Lots of folks gushed over the beauty of this former schoolhouse when we posted it six months ago and it was being offered at $395,000, but were hesitant about its location. True, it’s quite close to the road on River Road, but we’ve driven by it a bunch of times and haven’t felt it’s a complete deal breaker. River Road is home to many grand estates, and it’s far less trafficky than the parallel main drag of 9G. This house is between Red Hook, Rhinebeck and Tivoli and all the wonderful things those towns have to offer. But, yeah, your cats might not be safe.
Rhinebeck Schoolhouse, $325,000.

This is a question that drives Upstater, so hopefully we’ll still ask it even after reading through Hudson Valley magazine’s list of the seven best places to live in the Hudson Valley. Five of the towns we’ve covered pretty extensively (Saugerties, Chatham, Beacon, Rhinebeck and Athens) and the remaining two, Goshen and Putnam, are at the top of our to-do list.

They chose Saugerties as the number one spot for “its quirky downtown crammed with tiny shops, galleries, and restaurants; one-of-a-kind festivals (Garlic, Sept. 29-30; Mum, Oct. 7); and a ridiculously romantic lighthouse-turned-B&B.” They detail its combination of luxury living (the Diamond Mills hotel and HITS show, both mentioned here many times) and down home appeal, as well as some affordable housing. “The varied housing stock in the village includes Victorians for between $225,000 and $250,000, and attracts an eclectic mix of locals and transplants from both New York and Albany — all of whom treasure the strong sense of community the town generates.”

We found this property over in our real estate listings section: a four-bed, two-bath 70′s pad with an in-ground pool, just outside of the village of Rhinebeck. The interior definitely reveals its origin of decade, what with the beige walls, the wall-to-wall, the multi-hued brick. But it has a lot of attributes: a walking path to the nearby park, cable, a nice spit of land, Internet and all the fixings for a comfortable getaway.

Less comfortable is the Hamptons-style rent: $30,000 for the season (utilities included). But then again, many people feel Rhinebeck is the Hamptons of Dutchess County. Any takers?

Olana

Okay, we’re a day late for this Valentine’s Day post, but we were waiting for folks to add more suggestions to the Daily Freeman’s ongoing list of the most romantic spots upstate. Some we’re intimately familiar with. Others we were happy to learn about.

Here are a few key selections:

Olana: The Hudson River School painter’s mansion, and site of his inspiration. Incredible house, incredible views. Just south of Hudson, NY on 9G.

Parade Hill: At the end of Warren Street in Hudson, a small waterfront park.

Ulster County’s five covered bridges: Perrine’s in Esopus; Turnwood in Olivebridge; Grant’s Mill and Myer’s in Hardenburgh; Tappan Bridge in North Seager.

Tanbark Trail: A short hike with great views, accessible from downtown Phoenicia, on Tremper Mountain.

The Rhinecliff Hotel: Right on the Hudson (and right on the railroad tracks, steps from the Rhinecliff Amtrak station), this is a swanky, tasteful joint with modern rooms and delicious eats.

We would add Poet’s Walk, along the Hudson and next to Rokeby, in Rhinecliff. You guys have any spots to add?

Brooklynites love to champion the borough’s culinary delights, from Soccer Tacos to Smorgasburg to its five Michelin-starred restaurants.

Truth is, though, many of the prized locavore ingredients in these lauded meals come from upstate New York, and the Catskills and the Hudson Valley have their own beloved restaurants, whose owners and chefs are willing to go toe-to-toe with Brooklyn’s foodies. Thus we have Brooklyn vs. the Hudson Valley, a three-night affair at the delicious Terrapin restaurant in Rhinebeck.

This is really a battle of ales and stouts, those from Brooklyn (like Sixpoint) versus those from upstate, (like Crossroads Brewing). But the beers aren’t just for drinking. They’re for glazing steaks and such, too. $49 per person, including beer tastings, from February 7 to 9.

