Hudson Valley relocation (New York, Poughkeepsie, Saugerties: fit in, how much, house)

[willowuk]

We may be relocating to this area soon so i'm asking the experts! i've done a bit of research and narrowed it down to Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Saugerties and New Paltz. We are looking for a good safe, friendly, family area. Rural is good but have 2 teenagers so it would be nice to have entertainment nearby. Schools are very important, most important is a good friendly welcoming school as we are relocating from overseas. We are country people so i'm hoping that we'll fit in okay! thankyou in advance for your help Sue

[mstar]

Do you need to factor in commuting to NYC? Would love to see answers to your question that, in addition, make reference to this. Good luck!

Was in Red Hook and Rhinebeck today, both are very beautiful!

[willowuk]

Thanks for your reply, would be commuting to p/keepsie, so looking for info around that area. I have never even been to new york state so i'm only going on what i've read on the internet, which is good but doesn't give you a 'feel' for the place, do you know what i mean?
We are from england and are hoping to visit soon, but i need to narrow places down abit, any info would be great, thanks again sue

[gold dust]

OP: all the areas you mention are superb for living.

[willowuk]

Originally Posted by gold dust

OP: all the areas you mention are superb for living.

did you used to live there or for a visit? Do you have local knowledge of schools at all. Sue

[bzmom1025]

Originally Posted by willowuk

We may be relocating to this area soon so i'm asking the experts! i've done a bit of research and narrowed it down to Red Hook, Rhinebeck, Saugerties and New Paltz. We are looking for a good safe, friendly, family area. Rural is good but have 2 teenagers so it would be nice to have entertainment nearby. Schools are very important, most important is a good friendly welcoming school as we are relocating from overseas. We are country people so i'm hoping that we'll fit in okay! thankyou in advance for your help Sue

I lived and grew up in Saugerties up until two years ago. All of the towns you listed are beautiful. Saugerties and New Paltz are on the same side of the Hudson River with Rhinebeck and Red Hook being on the other side. Rhinebeck, Red Hook, and New Paltz would give you your easiest commutes to Poughkeepsie with anywhere from 15 minutes to 30 minutes commute time. Saugerties would be a little longer of about 45 minutes or so. Red Hook and Rhinebeck would also give you close access to Amtrak while New Paltz would give you access to Metro North. Both of these trains go into New York City, which I recommend visiting at least once while living close by.

New Paltz is an artsy college town. SUNY New Paltz is located here and with colleges there are many bars. There are interesting shops and restaurants, as well as the Mohawk Mountain House and Lake Minnewaska close by. I believe there may even be vineyards close by as well. This is also where the Ulster County Fairgrounds is located. Living in New Paltz would give you easy access to Poughkeepsie with just crossing over the Hudson River via the Mid-Hudson Bridge. This brings you right into the heart of Poughkeepsie.

Red Hook and Rhinebeck are a little further away but both are beautiful areas. Both have nice little shops and restaurants as well. In ways they can be similar to New Paltz but without the college life. I know a few years back the prices in these areas where quite high, though I am not sure where they stand at this moment. Living in these areas give you close proximity to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.

Saugerties is the town I can comment most on as I lived there for most of my life. The schools are good, though IMO I think they could be better. The high school itself is ok. I can't say it is great, but it is ok. Keep in mind though that I have been out of school for quite some time I think a lot of the teachers that were there probably retired by now which brought in a younger crowd of teachers. My entire family has graduated from Saugerties and I think we all did pretty well As for activities for teenagers, Saugerties is not the town that offers many things. Across from the high school is Cantine Field. They offer softball and baseball in the spring. They also built a new ice rink just up from the high school a number of years ago. I believe they have hockey teams there. The only other attraction in Saugerties would be the bowling alley. A few years back they opened HITS. I think this is something that goes on in the spring/summer months and is mostly horse races and such. They may have recently added some other attractions to the area that I am unaware of. The village of Saugerties is very similar to the "heart" of these other areas with little shops and restaurants, though most of the shops in Saugerties are antique shops. Home prices in this area a few years ago were high as well, though I do believe that have come down a bit since then.

