Where to live in the Northeast

Hey Ya'll,

Potential that I am moving up your way and I am looking for at different locations to live.

My work situation is that I will be working out of my house covering Northern PA up to NH. Ideally Id be somewhere central in the middle of those two. I know the trad is Conway is amazing, but might be a bit north for me

I need to be 60-90 mins from a major airport, but do not want to live a dt area. I value cracks for climbing, trail running and mtn biking. Being close to a decent climbing gym would be a plus as I know the winters up there are long. I also enjoy ice climbing.

Anyone have suggestions? Im originally from Northern Ca and have lived in Colorado for the last year.

If you draw crosshairs in the middle of your territory, it looks like you would want to focus on the Hudson Valley region of NY, Northwest CT, and Southwest MA. If you lived in/near Poughkeepsie you would be 30 minutes from the Gunks. Not known for crack climbing but a heck of a place to live only 30 minutes from. Probably the best single climbing area near your middle territory, and arguably one of the best in the Northeast. Think overhangs.

Hey, I live in Albany, and it's not too bad for a climber.

We're about 2 hours from Keene Valley, which is the epicenter of most climbing in the Adirondacks (tons of trad climbing, outstanding hiking and backpacking, and some real solitude in many spots), about one hour fifteen minutes from the Gunks (really doesn't need an introduction). We're a little under 5 hours from N. Conway and the Presidentials, and pretty close to Vermont. Catskills are about an hour away too, which provide some more great hiking. Great ice climbing in the Adirondacks as well.

There is an international airport in town, and there are a lot of small nature preserves near the area that are great for trail running (Five Rivers in Delmar, Thacher Park in Voorhesville, and the Albany Pine Bush. I've heard there is decent mountain biking in the area, bu maybe someone else knows more about that.

We also have a really nice gym about 20 min. north of us in Half-Moon/Clifton Park, called the edge.

Not the best place to live in the NE by any stretch, but it is a good compromise and I find myself climbing a ton more than when I lived in Western NY. So much variety around here.

"arguably one of the best in the Northeast"

I don't think anyone is gonna argue that the Gunks aren't one of the best crags in the Northeast...

Baffin Island.

I take it you stick to mostly trad during the summer, and Rumney is not of interest? Otherwise, Manchester NH has a good sized airport...

Ive spent a lot of time around Albany, as my family has a place in Taborton (small little town with an even smaller fishing lake)

Id be open to Rumney, I just like to climb. I like the backcountry feel more than the sport crag feel, thats why I was shying away from Gunks and Rumney. Id still climb there, but Im more of a backwoods guy.

Thanks for the suggestions

Coming from the NorCal and Colorado, I think you'd like the vibe of Vermont the best. If skiing is important, Vermont wins hands down. Chill attitudes (compared to the rest of NE), very old rooted locavore culture, great food. Not sure about rock climbing (I have not done any in VT, but you'd be close to the Dacks and N. Conway), however skiing is the best in the NE and ice climbing is world class. Check out maybe Burlington area?

Kevin Heckeler wrote: If you lived in/near Poughkeepsie you would be 30 minutes from the Gunks. Not known for crack climbing but a heck of a place to live only 30 minutes from. Probably the best single climbing area near your middle territory, and arguably one of the best in the Northeast. Think overhangs.

Agreed, but New Paltz would be even better. Nicer, smaller town (IMO), and even closer to climbing/trail running/etc at the Gunks (10 min instead of 30-40), making quick sessions easier.

The New Paltz area is probably the place that suits all of your criteria best. It is quite centrally located in the middle of your target region. Airports nearby are Albany (smallish airport, 60 min away) and Newark/NYC airports (90-120 min). New Paltz is a really nice little town with an funky, alternative feel to it. Most importantly, you can see the Gunks from town, and it is a 10 min drive. In addition to the famous trad crags, the bouldering and trail running around there is good too, and it is close enough that lunchtime sessions would be easy. Not sure what the mountain bike situation is. For ice, the Catskills are nearby. The Adks are Sport climbing is lacking, but that doesn't sound like one of you priorities (for sport, you'd want to live closer to Rumney).

doligo wrote:Coming from the NorCal and Colorado, I think you'd like the vibe of Vermont the best. If skiing is important, Vermont wins hands down. Chill attitudes (compared to the rest of NE), very old rooted locavore culture, great food. Not sure about rock climbing (I have not done any in VT, but you'd be close to the Dacks and N. Conway), however skiing is the best in the NE and ice climbing is world class. Check out maybe Burlington area?

Vermont has some nice climbing scattered around, but no big areas. Deer Leap is good, although may feel craggy. Bolton is good as well and feels a bit less craggy (depending on where in Bolton you go). Marshfield is also nice... Burlington not so great, although their gym is great for bouldering.

New Paltz area is really cool...but personally I could never live there. It is very, very, very hippyish and "liberal," for lack of a better term. The vibe is cool for a few nights, but living there I think that the people would start to get on my nerves. It's the sort of place where people would be homeless as a "personal choice." Showers optional, and girls with hairy armpits (and legs) are a dime a dozen. Also much more expensive than Albany.

