Millenial!
If you run out of places in the Catskills, just head north on 87 and hang a left to Fulton county, at the southern edge of the Adirondacks. Property is dirt cheap and if you bring up some bagel know how I'll be one of your best customers!
1
Need any youngish retirees in your ice cream factory? I'm ready to leave NYC myself!
Nice story!
Susan
Nice story!
Susan
1
Just sold my cute little Catskills cabin. Haven't missed it for a second.
2
Better title: Cats Kill in the Catskills.
5
As long as you're close enough to the city to get back regularly, upstate is wonderful, but otherwise it can get pretty boring. And whatever money you're saving on rent you'll be paying for fuel if you decide to stay the winter.
1
All the better reason for people who think like you to stay in the city.
Ah, another Manhattanite who found themselves in that magical land called "upstate." Oh look, bunny rabbits and geese! And now, artisanal ice cream bars for the poor country folk. What is it about New Yorkers that makes them believe, truly and forever, that the rest of the world doesn't exist until THEY discover it? Also, I feel sorry for the cats. They may get mice, but before long a coyote or other animal will get them...
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Clyde, you seem like fun!
1
He moved from Brooklyn, not Manhattan. Originally from California.
3
Well we'll people, I live in Margaretville, upstate NY. We are not uneducated hillbillies. Not every country home looks like a cabin or Grandma's house. We have all races, religion and economics living under one roof. I live in a Victorian home over looking the Catskill mountains, the cat tangent is ridiculous by the way grow up. I do agree that bringing your freeze dried organic hipster product will not fly here, it's for the tourist. But I am hopeful your are getting the organic ingredients from the area. Making a living upstate is hard and real work and
most people here have several jobs to pay the bills and they hunt to feed their families. Many of the comments are derogatory, and just plain mean. It's not just country living but small and close knit communities here. We flooded and almost lost the village during hurricane Irene. The community banded together to put the town back together. One observation is that he mentions importing friends to come from the city. You could have attempted to become part of the community, made friends. Oh by the way we have internet and WIFI, your landlord was too cheap to put it in.
most people here have several jobs to pay the bills and they hunt to feed their families. Many of the comments are derogatory, and just plain mean. It's not just country living but small and close knit communities here. We flooded and almost lost the village during hurricane Irene. The community banded together to put the town back together. One observation is that he mentions importing friends to come from the city. You could have attempted to become part of the community, made friends. Oh by the way we have internet and WIFI, your landlord was too cheap to put it in.
2
I moved to the Hudson Valley 4 years ago. I haven't set foot in Manhattan in nearly 2 years.
7
I wouldn't exchange a moment of my many years in NYC, but it'd take a team of Clydesdales to drag me back there now. I've happily exchanged the ability to visit restaurants and museums on a moment's notice with the ability to gaze off into the distance for a bit, to admire green space without having to share it or go home afterwards, and to tune in to the gathering thrum of cicadas outdoors instead of trying to tune out the shriek of crowded subways underground.
12
As a Hudson Valley resident for several decades (former NYC resident) I must question the hunters with shotguns on roadways. Not 100% sure that's legal in NYS. Definitely worth checking out. It's illegal to fire from vehicles. If they're using roads as shooting ops, that could be a problem. Except for 1 occasion (likely from out of state or downstate, they looked like they didn't know the area), I have never see this in Dutchess & Columbia counties.
Otherwise, great to see young people with an affinity for country life. Hope they give it a chance. Bit of advice, for a permanent homestead, do consider driveway length, digital access, alone time and whether you're OK w/hunting season.
The cats? Keep them well-fed, may tamp down their hunting urges and get them inside at night.
Otherwise, great to see young people with an affinity for country life. Hope they give it a chance. Bit of advice, for a permanent homestead, do consider driveway length, digital access, alone time and whether you're OK w/hunting season.
The cats? Keep them well-fed, may tamp down their hunting urges and get them inside at night.
6
A good cat will keep the rodents from destroying the hoses and wiring in your car.
As the song goes when I was 25 ........... actually, at 28 Manhattan was "it" baby. By the time I was 35 ... "the rock" was getting tired and I was always looking for a way out. I found Bucks County, PA .. and bought a few years later. That, was 20 years ago .... I have to go to Philadelphia and DC occasionally -- so upstate was not the direction for me. I see the day .. very soon when I will no longer have my place in NYC.
4
You couldn't pay me enough money to return to NYC. While I was living in NYC, I thought it was the center of the universe. I thought I could not live anywhere. It is the center of the universe. But the quality of life is really bad. There is a world out there folks. It's interesting, full of amazing people, businesses and jobs. You just need to find the State and the city that is right for you.
