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 Boutiques, bistros, and coffeehouses are just some of the lively attractions that line Main Street in the village of New Paltz
Photograph by Emily Partridge
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Choosing a town to live in is a little bit like choosing the right college. You look at all types of brochures and online sites, you visit, you ask questions, and then you spend a fair amount of time daydreaming about what your daily life would actually look like if you lived there. (Of course, it never ends up being quite the same as those fantasies.) There is so much to think about: affordability, commuting time, schools, community activities that match your values and interests, housing stock, and what kind of people you may end up with as neighbors. And just like ultimately picking a college, there is no one-size-fits-all answer.
Luckily, in the Hudson Valley we have a wide variety of different communities to choose from. Artsy cities, rural hamlets, mountain resort villages, charming country towns, McMansion-laden suburbs. You name it, we have it here — with the added bonus that, wherever you end up, you won’t be too far from a spectacular view or landscape. In “The 10 Best Places to Live” we outline 10 hometowns that may appeal to you. Of course, there are plenty of other great places to live in the Valley, but we suggest you use this article as a guide to getting started, or just to get you thinking. And we give you all the real estate stats (are prices up or down from last year?) for your town.
In this issue we also let you know what is happening at all of the region’s hospitals, from Albany down through Westchester, whether it’s construction of a new wing, the addition of state-of-the-art technology, or innovative community programs. And while I hope that most of you do not have a reason to be hospitalized in the near future, it’s nice to know that we have so many world-class health facilities right here in the Valley.
Happy spring.
Cheers,
Olivia J. Abel
Editor in Chief
