Is the Hudson Valley the new Brooklyn?

We hear that the Hudson Valley is the new Brooklyn. Well we would know – because one year ago, on April 15, we moved here from Brooklyn Heights – and it has been wonderful!

What we love and why we really do rival Brooklyn:

– Restaurants! Great (and I mean GREAT) restaurants. In the Hudson Valley, local really does mean local! The CIA (2 miles down the road) trains the next generation of brilliant chefs – and a lot of them stay right here (and I hear that they also go to Brooklyn)
– Flea markets with antique, vintage, art, furniture…everything. But NOT at Brooklyn prices.
– Parks and people watching. OK, not as many people in the Hudson Valley as Brooklyn – but on a nice day, the Vanderbilt Estate grounds (across the street!) can rival the Promenade and Brooklyn Bridge Park.
– Terrific places to walk with amazing views – Hudson River with views of the Catskills vs. East River with views of Manhattan. I’ll take both!
– Incredible art – everywhere from amazing museums to galleries. If you haven’t been to DIA Beacon, Storm King, or just visited the galleries from Poughkeepsie to Red Hook – you are missing some of the greatest master works and the most talented new artists around.
– Architecture – not brownstones – but Victorian mansions, great estates, colonial homes, revolutionary era farmhouses, and even modern masters such as Frank Gehry and Aero Saarinen.
– Gardens – The Brooklyn Botanical Gardens may be one stop to see so many varieties of gardens, but in the Hudson Valley you get to drive through beautiful farmland to get to each unique garden. We have modern rock gardens, classic Italian and English gardens, rose gardens, and some with views of the mighty Hudson.
– Farmer’s Markets – all over! In the Hudson Valley the farmers are down the road. Oh, and if the farmer’s market isn’t open on that day – hey, you can visit the farm!
– The best place to buy produce, cheese, meat, fish. Brooklyn has Fairway, but the Hudson Valley has Adam’s Fairacre Farms. Of course, Adams does not charge Brooklyn prices! So stock up when you stop by.
– Bridge walking. The Brooklyn Bridge walkway is amazing, but you do have to deal with the traffic below. The Hudson Valley has the Walkway over the Hudson – an old railway bridge built around the same time as the iconic Brooklyn Bridge, the Walkway is all pedestrian and bicycles – and you can grab a hot dog on either side!

This is what we have discovered in one short year. We know it will only get better. We really did love our Brooklyn home and miss it – but if you want to find much of what Brooklyn has to offer, but with no traffic – the Hudson Valley deserves a visit!

Love to all our old friends in Brooklyn and our new ones in Hyde Park!