Town of the Week: Hillsdale

  |  September 17, 2012

In some ways, Hillsdale hews itself more to Great Barrington than Hudson, though it’s near equidistant between the two relative metropolises along this latitude. (Well, Great Barrington is actually 10 minutes shorter, but it feels as long since you cross state lines).

It’s accessible by public transit — the train to Hudson or the bus to GB — and has just about all you need in its tiny town: an IGA, a couple of antique shops, a library, farmers’ market, flea market and some first rate diners. If you’re a skier, it’s steps to Catamount and other ski resorts. If you want country but culture, you’ve got the galleries of Hudson, the theater and fine dining in Great Barrington. In the summer, you’ve got the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (full disclosure: several members of our family perform there every year), a hop-skip to Copake Lake and all the other wonders of Columbia County.

The town, as you’ve probably guessed, is small and rural: less than 2,000 folk, and it includes an intellectual commune of sorts — our frequent stop, the Hillsdale Neighbors.

At the time of this writing, there are about 125 homes for sale, with an average listing price of $625,000. Are you gasping? There are bargains to be had here, but there are also a few pristine, luxurious properties that inch up the averages. Median sales price, on the other hand: $130,000.

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