All of these areas are quite similar. You have picked out some wonderful places. They all offer country areas with fields, farms, and such. I think the quality of schools are similar as well, though as I said, I can only comment on SHS as I attended school there. None of these towns offer malls or large shopping centers, but the closest ones would be the next town over in most cases. All of these areas have diversity and I think you would have no problem fitting in. Many of the residents in these towns relocated to these areas from New York City and areas around there. I would love to be able to help you out more in your search. I understand how it is to move to a whole new area without having visited. I was in your place a few years back and relied on this board for a lot of my information. Good luck!

[willowuk]

Thankyou BZMOM1025, your post was really helpful it's great to hear from someone from the area. The HITS show sounds really good as my daughter loves horseriding and would REALLY love her own horse, but they are expensive, i keep telling her!! I know if we move she would like to continue riding there and maybe one day her own, actually do you know how much acerage you need to own a horse or any other restrictions? The softball and baseball would be a new sport for them to try, sounds like fun. thanks again, may call on you again for more info, Sue

[Viralmd]

Originally Posted by willowuk

Thankyou BZMOM1025, your post was really helpful it's great to hear from someone from the area. The HITS show sounds really good as my daughter loves horseriding and would REALLY love her own horse, but they are expensive, i keep telling her!! I know if we move she would like to continue riding there and maybe one day her own, actually do you know how much acerage you need to own a horse or any other restrictions? The softball and baseball would be a new sport for them to try, sounds like fun. thanks again, may call on you again for more info, Sue

Buying the horse isn't that much - it's the vet bills and the farrier that will kill you. And if you've never cared for a horse before you really should work with someone who knows what he's doing. They are, for all their size, pretty delicate and a LOT can go wrong very quickly.

[bzmom1025]

Originally Posted by willowuk

Thankyou BZMOM1025, your post was really helpful it's great to hear from someone from the area. The HITS show sounds really good as my daughter loves horseriding and would REALLY love her own horse, but they are expensive, i keep telling her!! I know if we move she would like to continue riding there and maybe one day her own, actually do you know how much acerage you need to own a horse or any other restrictions? The softball and baseball would be a new sport for them to try, sounds like fun. thanks again, may call on you again for more info, Sue

You are welcome! As for acerage and that sort, I am not sure what the restrictions are on that. A very good friend of mine has a few horses and teaches riding lessons in Saugerties. I don't believe she owns a lot of land, probably an acre or so. When we were younger she kept her horses at her parents and they had quite a bit of land. There is a lot of work that goes into the horses. I remember her getting up before school around 5 a.m. just to feed the horses and clean up after them. If your daughter is interested in it when you get here let me know and I can set you up with her info if you would like. Baseball and softball usually have signups I think around March/April. They aren't too good about making it public and I think they only used to post it in the local paper called the Post Star. If this is also something they are interested in you could probably call either the Parks and Rec dept for the town or inquire with Cantine Field. That is the name of the field where the sports take place. Feel free to ask me anything!

[willowuk]

Thanks for the info on the horses, my daughter would definately like to continue riding if we come, and I understand fully about the getting up at 5am, I used to do it, we had a couple of horses when i was growing up and there was always something to be done or paid for!!
One thing i am curious about is what year the kids will go into for school;
one is 12 now 13 in late december, the other is just 16 (3 days ago), i'm thinking year 7 and year 10? Also will it be useful for them to read up on american history or atleast the states of america and presidents, is that something that will be required of them to know?
I've got loads more questions, but will leave it at that for now, don't even know if OH has got the job yet, but trying to prepare my mind if he does. Knowledge is power and all that!!! Sue
p.s i've just worked out how to put a smilie on my post( you learn something new everyday)