Oh, how I love you Rhinecliff! You’re Rhinebeck’s cool, goth little sister—literally edgier, as you’re right on the cliffs overlooking the Hudson River. (Get it?) Pretty, glossy Rhinebeck is just a couple miles away, so your residents can take easy advantage of her charms, while enjoying your ready access to the Rhinecliff Amtrak stop and gorgeous river views. Plus, you have the best white person Chinese restaurant in New York, with its porch overlooking the river.

As Rhinecliff is a tiny hamlet of relatively tiny Rhinebeck, it doesn’t have a huge selection of real estate stock, so I was thrilled to see this pretty little country house on the market. We often get asked by our readers (and I get asked by my renters), “Do you need a car to access this one?”  While the answer is always yes—honestly, basics like grocery shopping and going out to eat are impossible in most Upstate counties without wheels—-this one is within walking distance of the train station. The house is small, on a small-ish lot, but it has a nice established garden and that American Gothic feel so common in Rhinebeck. I’m not crazy about some of the updates, but it is in move-in condition. Stats on the jump. (more…)

While it’s far out of my price range, 6 Long Dock Road seems like a really good deal to me. It’s in the lovely little hamlet of Rhinecliff, a few strokes from the Amtrak station and less than a 10-minute drive to downtown Rhinebeck. Yes, yes, the ceilings are low, which is always the case in these very old stone houses of upstate New York, but those beams are quite amazing. This is a place to take your friends and impress the heck out of them. It’s on five acres, very close to the Hudson River, with lovely landscaped grounds, and — score! — a great little one-bed guest cottage (the kitchen in the guest house is far more appealing to me than the teal-slathered kitchen in the main house) and artist’s studio. I imagine that the upkeep of such a place is rather strenuous. You’ll need some version of a caretaker if you’re not going to live here full time, or if you’re going to live here full time but still have some room in your schedule for, you know, work. (We do plan to do a post on caretakers for second homes soon, btw). Taxes, alas, look to be above $13,000. Save some room in the budget for that.

Here’s one incredible thing about this place: central air! In a 300-year-old house! For some reason, that gives me extra faith in the renovation. Please buy it and let me have the guest house! Slideshow below, and stats on the jump.

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You don’t have to be in the market for a baby lamb to enjoy this one. The Dutchess County Sheep & Wool Festival, in Rhinebeck this weekend, is my idea of heaven, even though I have no plans to add livestock to my pet menagerie any time soon. Wool and yarn for sale, herding dog competitions (just like Babe!), pumpkin carving, cooking demos, a full schedule of activities for kids, and lots and lots of fuzzy animals. Can anything be better than a critical mass of border collies and hand knit mittens set against the backdrop of a pretty Hudson Valley town at the height of fall foliage? I think not.

Am I right in calling this place a Gothic cottage? The listing says colonial, but that vertical siding has me confused, although it also has classic Greek revival eyebrow windows, so…a mishmash. I’m doing the best I can considering a decade has passed since my architectural styles class in urban planning school.

Anyway…point is: I like it. It’s in town, a block from Upstate Films and the hubbub of downtown. It has lovely windows on the first floor, and a cute yard, and a nice livable size at 2,200 square feed. Three beds and two baths, and, yeah, vertical siding, which gets me every time. Anybody interested? Stats on the jump. (more…)

Does anyone else think this place is adorable? Okay, so it would be more adorable if it were in a woodsy setting on a private lake, but it’s just a block or so away from the little lake near downtown Rhinebeck (can’t really swim in it, but it’s nice to look at), and it has lots of potential for charm. You’ll probably want to do something about all the wood paneling, but the leaf-green built-ins are sweet. Somehow they’ve packed over 1,400 square feet into this little Rhinebeck cottage (the listing calls the style “split level”–why’s that?). The taxes seem bizarre to me, though–over $5,000? Hm. Stats on the jump. (more…)