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Pioneer Valley in Western Mass is great, including Northampton, Easthampton, Deerfield, Greenfield, Amherst and others. It has a good regional identity. Also the Berkshires-- Pittsfield, North Adams... None of these places have the racial diversity you seek but do have class diversity and lots of other good things. Places like Rhinebeck are for rich New York City people. New Paltz, Rosendale, Woodstock are nice-- more West Side than East Side in terms of the NYC influence. Cooperstown, Cazenovia, Oneonta and so many other nice towns in east-central NY seem great. If you want racial diversity in small towns/rural areas you may have to leave New York and New England.
Not necessarily true and some examples were given earlier in the thread in relation to the criteria in the OP.
Providence is really on a much larger urban scale than any of the other places on your list. The city proper has some 180,000 residents and it is the anchor of the 38th largest MSA (1.6M) in the US.
Providence is really on a much larger urban scale than any of the other places on your list. The city proper has some 180,000 residents and it is the anchor of the 38th largest MSA (1.6M) in the US.
Sounds like living in Providence may not be for me then unless it has parts that are less populated and more rural...or a place like that within 30 minutes of it.
There are also some walkable villages/communities in Orange County like Goshen, Washingtonville, Walden and Montgomery(Valley Central SD), Chester; as well as Highland in nearby Ulster County that fit much of the criteria. Goshen is the county seat for Orange County and in turn, it is where you could get services in terms of government offices.
All are close to each other and some offer some of the things in the criteria, while being close to cities like Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Kingston and Middletown. New Paltz isn't too far from these communities as well.
There are also some walkable villages/communities in Orange County like Goshen, Washingtonville, Walden and Montgomery(Valley Central SD), Chester; as well as Highland in nearby Ulster County that fit much of the criteria. Goshen is the county seat for Orange County and in turn, it is where you could get services in terms of government offices.
All are close to each other and some offer some of the things in the criteria, while being close to cities like Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Kingston and Middletown. New Paltz isn't too far from these communities as well.
Also, you could also take the train to some of these places via the Metro North, as some of the stops are close to these communities: MNR Map
Thank you. I'm appreciating everyone's replies on my thread, and been reading some more city-data threads too.
I've been visiting some Western Massachusetts cities and liking it but haven't seen the sections of upstate NY, VT, NH, or RI mentioned yet.
I'm curious to see how upstate NY feels and how it compares to Western Mass.
Some threads made New Paltz sound like a wonderful, nature/health/hippie sorta place right up my alley (fairly similar to Ithaca but way closer to NYC). Except 75% aged like 18-23 which I definitely don't seek (Amherst sounds overwhelmingly college-aged too). Seeking plenty of age mid-20s to mid-40s and young families.
I'm curious if any of those cities within 40 minutes of New Paltz have that New Paltz friendly, healthy, outdoorsy, hippie-ish culture yet more balanced mix of ages. And good preschool to highschool schools and good for raising kids.
With homes that feel rural enough like forests and grass and not tons of traffic, swimming holes, not too near neighbors, room for big yard and garden and homesteading and preferably well or spring water. Laws open to off-grid and tiny homes and natural building projects ideal too. Looks like I still have a lot of research to do...
Last edited by NatureYogi; 10-10-2019 at 06:34 PM..
I can give you the lowdown on Keene and Brattleboro, as I grew up right around there.
Rural- Both are decent size towns (15-20k), and you are within easy driving distance to Springfield and Northampton. Northampton is basically like a small town version of pre-gentrified San Francisco. I love that place. Nashua is also an hour away.
Organic culture- There's plenty of local, fresh produce. Growing up in summers, my mom only bought fruits/veggies from the farm stand in our neighborhood. There's also coops in both towns.
Diversity- This is where these places fall flat. Both are overwhelmingly (95%+) white. That is pretty standard for small town New England though.
Outdoors- Keene is nestled in a beautiful valley close to Mt. Monadnock and plenty of hiking areas. Ditto for Brattleboro.