On the other hand, the proximity to the Gunks is awesome. I have a good friend who lives there and he loves it...climbs a ton. But he is also much more open minded and accepting than I am. The vibe in New Paltz seems like the kind of one-way open-mindedness that is very accepting of the traditionally repressed viewpoints and ways of life, but would reject a republican/conservative viewpoint without pause.

My two cents.

If you are working out of your house, I'd say New Paltz (or vicinity) wins hands down. You can boulder during your lunch hour and go out for a three-star two-pitch climb after work; I don't think any other locale within 90 minutes of major airports can match that. You will have to drive significant hours for granite cracks, however, 5-6 hours to North Conway, 3 hours to Keene Valley plus another half hour to Poko-Moonshine. It is 2 hours to Ragged Mountain in Connecticut, which has some crack-like climbs.

I'm not an expert, but I'd say the political situation in New Paltz is more complex then Ben suggests, and I'd be wary about his view of the percentage of women who are not groomed to his standards. Yes, it's a college town, which typically means a progressive influence. The county went 60-40 for Obama in both elections, but 40% is not 0%. The surrounding areas are rural and their are plenty of conservatives around if that's your cup of Tea Party. But if you want to live in a Tea Cozy, then New Paltz ain't the place to be.

Certainly take my advice with a grain of salt...I don't live in New Paltz and have only been hanging out in the town on some weekends for the last year or so. Another consideration is that it can be extremely crowded sometimes with the college influx, but that is expected for any college town.

Like rgold said, you'll get an opportunity to climb a shit load there, during lunch, after dinner...ETC. The Gunks can also get crowded, but you can always find unoccupied rock further down the carriage path and on other cliffs. Tons of amazing climbs!

As for the political climate in town, my comments were based solely on first hand observation and intuition (how I make almost all my decisions...logic is overrated)... perhaps you'd get along just fine in the town.

If you've ever hung out in Ithaca, it seems kind of similar...although Cornell and Ithaca College dilute the weirdness a little bit with the huge number of students, compared to New Paltz. Lots of good bars...definitely hit up the Brauhaus for great german food and beer.

Albany area is very central for his climbing interests, but it sounds like his territory will be forcing him further south than that, and Albany might be a little too far north. It really depends on how often he'll need to be in NYC and PA. The ADKs are great, and still within weekend driving distance of NH.

I don't particular care for Albany (lived there 10 years, as student and adult). Very little culture. Mostly decaying infrastructure surrounded by sprawling and spreading ghetto. It's an old city and there just isn't enough public and private money to keep ahead of the aging taking place. In a few decades we'll see the same issues in all the major northeast cities. Ticking time bomb if you ask me [/tangent].

New Paltz is kinda cozy, but self righteous hippies abound so beware if that stuff annoys you (as it apparently does Ben). I figure Poughkeepsie being larger would have more reasonable rental opportunities. It's overpriced in and around New Paltz.

Currently live in Boulder....so sounds pretty similar haha

Thanks for all the suggestions. Most of my time will be spent in NY (all of the state) with occasional stints over to CT and Mass

Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY!

Be ready to pay a lot more in tax!

Don't come anywhere close to New England if you are going to say "ya'll". I'm a southern transplant, a spy if you will. If all of America was this way back in the late 1700, I would have rooted from the British to win. That said, Amherst, MA aint bad. There is a climbing gym down yonder in Hadley. You can mosey down there anytime you want.

Doug Meneke wrote:Don't come anywhere close to New England if you are going to say "ya'll".

Are they still fightin' the war of northern aggression?

I agree that new paltz is probably the place but there isn't much local crack climbing, plenty of trad though obviously. If you haven't been to the gunks maybe it would be worth going before moving and letting them make your decision for you, there are plenty of backwoods crags no need to go to the traps.

If you really need local crack climbing, I would say northampton/amherst mass would be a good choice. It is getting a little further from airports though 1.5 hrs to albany and 2hrs to boston.

New Paltz is nice, and it is not all self-righteous hippies like Ben says. The college presence makes it look that way, but like rgold said there are people of all kinds of walks of life living there. The only maybe negative about living in New Paltz would be that the housing is expensive (but coming from Boulder you probably won't have a sticker shock) and there is a highway running through the main street of it (imagine trucks buzzing by on your idyllic morning walk to your yoga studio). Other than that it's a pretty awesome place to live - nice decent Vitamin cottage type supermarket in the mall, good restaurants, lots of local farms, a community garden where you can plant your own veggies, the best beer warehouseshop in the country (thousands of beer labels from all over the country and the world). The Wallkill river trail is an awesome place to run or bike and starts right in town. If you want something funkier and less expensive look into Rosendale or Kerhonkshon (think Nederland vs. Boulder). One more thing, if you choose to live in MA - remember MA plates have the same effect in their Northern neighbors as do CO ones in UT and WY...

Gunks, hands down. Decent real estate if you know where to look, too.