Uptown Kingston Best Place Almost...
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12/14/2008
Kingston is a very mixed small city. It has absolutely beautiful architecture and boasts some pretty impressive history. It was settled by the Dutch back in the 1600s and was the first capital of NY state. You can still feel the energy as you walk the old streets of the revolution.The esopus creek connects to the hudson river America's Rhine.
There is always something going on in the area. Art Galleries, free music in the park, plays, local indie rock bands, farmers markets,spiritual growth opportunities, community and environmental action. Almost everything you need is a very short walk.
My wife and I moved up from NYC about two years ago and bought an unbelievable 7000 square foot federal style home on the national historic registry for under $400,000. The New York times called it one of the top places to live for artists. It is very quiet compared to what we were used to.
It has tons of potential. It still has a way to go. Some people have been waiting for it to come into it's glory for the last 15 years. I believe with the right community involvement it will get there.
Located 90 miles out of NYC there are quite a lot of weekend and vacation people that come into the area. Unless you are a lawyer there are not a lot of white collar jobs in the area unless you are willing to commute over 45 minutes.
There are some really great things happening in the Hudson valley. The food here is amazing there is tons of fresh produce and local organic meat grown right here. There are some wonderful farmers markets and some unbelievable restaurants. The Culinary school is not far so there are some amazing chefs all over.
It is just a few miles from Woodstock, Rosendale, New Paltz, Tivoli, Rhinebeck all great towns in their own right however Kingston is the city they all come to.
The Roundout by the water is nice and there are some decent restaurants and cafes but it pales in comparison to Uptown Kingston.
Midtown Kingston has a great performing arts center where many regional and national acts come through. There is an emerging scene there too. Midtown is known for it's trouble (gangs, drugs, prostitution,crime) It is truly unfortunate. With a city that has a population smaller than some large universities it is a shame that more isn't done about this or that social services aren't cut back more so they would live somewhere else.
I however do feel very safe in our neighborhood and really have had few occasions to really need to
Sean | Kingston, NY