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I'm looking for recommendations of what towns to try for a 4-month rental (Aug-Dec) along the Hudson River rail line.
Since I have a dog, my first priority is a good sized yard. Thus, I need a community where homes have yards, not a block of apartment buildings.
Yet my second priority is to be in a small, quaint, walkable neighborhood near the rail line to NYC, and I hope to be not much more than 2 hours away from NYC by rail. I want to live in a community where I can walk to buy groceries, restaurants, shops, and where live or movie theaters are a walk or easy bus ride away. I want a certain degree of street activity, but I definitely don't want to be in an inner city atmosphere. A mid-sized town or an upscale neighborhood in a bigger town would be perfect.
I have seen some towns that seem very beautiful but are too sleepy. I don't want to have to drive to another town to do basic things. But being from Los Angeles I am trying to get away from urban grit. I'm trying to find that happy medium where there is enough space for homes to have yard, but not so much space that there is no walkable city center.
Here in California, we have towns like San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara of 60,000-80,000 people. Of course, they sprawl around the edges, but they have vibrant, walkable city centers with sizable houses with yards a 5-minute walk from the main boulevard(s). Can anyone clue me into similar communities along the Hudson?
All I've been able to do is read other posts so far. Cold Spring and Garrison sound beautiful but empty of basic needs. Peeksville and Newburgh sound interesting but kind of nasty (I'm already from L.A. -- not looking for more urban ghetto). I'm eager to hear more.
Thanks!
Size of the rental is not so important, though I would prefer to at least have a separate bedroom and living room. I hope to pay around $1500/month.
I can't think of anything that really fits what you want--which sounds like Providence, Ithaca, or Burlington. But within 2 hours of NYC, there isn't really anything like that. However, I think Cold Spring might work for you. it is has a number of restaurants and shops, as well as oodles of antique stores (and basic supermarkets for shopping). I do not think it has a performance arts center or movie theater. The main benefit of Cold Spring (for me at least) is the natural beauty and proximity to great hiking. If that isn't important to you, you might look into Irvington or Hastings. Peekskill would fulfill most of your wishes (it has a performing arts center which also shows movies), but parts of town do have a definite urban grit (if you're from LA I'm sure it will not feel like a ghetto). Tarrytown might also be an option, but that might be too edgy, too. Further afield, Beacon has a lot of restaurants and stores, as well as the DIA museum. And Hudson (which is more than 2 hours) has a lot of what you want, but it definitely has urban grit, too. Maybe Albany?
Does it have to be along the Hudson River? You might find something inland along the Harlem Line train, say Mount Kisco or Pawling. Pawling is smaller, and further out, and has much to like, save for larger scale development like movie theatres. Mount Kisco has much of what you are looking for, but the budget might not stretch too far in town. In the surrounding areas, you can find cottages for the $1700 price popint, but in town, it's realistically going to be a condo or apartment, which could actually be in a subdivided house. Pleasantville has these as well, though it's closer to the city and can be a bit more costly.
It is hard to think of someplace that meets all your requirements. The closest I can think of, is Nyack. But it is on the wrong side of the Hudson--- you would need to take a bus to the train, but the entire commute would still be under 2 hours.
What you don't know is how hard the DOG issue will be when renting. About 90% of the rentals will not allow dogs. Those that do allow dogs will restrict it to type and size (weight).
I'm wondering which combined elements of my wish list are the ones that are causing readers to say that nothing fits the bill. If it's price, that's the most negotiable. I'm willing to pay more $ to get the other things.
I would love to hear more about Tarrytown. I'm surprised to hear it described as "possibly edgy" since my mom remembers it as very rural, but that may have changed? Can someone give a profile on Tarrytown? Beauty, walkable city center, homes with yards near that center, basic services/entertainment, urban grit or lack thereof?
i was also sad to hear about the dog statistic. is it really that bad? My dog is by no means small. I thought that at least a stand-alone house might be more feasible than an apartment community. Any ideas on that score or more than welcome.
Are you looking to rent a house, or an apartment in a multi-family house?
The problem with your requirements -- Quaint and vibrant contradict each other somewhat. It may be possible to find the right balance, but that seems like quite a bit to find.
Dobbs Ferry could meet your requirements. I wouldn't call is especially edgy, but it does have some arts, has a walkable downtown. It's not too isolated.
I don't know Tarrytown very well, but you might be able to afford your budget there.
You say you are willing to increase your budget, but for what you seek, you may have to increase your budget dramatically. If you are thinking about renting a house, it's hard to imagine doing that for under $2,500-$3,000 per month in any half-decent Westchester neighborhood.
You can try looking for apartments through the county newspaper website -- lohud.com
If you don't mind being a little further out, I would consider Hyde Park (above Poughkeepsie on the Hudson), New Paltz (about 8 or so miles west of the River, across from Poughkeepsie), and West Park which is across from Hyde Park on the west bank of the Hudson. You should be able to find a single family house or townhouse in this area, and you can commute to NYC in about an hour and forty five minutes via train.
Tarrytown is very built-up in many places, and parts of it are still not very nice. The downtown is basically along Route 9, but it's not what I would call a bucolic river town where one can stroll around town to the stores and such, owing a bit to geography since it's a very hilly section of the river. As havoc315 has pointed out, you would realistically be looking at an apartment in this price range in Tarrytown and Sleepy Hollow, without substantially increasing the budget, but that's true for many of the Lower Westchester river towns as they are prime commuting distance to Manhattan, on the order of 30-40 minutes.
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