Brainstorming for a summer "base" in the mountains

[abc]

Never thought I'd be the one asking about this...

After all, I like living in New York, especially in the summer. So I "normally" dont' go anywhere in the summer, saving my vacation time and money for skiing trips. But this new situation isn't exactly "normal"...

Boss walked into our "cube area" and announced "We don't have enough cube space. So get your remote access setup ASAP and everybody will work from home 2 days a week!" Oooops!!! Pity this didn't happen 3 months ago during ski season! :(

Well, it got me start thinking. Instead of working remotely 2 days a week out of my dinky apartment, I could potentially work remotely every other month instead! That would allow me to spend a month somewhere in the mountains convinient for good biking and hiking! Alternatively, somewhere close to the ocean for some sea kayaking and riding could be nice too, though probably more expensive...

I may not get another chance to do the same again. (I think the space issue will go away before winter, again, a pity) So I'd like to at least THINK ABOUT taking advantage of it to get a good summers worth.

The area that immediately pop to my mind is the Adirondack area, The White Mountain of NH is a very close second, though I don't know NH well enough to pick an exact location (village). Other places like Maine or Cap Cod are also potentials, which I know even less about...

Anyone else have their own favorate candidate?

The critiria is simple enough:

- It's got good nature and outdoor stuff to do. (cycling, sea or flat water kayaking, hiking, in that order)
- Not outrageously expensive to rent a place for a week to a month.
- Must have reliable internet connection and a land phone ! (I'll be working out of it, can't be burning my cell minutes on hour long meetings)
- More than 2 but less than 10 hours from New York. (closer, I can do it on weekends, further, I can't get back to the office on short notice)

I would love to do that out west. But the logistic of transporting my toys out there will be too daunting. If only I had more advanced notice of this opportunity...

Let the summer begins!

 

[vanhoskier]

I vote for the Adirondacks. One of my most favorite places; it even rivals the West for me. Places in and around Lake Placid can be expensive, though. Still, tons there to do, and taking a sea kayak out on the lakes up there is awesome....you can paddle for many miles.

Somewhere along the Maine coast would be pretty sweet as well.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Just a quick heads up if you are considering Maine, New Hampshire or Vermont and need a land line, per what you indicated: phone company to these 3 states, Fair Point (of NC, bought landlines in these states from Verizon in 07), is currently in Chapter 11, has performed beyond poorly, and I have heard of people having to wait up to 6 WEEKS (at least in Maine) to get new land line phones. Find out way ahead if you're set on something in these 3 states.

Since you enjoy the Adirondacks so much, shouldn't that be a prime consideration?

Unless you like lots of crowds, coastal Maine isn't a great choice. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Highway 1 along the Maine coast is one slow-moving parking lot...and everything within a mile of the coast line is vastly overpriced. Perhaps not crowded or overpriced to someone from NYC (which is why there are so many NY license plates on the Maine coast all summer??).

But do look into that wait time for a phone if VT/NH/ME.

 

[abc]

Since you enjoy the Adirondacks so much, shouldn't that be a prime consideration?

Yep! I'm more of a mountain person than that of a beach person anyway. Just exploring whatever I might missed. Maine coast does have a reputation on good sea kayaking...

Unless you like lots of crowds, coastal Maine isn't a great choice. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Highway 1 along the Maine coast is one slow-moving parking lot...and everything within a mile of the coast line is vastly overpriced.

I thought about the over-priced part, but hadn't thought of the crowds. