My husband and I are (along with our two young kids) are looking to move to New York in the next year or two to be closer to family. We're coming from California so the property prices are also very attractive to us. Last year when we were visiting family, we drove around to check out a bunch of towns and get a quick feel for them.
We're particularly interested in the New Paltz/Kingston area and the Glens Falls/Saratoga Springs area. Having only spent a day or so in each of these places, we're having a hard time deciding where to land once we leave California. The proximity to NYC from the Hudson Valley is a big draw to me as I grew up in northern NJ about an hour outside of the city and loved the ease of taking the train in whenever there was something I wanted to do there. My husband would prefer Glens Falls for its proximity to hiking and skiing. Of course, the lower property prices in the Glens Falls are are also a draw. My worry is whether there is enough 'going on' in the Glens Falls area. It seemed like it had a restaurant/music scene during our brief visit, but it's hard to tell without really spending time there. We visited during December last year and I had a hard time finding things that were open in the winter in the Adirondacks (obviously all outdoors activities are year-round, but I'm not as big of a hiker or skier as my husband)
Any cons for the Hudson Valley that I'm not considering? What about pros for the Adirondacks? The idea of being ~3 hrs from Montreal sounds appealing, but I've never actually been so I'm just assuming it's a fun city. Anything else to consider? Is there really enough going on restaurant and arts wise in the Adirondacks?
Any info on public schools in these areas would be greatly appreciated as well. As far as we can tell from scores, it seems like the public schools in Glens Falls are slightly better, but I don't necessarily trust a number out of 10.
Thanks so much to anyone who responds to this thread. This is a discussion we've been having some time and it's weighing on us heavily. We'd ideally like to move and rent for a year in our desired area so we can really get a feel for where we want to be before buying and I'd hate to 'waste' a year renting somewhere only to decide the other region is a better fit for us.
