The “NY Times” recently described Beacon as “a quirky town that lures creative types many on limited budgets — who shy away from more conventional suburbs”. Indeed, the town that had been run down since the 1960’s is making a comeback as an artist’s haven. Beacon is now home to many galleries, a major modern art museum, antiques shops, yoga, pilates and new age centers, a wonderful health food store, cafes and some exceptional restaurants (although the town could use even more).
PROS
- Homes in town are walkable to Main St, train and river.
- The area is not lacking in culture. There is a vibrant art and music scene.
- Most newcomers are looking to become part of the community.
- Affordable housing stock
- Hudson River, Mountains, Hiking
- Commutable to NYC
- Major highways right near town makes this easily accessible.
CONS
- Although trains take an average of 1 hour, 15 minutes to get to GCT, they are 1 hour apart during off peak hours.
- Tale of Two Cities: Natives and newcomers don’t often mingle.
- Shop owners tend to keep whacky hours. Main St is dead on days DIA doesn’t open.
- Most of the housing stock is very average. There are only a handful of extraordinary homes.
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Hey, I found your blog through Apartment Therapy this morning. I love your “about” story — you have very lucky pets! Beacon sounds like a very cool place to live – the description sound like Asheville, NC, where I went to college, kind of crunchy, big emphasis on the arts.
I haven’t had the pleasure of renovating a home yet, as I’m still just a renter, but your story is very inspiring. Can’t wait to read more about your reno adventures!
Comment by Erin — September 14, 2007 @ 10:09 am
Thanks, Erin! Everyone started out as “just a renter”. Just enjoy life while you still can…before you buy your first money pit, I mean, home.
Comment by RH — September 14, 2007 @ 12:10 pm
So you say Beacon is crunchy-do you know if it’s gay-friendly?
Comment by Jessica — September 14, 2007 @ 2:35 pm
Hmm, I’m under the impression it is. But then again, I don’t associate with any of those intolerant folks around here anyway.
But don’t take my word for it:
http://www.outfrontblog.com/2007/01/beacon_of_hope.html
Comment by RH — September 14, 2007 @ 3:41 pm
[...] former Park Slope resident who left for the greener pastures of Kensington. She briefly considered Beacon until some artist friends of hers told her it can be a bit [...]
Pingback by reclaimedhome.com » NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair — December 10, 2007 @ 6:36 am
[...] just that the media tends to hype things a bit much. Even I’m guilty of calling Beacon an artsy fartsy crunchy granola paradise. We checked Beacon out because of the buzz. We weren’t fooled by all of the NY Times [...]
Pingback by reclaimedhome.com — January 7, 2008 @ 6:43 am
[...] What are the chances of that? A Spanish villa inspired (realtor says English) stone house in Beacon and a sweet Victorian in [...]
Pingback by Reclaimed Home: Green Low Impact Housing Renovation of New York, Brooklyn, New Jersey — April 7, 2010 @ 7:11 am
[...] I wrote one of these location posts, simply because I ran out of places to review. My original Beacon post was in 2007, so it’s time to update since I’m working on a web page for my [...]
Pingback by Reclaimed Home: Green Low Impact Housing Renovation of New York, Brooklyn, New Jersey — April 27, 2010 @ 6:13 am