seeking liberal, veggie/eco/outdoorsy friendly small town. help?

[piperspal]

If humidity is a big factor, good luck anywhere in NY! I grew up in nice dry Colorado & moved to NYS over 25 yrs ago, & have been trying to adjust to the humidity ever since. I've spent considerable time in all regions & don't feel a noticeable difference in humidity. Thankfully NYS offers enough to put up with it, though.

Taxes as a small biz owner (your possible B&B and/or veggie eatery) are going to be a tough one to swallow. But a few negatives won't outweigh all the positives....& upstate's got 'em by the barrel-full! The Catskills & Mid-Hudson Valley offer all the other requirements you listed. As far as jobs go, seems like everyone these days works from home in web develoment or other tech-driven services. From a tourism revenue angle, I think a combo B&B/veggie spot would do better in the Woodstock/Saugerties/New Paltz area & surrounding communities.

[annerk]

Look into Palenville, NY. real estate prices there are still reasonable, and it's definitely got a crunchy, small town feel.

[JGallimore]

Portland, Maine for sure! Could a city be more progressive, beautiful or quaint? If you haven,t visited then you should, it is certainly the crown jewel of New England.

[ss20ts]

Ithaca!!

They have one of the greatest Farmer's Market in the world. It has been written about in several magazines including Mother Earth News.

You'd be a the bottom of one of the Finger Lakes.....LOTS of water activies there. Bije riding is HUGE in the Finger Lakes. Lots of state parks and trails.

Great education area....Home of Cornell after all!

Tons of fantastic restaurants! And I don't mean Applebeee's! Real restaurants with chefs.

Wine country is up the road.

Watkins Glen State Park not too far. Amazing waterfalls.

Ithaca even has an airport with a real airline! Or you could drive to a larger one in about an hour or so.

Wherever you move, make sure you visit it a few times before moving!

One thing to think about....the weather. Can you handle snow and cold for months? Seattle gets lots of rain it seems year round. it's NOT at all like that here.

[ss20ts]

Originally Posted by veggiecook

what is athens like in the summer? is it more humid than new england? how big is it city-wise? i want to be able to buy a few acres and have a rural retreat but be close enough to a fun city/town....

Athens is a tiny little town south of Albany. It's pretty rural yet pricey and the taxes could kill a cow.

The weather is the same as Albany. Humidity is all relative. Different parts of New England have different amounts of humidity - Rutland VT is not as humid as Hyannis MA in the summer. It's all relative to water and land spacing.

The humidity here doesn't bother me. in other areas - like down South - it does. Not everyone takes humidity the same.

Best thing to do is go visit the place you're considering. Make a trip of a few days and check out different areas so you have something to compare it to.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by ss20ts

Ithaca!!

They have one of the greatest Farmer's Market in the world. It has been written about in several magazines including Mother Earth News.

You'd be a the bottom of one of the Finger Lakes.....LOTS of water activies there. Bije riding is HUGE in the Finger Lakes. Lots of state parks and trails.

Great education area....Home of Cornell after all!

Tons of fantastic restaurants! And I don't mean Applebeee's! Real restaurants with chefs.

Wine country is up the road.

Watkins Glen State Park not too far. Amazing waterfalls.

Ithaca even has an airport with a real airline! Or you could drive to a larger one in about an hour or so.

Wherever you move, make sure you visit it a few times before moving!

One thing to think about....the weather. Can you handle snow and cold for months? Seattle gets lots of rain it seems year round. it's NOT at all like that here.

Pretty much.....

[usherslove05]

i'd also suggest new paltz. Take a trip if possible. A lot of hiking places available, calm friendly diverse. several health stores and fresh produce stands (in summer). It's serene. It's where I plan to move within the next year

[CNYDC]

Does sound like Ithaca would be a good choice. Also, Trumansburg has become an enclave for crunchy types just up the road from Ithaca.

My only issue with Ithaca is that the housing stock is not that nice and the city looks a bit dumpy in places, especially downtown. There are places in upstate with much more interesting architecture, but if you don't care about architecture, then Ithaca sounds like a good fit.