reply to my thread.

[Phoenix lady]

I used to live in Hudson for over 35 years so I know something about it. Of course it's changed from a decade ago, but I can tell you my impressions of those years and of visiting recently.
I think Hudson is pretty diverse. It's not like large city diversity, but I think it was always rather a bit eclectic. It used to have a pop. of 8500 when I grew up there, now it's a bit smaller. It's kinda artsy now, I hear and downtown has alot of antique stores, etc. Alot of people from NY city have bought there, 2nd homes, so it has that feel to it, too.
There were always small crimes around, but nothing big. With drugs rampant everywhere, you might get some drug crimes, burglaries, petty crimes and the like, but not alot of crime. I think we had 1-2 murders for all of those years and assaults, stuff like that were rare, too. It wasn't an issue for most people. Downtown by Front Street, lower Allen, lower Union, lower Warren used to be where all of the crime was, but nowadays, I think some of those areas have been renovated and so it's changed.
The Hudson School District used to have a pretty good reputation. I don't know about now, but it's probably pretty good. Other folks can help with that.
Hospitals for maternity care--I think the main hospital there is called Columbia Greene Medical Center (by Columbia Street). The care there used to be pretty good. The only other hospitals are in Albany (35 minutes or more drive).
Family activities--winter skating, summer swimming at Lake Taconic (20 minutes away) or Oakdale Pond.
In the summer/fall in that area, within a 30 min. drive or so, there are alot of things going on during those months--in local areas/cities nearby. There's a train station in Hudson and you can go all through NYstate from there (to the City, Albany, Western NY, etc.)
Western Massachusetts is very close, Connecticut, etc. New England has alot to offer for family activities with a short trip/day trip. There are alot of fairs/artsy type things going on in New England in the summer.
In the fall, you can pick apples, carve pumpkins and sightsee the fall foliage. Columbia County has alot of animals around in the woods(deer, skunk, squirrel) and you can enjoy seeing them,too.
I hope this has been a bit helpful and good luck.

[ckhthankgod]

Here's information on the school district:Hudson City School District schools - district elementary, middle, and high school information

Information on the area:City Of Hudson: Homepage: [Digital Towpath]

Here's the local hospital:Columbia Memorial Hospital: Welcome Home

Also, Hudson is a diverse small city that is located south of Albany in the Hudson Valley region of the state. Here's more on Hudson:Hudson, New York - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Tour of Hudson, N.Y. | New York Times Video

Hope this helps.

[poshaccent]

Hi Milwife,

My family is a mixed African-American/French Canadian group of four (and retired military) and we moved to the Hudson area last November from Washington DC (via the Middle East). We LOVE the Hudson area ... Trust me I have lived on bases my whole life and living in a semi-rural area with lots of amenities and really cheap housing is SWEET. If your husband or you are going to be the recruiter in Greenport just don't buy in that town ... its just a strip mall disguised as a village. Hudson itself has housing that is a liitle too pricy but get a good realtor and go buy something that you can renovate and live in, if you are adventurous enough. It has lots of quaint stores, cafes, art stuff and even a new jazz university being planned in town. Ignore people who mention the poor section of town. Its population is 5,000, it has poor people and rich people ... it is diverse to be sure. Its also located near everything. I came from DC where in both ritzy Georgetown Palisades (RICH! and Colin Powell was a neighbor) and near Walter Reed Army hospital, we had lots of shootings, robbery and mayhem. This place is SLEEPY! The biggest issue you will face is choosing the oil, gas or propane company for heating. We also go to West Point to use the commissary and PX... its worth the weekend trip because food prices in the civilian world are CRAZY!

Take a look at the discussion on the following link.

Hudson Cool or Cracked?

Ask if you need more details.

[poshaccent]

... one last thing, if you are having a baby then you may have the main hospital in hHudson to work with. However since you are a TRICARE Prime dependent you may have to get most of your check-ups at a primary Military Health Facility. West Point has Keane Army Medical center. Its a good hospital, but its an hours drive. Catskill has a VA medical clinc which is part of the big VA hospital in Albany. Ignore the small Navy facility in Saratoga Springs ... its dental only for active duty and they sent us to a nearby civilian emrgency room for a simple injection ... that took five hours to get a BP done and then we walked out. The civilian health care system is a shambles in the states! So call TRICARE and find out if you can use out of system providers for your neonatal care. Believe me my wife pulls her hair out when she has to deal with anything outside of the military health system ... in Washington Walter Reed was our hospital two blocks away and we could get seen at anytime... not so, up in NY state.

[militarywife08]

Originally Posted by poshaccent

Hi Milwife,

My family is a mixed African-American/French Canadian group of four (and retired military) and we moved to the Hudson area last November from Washington DC (via the Middle East). We LOVE the Hudson area ... Trust me I have lived on bases my whole life and living in a semi-rural area with lots of amenities and really cheap housing is SWEET. If your husband or you are going to be the recruiter in Greenport just don't buy in that town ... its just a strip mall disguised as a village. Hudson itself has housing that is a liitle too pricy but get a good realtor and go buy something that you can renovate and live in, if you are adventurous enough. It has lots of quaint stores, cafes, art stuff and even a new jazz university being planned in town. Ignore people who mention the poor section of town. Its population is 5,000, it has poor people and rich people ... it is diverse to be sure. Its also located near everything. I came from DC where in both ritzy Georgetown Palisades (RICH! and Colin Powell was a neighbor) and near Walter Reed Army hospital, we had lots of shootings, robbery and mayhem. This place is SLEEPY! The biggest issue you will face is choosing the oil, gas or propane company for heating. We also go to West Point to use the commissary and PX... its worth the weekend trip because food prices in the civilian world are CRAZY!

Take a look at the discussion on the following link.

Hudson Cool or Cracked?

Ask if you need more details.

Thank you so much for the replies, they are very helpful. My husband will be recruiting at Hudson Recruiting Center on Fairfield Ave. I will check with Tricare to see which facilities I can use. We will try to get a rental house for the 1st year versus buying a house. Once again thanks so much for the information.

[poshaccent]

No problem, if you want I will send you a private message with a realtor you can trust. There are lots of rental places in Stottville, Greenport and Hudson. Welcome to the area because this is WAY better than his other deployment options. :-)

[militarywife08]

Yes a private message with the realtor info will be great! Thanks so much!

[jackson92186]

props for hudson. The hudson valley in general is pretty cool. Hudson is a cool city no doubt, and its got a nice mix in its population (which, btw is a lil over 10,000). Nice old houses can be found at decent prices.