We are avid travelers. However,this year due to the pandemic, we have cancelled two trips. We are both working at home and wished that we had a place to go to locally for change of scenery. While we have mountains and beaches within 2 hours of our home. It would be nice to go spend a week or weekends to a place where this is at your doorstep. After binge watching the DIY channels. I started trying to convince DH, that maybe we should look into a small, not too expensive, vacation home on a lake. I love the beach but hurricanes and nor’easters would scare me.
We are in New York. I am looking at places that are within a 5 hours drive. I would like something with a view (lake, mountain, beach) and a quaint town with good restaurants. We love to hike, have two dogs and also enjoy the beach. We love Cape Cod and our daughters live in Boston so it would be a great place to have them join us, but the homes are pricey. Looking under $250K, if that is realistic, and preferably a townhome in a community, for less maintenance. I have looked at the Adirondack and Finger lakes area (love the wineries and waterfalls) but the homes appear to be much older. An offshoot of the 5 hour drive is Wilmington, NC. It seems to have all we are looking for except the long drive. If restrictions ever lift we will take a drive down to look around.
Would love to hear your suggestions. We are in no rush but something to start exploring while the interest rates are low.
Condo/town house along the CT shoreline? Look at New Haven County towards New London. Most of these towns have fancy estate type homes along the waterfront, but several have condo complexes also with either river or lake views. North of Danbury-- I think there are a couple of townhouse communities near Lake Waramaug and Candlewood. Look North along the Hudson (past the commutable towns where everything is expensive) so maybe North of Beacon?I don’t know that anything in Rhode Island will come in at your price point but it’s worth reaching out to a realtor. Some of those towns are beautiful.
No expert but new condos in some of the areas you’d like might not be an option. You might have to buy existing and update a little.
Ithaca area sound about right. Maybe the Berkshires? Rehoboth Beach in Delaware. No sales tax. Lots of retirees there. Burlington, VT which isn’t too far from Montreal.
Check out houses/cottages near West Hill Lake in New Hartford CT. Waterfront is well over $700,000, but smaller cottages with beach rights or beaches are less costly.
Look at Woodridge Lake. This is a private community in Goshen CT. These are year round homes, some more pricey than others. A lot depends on their location within the community. Whew…I just looked and those houses sure are more pricey than a year ago!
Agree you might find something around Candlewood Lake.
Another one to look at is Bantam Lake in CT.
All these areas are under 3 hours from NYC.
What about Wells or York Maine? I think those would be 5 hours for you.
Southern NH might work too. Look for something around Chalk Pond.
I am actually in Putnam County not NYC. Sorry, I should have mentioned that as everyone does think NYC. Therefore, some of these are drivable within an hour for us.
Thank you for the suggestions, Maine is a nice option as well as Burlington. I will be up in Lake Placid, hopefully in several weeks. I will see if we can drive over and take a look at Burlington by Lake Champlain and near Montreal love the idea. We drove down from Montreal into Vermont years ago and it was beautiful. I have been up to Lake Winni in NH but not Chalk Pond. I will take a look as well.
Delaware? We have only driven through it, but I do hear a lot about Rehoboth beach. I feel some road trips coming up whenever restrictions are lifted.
I have friends who live outside of NYC in NJ and they have a vacation home on a lake in the Poconos in NE PA. I forget what lake, but I know there are several good locations up there. The negative, they say, is the restaurants are not abundant or that great.
The drive to Rehoboth is fantastic until the last 45 minutes which can take three hours on a Friday. It is the preferred weekend home destination for folks in DC, Baltimore and even Philly and the traffic can be insane.
If you want a place with an easy pop in/pop out vibe, I think the other options mentioned are more convenient.
Burlington VT is both on a lake AND a college town- so it’s got a great funky vibe to it. That’s a terrific suggestion.
Check out the Belgrade Lakes in Maine. Not so sure about condos, but they are beautiful and the price range is right. Also, they seem to have a number of year round residents (which can be nice.)
There are condos near Shawnee Peak, where there’s also a lake. And winter skiing.
Spofford Lake in NH is lovely. Seconding Sunapee in NH and Bantam in CT. Probably too far, but anything near Acadia National Park would be beautiful too (Somesville is a nice quiet town), where the mountains meet the ocean. Gorgeous. Not sure about condos in any of these locations, but you might find a small house that’s in great condition and low maintenance.
I would look at the Eastman community in Grantham, NH. It is a pretty big association property with a lake with beaches, golf, cross country skiing and it is in a gorgeous area. While there may not be many restaurants right there, there are 2 college towns nearby (New London, home of Colby Sawyer College and Hanover, home of Dartmouth). West Lebanon is a bustling place too with restaurants and shops. All 3 are less than a half hour away. I grew up in the area and it is on the short list for potential retirement spots.