22
Arizona? The heat would kill me, but you are right - to each his own.
2
You hippie wannabes crack me up. Just move to suburban Cleveland, man. Or, for the truly adventurous, Des Moines.
2
What is a hippie wannabe? This is simply one person's story of his life's journey. If you have ever lived in a large city such as New York you would better understand the joys and sorrows of urban living and what draws young people to them.
Best of luck to Mr. Collignon on his endeavors.
Best of luck to Mr. Collignon on his endeavors.
35
You non-sequitur commenters crack me up.
I'm originally from suburban Cleveland. Not a bad place, but it has nothing to do with this story.
I'm originally from suburban Cleveland. Not a bad place, but it has nothing to do with this story.
19
Or, hey, Ohio.
House cats hunting bunnies and birds: Not cool, rural hipster!
26
It's what cats do, Will.
9
house cats allowed outside are a big reason for native bird population decline -- it's alarming
16
Build a wall around the cats and make them pay for it!
5
Cats kill at least 1.4 BILLION birds a year in the continental US every year, though most estimates are much higher. As Mr. Collignon likes it when the "birds come back," he should KEEP HIS CATS INSIDE--he's not seeing a fraction of how much those guys are killing.
He needs to up his game if he wants to compete with the other 300+ Brooklyn Hipsters who have moved to the country to get their freeze dried ice cream companies off the ground. We're all doomed.
He needs to up his game if he wants to compete with the other 300+ Brooklyn Hipsters who have moved to the country to get their freeze dried ice cream companies off the ground. We're all doomed.
25
I disagree with your first paragraph. Cats are animals, and exist as part of the food chain. They kill because they are predators, and there are inexhaustible numbers of small animals in the forest for them to gobble up.
I have no problem with the chain of Nature. If this gentleman is not concerned about his cats meeting their own fates in the woods, which is also natural, then I am not concerned either.
As for your second paragraph, I have yet to see words that better distill my feelings about all of these NYT articles about the Catskills.
Thank you for writing them.
I have no problem with the chain of Nature. If this gentleman is not concerned about his cats meeting their own fates in the woods, which is also natural, then I am not concerned either.
As for your second paragraph, I have yet to see words that better distill my feelings about all of these NYT articles about the Catskills.
Thank you for writing them.
10
Cats are animals just like birds. Yes, they are predators and they do kill small birds just like hawks or other predators do. Instead of getting worked up about cats killing birds think of major pollutants in the environment, such as pesticides and insecticides, which greatly affects birds.
10
Sorry Karen B. House cats are a human-introduced predatory species that disrupt nature's balance. Their feces are a major pollutant of our waterways which greatly affects riparian and wetland ecosystems. Keep em inside for the their own safety as well as the health of the environment.
2
Robert, good luck to you and enjoy the good life! As a former NYC woman who was born there I came to live under a huge mountain (the hills are ALIVE) with another mountain before my kitchen windows. I have a very large property and my back door leads into an enchanted forest with running spings. I get this water inside my home from our mountain.
Just one suggestion to make. If you can, I don't know the terms of your lease renting; STOP MOWING and instead make small pathways where you can walk freely and let that grass grow and flourish into lush meadows. After a while you will see nature come back to life in edible goodies and herbs for making your own teas. We did that here from the start and the earth thanked us with rare bountiful pleasures! We make honey from dandelion flowers and are foraging our forest. I make edleberry syrup from our trees and lilac syrup, too. We are almost self -sustainers as far as food goes with our garden. Fresh eggs from our chicks, milk from the farmer--warm!
And to those who claim its boring there they have forgotten how truly ALIVE it can be. I don't know what the word bored means since I never was in NYC or here either. I never owned a TV either. My life is like a dream here and the beauty all around me nourishes my sense of wonder, AWE, and Joy. Every day is NEW!
You couldn't pay me enough money to return to NYC. Nature chagings you heart and soul! Those stars start to dance at night in the sky. You can SEE them!
Just one suggestion to make. If you can, I don't know the terms of your lease renting; STOP MOWING and instead make small pathways where you can walk freely and let that grass grow and flourish into lush meadows. After a while you will see nature come back to life in edible goodies and herbs for making your own teas. We did that here from the start and the earth thanked us with rare bountiful pleasures! We make honey from dandelion flowers and are foraging our forest. I make edleberry syrup from our trees and lilac syrup, too. We are almost self -sustainers as far as food goes with our garden. Fresh eggs from our chicks, milk from the farmer--warm!
And to those who claim its boring there they have forgotten how truly ALIVE it can be. I don't know what the word bored means since I never was in NYC or here either. I never owned a TV either. My life is like a dream here and the beauty all around me nourishes my sense of wonder, AWE, and Joy. Every day is NEW!
