My Hudson Valley Fantasy (New York, New Paltz: university, moving, campus)

[ejlorge]

Hello All;

I am an American ex-pat in France / rookie college professor. My wife and I are thinking seriously of moving back to the States. She is French and I am from
Southern California, (which I am done with).

I was wondering if anyone could give me some guidance as to where to find a small-ish university or college town in lower state which is rural, but hip and not too far from the city(?)

Or, charming lower State towns pop 20k+ which I could get into the city a few times a week. I don't know NYS very well, but I am guessing what I am looking for is in the Hudson Valley.
(We love the Adriondack/Vermont vibe, but I imagine that begins farther up.)

Am I asking too much?

Also, I am open to suggestions outside NYS such as NJ or Conn or RI...

Thanks for your time!

PS THe reason we need to be near the city, other than the fact that it is ridiculously amazing, but we need to be near JFK since we travel back and forth to Europe often.

[havoc315]

Most of New York's "College towns" -- especially the rural ones -- Are upstate. I can't really think of any place that meets your description, that would be within 90 minutes of JFK.
The downstate region just is not particularly rural. The downstate college areas tend to be relatively urban. Big expansive campuses can be found upstate. (Sure, there is Long Island University and SUNY Purchase, but they are not really in rural towns).

If you are willing to be 3-4+ hours from New York City, you would have some excellent options.

[annerk]

In the Catskill/Hudson Valley area:

SUNY Purchase
West Point
Vassar
Marist
CIA
(plus a bunch of community colleges)

[annerk]

There are a lot of options in New England, Brown comes right to mind, also Williams College in MA.

[ejlorge]

Thank you both for your input. Can you mention any names of towns or counties?

New England is very tempting, if it wasn't for it's remoteness and even colder winters.

I always thought there were artist/writer communities in the Hudson, like Woodstock, that were populated by interesting people, yet close to the city.

Think Mill Valley and San Francisco.

[annerk]

Yes, but there aren't any colleges in Woodstock.

BTW--Southern New England is generally more temperate then anything north of mid-Westchester County in the winter.

[ejlorge]

I'm not sure I understand. Isn't southern New England indeed, north of Westchester County?

[havoc315]

If you consider Woodstock to be "near" the City --- It's over 2 hours away.

[annerk]

Originally Posted by ejlorge

I'm not sure I understand. Isn't southern New England indeed, north of Westchester County?

Yes but it's closer to the ocean which keeps it more temperate.

[HomerBrink]

There's Bard College near Rhinebeck and the State College in New Paltz. Both are very interesting small towns.