Town of the Week: Germantown

  |  July 25, 2011

Germantown farmhouse, $379,900

This week, we’ll put a spotlight on properties for sale in Germantown, a tiny hamlet just on theborder of Dutchess and Columbia Counties and along the Hudson River. A few years ago, I rented a double-wide trailer there with friends for the summer. At the time Germantown’s main selling point for me was its proximity to Tivoli (where my brother lives) and the beautiful estate of Clermont. For a buyer, those attributes remain, but so does the fact that this is the southwestern-most spot in Columbia County, which has lower property taxes than some spots in Dutchess County, just a nod to the south. It’s about 20 minutes south of the Hudson train station, and has beautiful river views if you can get your hands on the right property.

It has another big plus: the amazing Otto’s Market, which is like a small town Dean & Deluca, somehow made unpretentious. There is still little else in the “downtown,” although there’s an Indian restaurant (haven’t tried it), a Stewart’s Ice Cream (tried it all too often) and a diner along 9G, just off Main Street. There’s also a push to get local folks to shop locally, a kind of BID called 12526.biz… although I’ve always heard that the largest employer here was the rodent-breeding facility known around town as the Rat Lab.

If you’ve bought or rented or hung out in Germantown lately, send us a note or leave a comment below or in forthcoming posts, and tell us what you think.

Read On, Reader...