Youth- Both NH and VT are aging states that don't get a ton of influx from outside the area. While it certainly isn't a DINK paradise, there's enough young people around.
Schools- Both areas have good schools. I went through the public system almost my entire career and got a pretty good education.
Crime- Very little in both areas.
Openness- Brattleboro definitely wins in it's hippie/weirdo/alternative culture. It is very liberal and open to alternative things. Keene to an extent also, but definitely not as much.
Social Services- Honestly don't know about this one.
Arts culture- Both areas have pretty strong arts scenes for being small towns.
I've also spent a lot of time in Providence (College Hill neighborhood) and love that city. It's dominated by Brown, so it has all the restaurants, shops, events that support the population there, and is very walkable. The neighborhood is lively but not crazy, and the housing is beautiful. It's one of those places I would absolutely short-list on moving to if I ever wanted a calmer urban experience than here in New York. It is expensive by local standards though.
It's fun to hear your passion for these places! I'm definitely interested to visit more of them (of those so far only seen the Massachusetts ones). Other threads made them sound good too.
Though apparently Brattleboro and maybe Keene are pretty heavy into heroin, moreso than most cities are? Bummed to hear that though will say I've lived in a city known strongly for heroin before and didn't see any and didn't stop it from being a wonderful city.
I don't know about Poughkeepsie being ranked in the top 50. Maybe districts just outside of the city like Arlington, Spackenkill or Hyde Park though.
Also, that was the point of mentioning those communities near New Paltz, as they will have more of a balance of people in terms of ages. While a bit old, here is an age breakdown for New Paltz: New Paltz, NY Historical Age Data - USA.comâ„¢
What some of those other Upstate NY places mentioned in the OP lacks is either in terms of demographics or are too urban.
Districts like Oneonta, Union-Endicott outside of Binghamton; Onondaga and LaFayette just south of Syracuse and maybe a few others, are some that fit a good amount of the criteria and are within 4 hours or so.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
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Originally Posted by missionhill
Pioneer Valley in Western Mass is great, including Northampton, Easthampton, Deerfield, Greenfield, Amherst and others. It has a good regional identity. Also the Berkshires-- Pittsfield, North Adams... None of these places have the racial diversity you seek but do have class diversity and lots of other good things. Places like Rhinebeck are for rich New York City people. New Paltz, Rosendale, Woodstock are nice-- more West Side than East Side in terms of the NYC influence. Cooperstown, Cazenovia, Oneonta and so many other nice towns in east-central NY seem great. If you want racial diversity in small towns/rural areas you may have to leave New York and New England.
Unless they decide to go further and pick somewhere like Watkins Glen. Which, in recent years, has grown very diverse; and basically is now populated almost exclusively by people from nowhere near Watkins Glen.
It's fun to hear your passion for these places! I'm definitely interested to visit more of them (of those so far only seen the Massachusetts ones). Other threads made them sound good too.
Though apparently Brattleboro and maybe Keene are pretty heavy into heroin, moreso than most cities are? Bummed to hear that though will say I've lived in a city known strongly for heroin before and didn't see any and didn't stop it from being a wonderful city.
They are both great places for someone who wants that kind of lifestyle. I, personally, am a big city guy so growing up in a small, relatively isolated environment like that was suffocating. However, my mom (a native New Yorker) moved up there almost 30 years ago and could never imagine leaving after all this time. Keene also has Keene State College, which gives the area a boost as far as events, activities, and such go.
Keene does have somewhat of a heroin problem, but you just don't really see it unless you're involved in it. The town does an excellent job at hiding away it's poverty and not letting it become visible. Granted I moved away in 2010 and only visit occasionally now, but you just don't ever notice it. You may see a homeless addict around town from time to time, but the area is spread out and rural enough to where it doesn't amass enough in one visible place long enough to really notice. I saw far more visible evidence of the heroin problem when I lived in Philadelphia, and now New York, than I ever did/do in Keene.
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