If you were to dream up a perfect community for quiet weekend trips from NYC, Hudson would check off all the boxes. Over the past few years, the upstate New York town has become a haven for creative-ish folks fleeing Manhattan and Brooklyn for a quieter way of life. The result is a blend between the relaxed, welcoming pace of lifelong locals and the buzzing entrepreneurial energy of city transplants who are still learning how to slow down their pace in their new home.
The best weekend trips from NYC begin in Hudson…
The streets are lined with trusty local hardware stores and diners that have been around forever alongside Brooklyn-born stationery shops that sell small-batch candles. In short, Hudson contains a lot of contrasts, but it also offers up tiny slices of charm around every corner. (Seriously: when locals would ask me how I was liking Hudson, I kept calling it “delightful,” like freaking Mary Poppins or something. But that was the only word that summed it up just right!)
If you’re an overworked city dweller, Hudson is the perfect place to escape to by train when you need to get away from life for a few days. Here’s what will sweep you off your feet when you get there…
1. Hudson antique stores
Hudson must be breaking some kind of record somewhere for the most antique shops on any given block. Hudson antique stores offer an array of storied furniture, vintage records, quirky glassware, and historic finds is unreal. And of course, each shop’s whacky displays are a sight in and of themselves. Every shop owner had a different story to tell about how they’d landed in town and where they sourced their treasures, and of these Hudson antique stores were as unique as the antiques themselves.
2. The creative culture
Did you know Hudson has its own elusive local painter who sells his work on the streets, rarely makes appearances, and is something of a celebrity? Yeah, me neither. The town is home to artists and creatives of every stripe, and that’s reflected in everything from the healing crystals sold in the local thrift shops to the flair that goes into the local decor.
