Interior Designer moving to upstate - need advice! (Albany, Ithaca: live, wealthy)

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by MinkeyM

If I were a tasteful designer, I'd stay away from Jersey.
Outside of the Princeton area, it's a mess.

Trust me, you don't want to live in central NJ.

My own very biased opinion, of course.

What's a "tasteful designer," MinkeyM? You ought to pick up a copy of the "Architectural Digest" to see what interior designers do for a living.

There are many very nice towns in central New Jersey and also nice homes on level acreage.

I forgot to suggest the New Hope, PA- Lambertville, NJ area- very quaint and very artsy and within 1.5 hours of NYC and 1 hour of Philly.

[MinkeyM]

To me, Nyack and Rockland might as well be Jersey.

[MinkeyM]

There are many very nice towns in central New Jersey and also nice homes on level acreage.

I forgot to suggest the New Hope, PA- Lambertville, NJ area- very quaint and very artsy and within 1.5 hours of NYC and 1 hour of Philly.

Yes, those are nice areas, for sure. New Hope is in PA. Lambertville might as well be.
Neither is in central NJ, or even much connected with NJ.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by MinkeyM

To me, Nyack and Rockland might as well be Jersey.

Nah, Nyack is an artsy, walkable and diverse community with solid/good schools that has some character. Some of the places around it may fit what you are talking about, but not Nyack itself. Village of Nyack | Official website for the Village of Nyack

http://www.visitnyack.org

I thought about the Rivertowns of Westchester County too.

[MinkeyM]

Nyack's okay, but it's surrounded by, um, Rockland.

Westchester could break the OP's budget. In more affordable areas, it certainly has nothing special to offer anyway.

[ckhthankgod]

Originally Posted by MinkeyM

Nyack's okay, but it's surrounded by, um, Rockland.

Westchester could break the OP's budget. In more affordable areas, it certainly has nothing special to offer anyway.

Sure, but that is why a village or villages can be suggested.

[hvexpatinct]

In NY, the towns in the Red Hook school district would probably be a great fit. This includes Red Hook and Tivoli as well as parts of Milan, Gallatin, Germantown, and Rhinebeck. Pretty easy to find a nice 3-4br house with some character in the $275-$400K range. 150K is a nice income for the area. The schools are top notch and the arts scene is huge due to the proximity to Bard College. There are walkable downtowns in Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and Tivoli.

In CT, look at Woodbury/Bethlehem and Litchfield/Bantam. Woodbury does not have a traditional downtown (it is linear and spread out over a 2 mile stretch) but does have one of the largest independently owned natural food stores in the northeast, a giant Earth Day celebration every spring, and some great nature/arts based programs for kids. Litchfield has a year round farmer's market and a walkable downtown area plus a huge nature preserve with easy access to running, hiking, kayaking. Both are somewhat upscale towns and you can expect to find a partially renovated historic home for $350-$450k.

The seacoast part of NH may be a nice fit too... Durham and Newmarket have funky little downtowns.

[ckhthankgod]

Perhaps Carmel and Brewster may work as well.

[ckhthankgod]

I wonder about places like Goshen, Highland Falls and perhaps Suffern working for the OP too.

[MinkeyM]

Goshen has zero downtown area, unless you count the fairgrounds and smokehouse. Highlnd Falls has a run-down main street with nothing on it, and the nearest real grocery is at least 20 minutes away. Suffern... well, maybe, although it's in Rockland and bordering Jersey, lol. Housing isn't cheap there, though.