Turns out, they’re pretty groovy and not at all creepy

By Gina Kida Mar 24, 2025

If you’re curious to live in or near any of these places, check out the Hudson Valley. Here are some key locations.

The town where Mark’s house is located

Some say the popular Apple TV show has put Nyack, New York on the map (although it’s probably the superb antiquing that put Nyack on the map.) It’s a quiet, artsy Hudson Valley town with historic homes, a small town feel and it’s commuting distance to NYC. Nyack is on the West Bank of the Hudson River which is the opposite side from the long popular (and more expensive) Westchester.

The Hudson’s left bank — where prices can be a third of those in Westchester — also seems more bohemian, with an enduring legacy of writers, painters, actors, filmmakers, and musicians across a string of villages that are part of the towns of Orangetown and Clarkstown, in Rockland County. Including artist Edward Hopper who painted many of the buildings here.

Nyack is often used as shorthand to refer to several places – the three villages along the Hudson — Upper Nyack, Nyack and South Nyack — have the most in common in terms of style, history and popularity with renters and buyers. Together they encompass about seven square miles.

Nyack, New York

“Nyack is awesome – there’s a lot of great restaurants, a farmer’s market every Thursday morning, good community, the Esposito trail, and Nyack Beach path to Hook Mountain with great hiking.”

— Reddit Comment 

Nyack Details

If your politics are blue, Nyack is for you. Visitors and newcomers are often surprised that a quiet suburb would be so liberal and diverse.

What it offers:

• Nyack Beach State Park and Hook Mountain (200 million-year-old rocks anyone?)
• Upper Nyack has the leafiest lots and the largest houses, particularly along the river
• Newer homes, in Cape Cod and colonial styles, are inland.
• Whimsical Victorians, with carvings, shingles, and colorful gingerbread trim can be found in South Nyack, where streets dead-end at private docks
• The village of Nyack is a dense mix of houses, apartments, bars, cafes, and restaurants. Some large-scale luxury housing developments have gone up as well as the occasional postwar, red brick co-op
• Driving is common. To hop a Metro-North, some residents drive to Tarrytown or grab a Westchester-bound bus
• The area is full of head-turning architecture, like the Iglesia La Mision A/D Romanesque church on South Broadway, in South Nyack

Learn more about living in Nyack from LookyLoo, including reviews from locals, deep review of lifestyle, cost of living, work life, and education/schools.

Kingston, New York

Used for exterior shots of Kier, Kingston is a historic Hudson Valley town with a growing arts and food scene.

Kingston has blown up.

The secret seems to be out about Kingston, which sits on the Hudson’s western bank, just off the New York State Thruway, about 100 miles north of Manhattan. That’s due partly to the pandemic, which spurred lots of Brooklynites to ditch the city for upstate outposts. But they’d already been coming for years,

Kingston is hipper than it once was (It used to be very sleepy) but its history predates the United States (with plenty of surviving architecture) which still gives Kingston, on its river perch a bit of a Williamsburg North flavor. 

Kingston was thought of as a good spot for Canadians to stop on their way to the Jersey Shore.“I’ve seen quite a dramatic turnaround,” Mr. Nutley, 56, said of the wave of new residents he has seen arrive in recent years.

Kingston has three distinct districts: Uptown, which includes the historic Stockade area; Midtown, which is bisected by Broadway, the city’s main drag; and Rondout, near the creek and river, to the south.

The Stockade, which covers about eight blocks, is walkable, with preserved Dutch and Colonial architecture. Wall Street and North Front Street offer shops and eateries. Two-story wood-frame houses, with porches that reach the sidewalk, are common in the residential blocks of Midtown. 

Rondout, next to the creek of the same name, is home to the Hudson River Maritime Museum, Rip Van Winkle II excursions, and the T.R. Gallo Park with live banjo music.

Near the Wurts Street suspension bridge is a loop called Presidents Place. This name refers to the fact that there are houses that were built for the shipyard titans, steamboat company presidents and brickyard owners.

“Kingston is a great place if you love the outdoors but also want the amenities of an increasingly happening city. Hiking trails, winter skiing, boating of all varieties, excellent restaurant scene, lots of creative folks.”

— Reddit Comment 

“We can still kind of live the life we were living, Kingston has more of a big-city vibe despite being nestled in the Hudson Valley.”

– 34-year-old Data Engineer NYC Transplant

Kingston Details

• The Trolley Museum of New York, which has displays of American trolley, subway, and rapid-transit cars, offers 1.5-mile trolley rides on weekends and holidays along the Rondout Creek waterfront to Kingston Point Park
• Vinyl and bookshops – Rhino Records describes itself as a lovingly curated collection of used LPs, CDs, and books amid Kingston’s uptown
• The Ulster Performing Arts Center, on Broadway, is in a restored 1926 classical revival theater and plays host to a variety of concerts and live events
• Many two-story wood-frame houses dating to the 19th century and larger homes on the outskirts of the shopping areas
• The neighborhood off of Albany Avenue, which intersects with I-587 leading to the nearest exit on the New York State Thruway, has many older houses with large yards
• Wall Street, in the Stockade District, is lined with shops and haunts featuring organic fare, baked goods and quirky digs
• Residents believe the city benefits from its diversity: African Americans and Latinos make up 30 percent of the population, according to census data.

Learn more about living in Kingston from LookyLoo, including reviews from locals, deep review of lifestyle, cost of living, work life, and education/schools.

Beacon, New York

Featured in the show, Beacon is another artsy town in the Hudson Valley with an influx of NYC expats and a mix of historic and modern architecture.

With the arrival of the Dia Beacon, this Hudson River city became a weekend destination for New Yorkers. Now, many have come to stay. Beacon is a 60-mile straight shot to NYC.

Dia, is a 300,000-square-foot facility in a 1929 former cracker-box factory, is one of the largest modern-art museums in the country. It houses works by Dan Flavin, Louise Bourgeois and Richard Serra, among others. Reservations required.

Beacon has green edges and hiking is the new scene, even for those who have never laced up boots, residents say. but it packs its ethnically diverse population of 14,000 into small lots which means it can feel a bit gritty, as might any former mill town in transition.

There is a jumble of architecture. Verplanck Avenue mixes late-19th-century houses with 1960s ranches and 21st-century colonials. Older buildings often look newer due to synthetic siding. Victorians line High Street, where bright colors and trim paint the scenery, and there are former factories turned condos with mountain views.

Beacon Details

• Sixteen sites are on the National Register, including a portion of Main Street near Cross Street that was once the heart of Fishkill-on-the-Hudson, a previous settlement.
• The rapid pace of development, which has bulldozed one-story structures in favor of four-story versions, has irked some residents. A four-story, 24-unit luxury rental, for instance, led to a new height cap.
• Metro-North Railroad’s Hudson line stops in Beacon. Six trains depart between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on weekday mornings, and the trip to Grand Central Terminal takes about an hour and 40 minutes.

The boardwalk in Madam Brett Park, which contains the ruins of a former hat factory, is close to where Fishkill Creek meets the Hudson River. Credit Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

It should be noted that some places that were long considered more affordable are contending with influx from big cities, pandemic-era influx, more buyers looking for second homes and even the dreaded short-term property rental putting a strain on housing costs in these Hudson Valley locations. Still cheaper than Westchester though.

Learn more about living in Beacon from LookyLoo, including reviews from locals, deep review of lifestyle, cost of living, work life, and education/schools.