Ulster County City Lands at Bottom of National List for Homebuyers
I was scanning the news online the other day when I came upon a story on newser.com that kind of surprised me. It was an article about the best cities in the country for prospective homebuyers. The rankings were based on value, how nice the city is, and jobs available. The city at the top of the list is Elkhart, Indiana. That might be surprising to some people, but that wasn’t the part that surprised me.
One Hudson Valley City Lands at the Bottom of the List
I was more surprised by something I saw at the bottom of the list. Out of 300 cities, Kingston was way at the bottom at number 295. What? I love Kingston. Kingston is a city full of history and they’ve got great historical sites to prove it. It was even the first capital of New York State. The houses in Kingston are lovely and historic. And there are plenty of great new houses, too. Of course, like so many in cities in New York, housing is not super cheap, but it’s not the most expensive either.
And there is so much to do in Kingston. The live music scene is strong, especially with its proximity to Woodstock, just up the road a few miles. Kingston also has two busy shopping areas. The Uptown Stockade district and the Rondout area are right on the water. Both areas have great shops and restaurants. Plus, the Ulster Performing Arts Center is one of the best music venues around, and it’s right in Midtown Kingston. It sure seems like a nice city to live in my opinion.
Other Hudson Valley Cities Score Poorly Too
Kingston isn’t the only Hudson Valley area to fall low on the list. The Albany-Schenectady-Troy area also landed low at number 294. Just above Kingston. The list was compiled by The Wall Street Journal and Realtor.com. I suppose I can’t argue with the numbers, but I do think that maybe there is a lot more to consider when deciding where to live, and I’d rather live in Kingston, NY than Elkhart, Indiana any day.