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You should look into Croton and Peekskill. Both are walkable towns on the Hudson river with tremendous natural beauty. Croton is a 45 minute train ride, and Peekskill is 60 minutes. Peekskill may be more urban than you want, but it has great architecture, galleries, a small but lively nightlife scene, performing arts center, museum, and lots of artists and other young hipster types. You can walk from the center of town into a 1,500 acre nature reserve and you're really close to amazing hiking. Croton is more family-oriented, but is very nice and has great hiking trails too. Both towns have great riverfront parks. There is plenty of culture in the area, as well as thousands of acres of park land.
Check out this blog for some more info on the area:
you can find some of the requested conditions in the outer boroughs. Riverdale gives you access to Manhattan as well as to Westchester, Ossining, Croton on Harmon, and beautiful, peaceful, not too distant upstate areas. Bayside and Douglaston give you the same in terms of access to Manhattan and Long Island's Jones Beach and Long Beach and other serene areas.
Remember that there's a tradeoff in moving out of Manhattan in pursuit of those desired attributes. The further out you go to the suburbs, you'll find that the car you rightfully desire will be needed even in the middle of the day just to get a box of milk.
Perhaps that's not a real concern for you, but for some, the compromise is to stay in one of the outer boroughs and enjoy the best of both worlds.
The further out you go to the suburbs, you'll find that the car you rightfully desire will be needed even in the middle of the day just to get a box of milk.
Many towns in the northern burbs are totally walkable. In Croton and Peekskill you can walk to stores, parks, the train, restaurants, and hiking trails. There is no need to drive to get milk, unless you want to. The same is true for all of the river towns, Katonah, Yorktown Heights, Mt Kisco, etc. Certainly, if you want more privacy and nature, then you can live outside of a town--in which case you can either drive to town or walk or bike a mile or two. But that is a choice. If you want to be close to stores, there are oodles of options in the northern burbs.
And Riverdale is nice, but I would hardly call it "real nature."
Many towns in the northern burbs are totally walkable. In Croton and Peekskill you can walk to stores, parks, the train, restaurants, and hiking trails. There is no need to drive to get milk, unless you want to. The same is true for all of the river towns, Katonah, Yorktown Heights, Mt Kisco, etc. Certainly, if you want more privacy and nature, then you can live outside of a town--in which case you can either drive to town or walk or bike a mile or two. But that is a choice. If you want to be close to stores, there are oodles of options in the northern burbs.
And Riverdale is nice, but I would hardly call it "real nature."
This is true.. a lot of people drive to get their supplies simply because they can.. less traffic, easier access, etc... but by no means is this a necessity everywhere.. it might be a bit of a longer walk (or not) than you're used to, but it is walkable.
When I lived in Princeton it was nice being able to take my bicycle to town or the store. The car isn't ALWAYS necessary. Just get some baskets for your parcels and you're set!
This is true.. a lot of people drive to get their supplies simply because they can.. less traffic, easier access, etc... but by no means is this a necessity everywhere.. it might be a bit of a longer walk (or not) than you're used to, but it is walkable.
Indeed, the car may not be required in towns, though it can help to have one for bad weather and the like. I have even people riding their bicycles, or adult tricycles, towing a bike trailer with groceries and the like in it, looking completely happy to be at one with nature as opposed to relying on their car.
This is a very common practice in England, and I think you would do well with a mix of bicycle and walking power for much of your needs, though a base in a bigger town might offer a little more in the way of conveniences, especially express trains to Manhattan.
You might want to check out Montclair NJ. It has a suburban feel but there are trendy areas with shops, restaurants and bars. I've heard a lot of young families from NY have moved there so you'll be around people working in NY. There are parks and bike trails there. You commute will be about 45 mins. 25 mins on the train and 10 mins walk to Bryant Park from Penn. You might want to try it out for a couple months before commiting to a long term lease. The commute from NJ to the city is very unpredictable and sometimes a frustrating experience.
Are you familiar with Battery Park city in NY? It's right on the water, there are some small parks and you can ride your bike around in the esplanade. Its much quieter there than the rest of the city. Good luck.
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As Bgbear pointed out,,
