Upstate’s Reaction to “Williamsburg on the Hudson.”

  |  August 8, 2011

Lots of folks weighed in on the NY Times’ article last week about the exodus of Brooklyn hipsters to towns upstate. A lot of them talked about the widespread poverty in many towns, the depressed economy that has ironically created such a ripe climate for purchasing property but has left many places with a dual class system of townies and second home owners. My favorite reaction was this piece on the Upstate rag The Daily Freeman, summed up by the sub-hed “New York City dailies caught rehashing their tried-and-true clichés.”

Some of the more thoughtful comments on the Times website captured what we think of as our audience: people looking for an upgrade to their quality of life but unable to afford it within New York City–people who want to raise families or have a yard but don’t have an extra $2 million in the bank account. Of course, as one person pointed out, the more of an exodus we have from Brooklyn to Upstate, the more of a chance that Brooklyn will become affordable again!

Read On, Reader...