You couldn't pay me enough money to return to NYC. Nature chagings you heart and soul! Those stars start to dance at night in the sky. You can SEE them!
39
Mowing keeps the ticks down.
4
Don't move to the Catskills. We are mostly zombies who eat outsiders. The roads never are plowed in winter. Parks are full of rabid animals and also deer ticks. If the deer don't kill you by jumping in front of your car, they'll toss killer ticks at you! Really. Go to the Jersey Shore or Spain or something.
21
For those of us tethered to NYC for work, having an escape hatch within 2 hours of "Metropolis", is both life saving and life altering. In Sullivan County, where I weekend, there are plenty of opportunities to buy or rent your "second home first". Come for the large parcels of land for that garden, canoe and fish on the Delaware River and become part of the growing scene of NYC escapees, without the Hamptons vibe or traffic. I always find that I need the City to appreciate the Country, and I need the Country to appreciate the City. I feel really lucky!
18
I cannot tell you how relevant and timely this article is for me. I'm a Brooklyn resident, semi-retired who wants to dramatically reduce expenses. I am researching all of the Catskills as a potential landing spot. This article has reinforced my desire to make it happen!
20
" .. I'm a Brooklyn resident, semi-retired who wants to dramatically reduce expenses .."
If you go "country," be sure to look at insurance riders for medical air evac, which can be $25,000/trip. Might be worth a few hundred dollars.
If you go "country," be sure to look at insurance riders for medical air evac, which can be $25,000/trip. Might be worth a few hundred dollars.
8
Thanks. The things us city folk don't think of! I'm sure there are other monetary considerations I am unaware of that I need to consider.
7
Not medical related but the bagels here are terrible. Tell any visitors to bring bagels.
6
Another Brooklyn hipster moving up to the Catskills! As a weekender up there, I'm happy to see them opening new businesses and bringing vitality to the area. 22 years ago when my wife and I bought a weekend house, we never envisioned it to be the cool place to be...
17
Good story. Makes me want to visit Hobart, NY.
7
Paradise can get pretty boring real soon.
This story reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode about a crook who shoots in out with the police and is killed and ends up in paradise with wine, women and song 24/7.
After a couple of weeks he is bored out of his mind, calls his angel in and said you think you can send me down there (hell).
The angel said, you are already there.
The moral of the story, this place is great for a vacation but how can you keep them down on the farm when they have been to NYC, especially Greenpoint, where I live and every young person in the world wants to live too.
This story reminded me of an old Twilight Zone episode about a crook who shoots in out with the police and is killed and ends up in paradise with wine, women and song 24/7.
After a couple of weeks he is bored out of his mind, calls his angel in and said you think you can send me down there (hell).
The angel said, you are already there.
The moral of the story, this place is great for a vacation but how can you keep them down on the farm when they have been to NYC, especially Greenpoint, where I live and every young person in the world wants to live too.
6
Some of us can leave and never want to come back--that's what happened to me. I too miss my friends, but the noise, smell, cars, crowds, tourists, incessant building, and catering to the richest of the rich that regularly goes on in NYC? Not interested.
28
Thank you for your reply Cirincis. From your point of view you are 100% right and many people agree with you.
However, the population of NYC is 8.5 million and the Catskills is a little less.
However, the population of NYC is 8.5 million and the Catskills is a little less.
2
That the population of the Catskills is less than NYC is, if not the whole point, a big part of it. Brooklyn would be a nature lover's paradise too, I bet, if it had never had a population density greater than 6 people per square mile, like the county I live in, north of the one Hobart is in. Because more people vote with their feet to be downstate doesn't mean NYC "wins" somehow, it means lots of people quite literally don't know what they're missing; for the rest we can agree it's just different strokes.
It obviously follows that no one who grew up in NYC and, having discovered the peace and joy of living upstate, moved there permanently, is eager for more than a few others to follow. (And I trust this article will vanish quickly.) Those who stay here aren't bored; some of us remain in a state of pinch-me delight at our good fortune for decades on end.
If Mr. Collignon is willing to spend just a bit more of what he's saving on rent, he can upgrade his satellite internet and stream to his heart's content, except sometimes when it's raining or snowing.
It obviously follows that no one who grew up in NYC and, having discovered the peace and joy of living upstate, moved there permanently, is eager for more than a few others to follow. (And I trust this article will vanish quickly.) Those who stay here aren't bored; some of us remain in a state of pinch-me delight at our good fortune for decades on end.
If Mr. Collignon is willing to spend just a bit more of what he's saving on rent, he can upgrade his satellite internet and stream to his heart's content, except sometimes when it's raining or snowing.
9