Beacon, New York

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.

We highly recommend visiting Beacon and staying in the community in a VRBO rather than a hotel to get a feel for living among the locals. You can also receive discounted travel fares via our partnership with Expedia.

wordsmif
1y ago
🦉🦉🦉🦉

Beacon sounds like it has a lot of what you're looking for. Politically, have both right and left, but leaning more liberal. Lots of outdoorsy stuff with the river and mountain right here. Beacon would check a lot of your wants, except price. The median home price in Beacon as of November was $497,000.

Troy is probably the most affordable of places you mentioned. I've heard some good things about the downtown coming back, getting more restaurants. I think that the home prices are a bit lower there.

After going to New Paltz several times over the years, my guess is that it might be a little too hippie for you. I can't speak to Albany. You're gonna be in the same ballpark as Beacon on housing prices in New Paltz.

If you need to regularly go into the city, though, Beacon is right on the train line. The other places will be a bigger hassle.

For more reviews of what living in Beacon is like from locals, check out The Reviews.