Kingston, NY in 2014: Artist haven? Good public schools?
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You aren't going to get a great cross section of K-ton's population from hanging out at any of its retail locations, since half the people who use them are from across the river - even the gas stations are heavily frequented by people from Dutchess looking for cheaper fuel.
I just moved to Florida from kingston and i am homesick. Kingston is beautiful! Uptown or roundout by the water. Mid town is grimy every town has a not so great place. Kingston has everything you need. Restaurants,bars,art galleries,friendly people,hiking,biking,kayaking,thrifting,antiquing. You drive to nice hiking tails and state parks, you can visit the walkway over the hudson. Did i mention the apartments are cheap and beautiful?! I could give you a list of a million things to do. I do not have children but hey there is a catholic or private school by the roundout if you don't like public school. Personally if i had kids no matter where i lived i would do private school because like i said there is a bad part of every town and those kids go to the same school as the other kids . Maybe you should visit take a stroll through uptown historic kingston and roundout you wont be disappointed!
Kingston has some quiet, lovely neighborhoods with well-maintained homes, in different areas. Some areas have homes that are not as well-maintained but still OK, and there are some homes that are old and extremely rundown in appearance. I don't think crime is a such a significant issue in Kingston, at least to my knowledge anyway. For families, the schools need improvement. I wouldn't expect your kids to get a great education there, compared to other nearby school districts. The taxes are a bit high. The home prices are reasonable. There are amenities including walkable neighborhoods, some bus routes including a 2-hour ride to NYC with some stops (not sure if there is an express). As the county seat in Ulster County, there are plenty of lawyers in the downtown Stockade area, plus county service administration offices, and historic buildings and a museum that is well-worth visiting. Besides a revitalized downtown, and the revitalized waterfront, there are also are big-box stores about 10 minutes away. It's relatively quiet at least when compared with the many community activities in nearby Woodstock, New Paltz and Rhinebeck. I like Kingston, although I do not live there. At one point I worked in Kingston many years ago, and really enjoyed the downtown area. Pleasant, clean, prosperous and walkable in the downtown area. However, the loss of IBM hit Kingston hard. It seems to be bouncing back, and there are cute shops again, and more creative class folks, and fun activities that are starting up again, slowly.
I know I'm late to the thread, but here are some pics of Kingston I took back in 2008 (kind of old, but what the heck). Uptown and the area by the river are nice. Midtown is kind of gritty.
Very nice photos, Ex-Ithacan! It's great that you labeled each as to the area where they were taken. You did great work capturing the great architecture throughout the city, and the revitalized downtown, and the lovely uptown Stockade area. It's a nice little city with tremendous potential, and I hope it grows. Especially as to jobs, who bring more people, who bring more jobs.
^ Thanks, maybe I was a bit harsh calling Midtown gritty, but it didn't impress me as much as the other two main commercial areas.
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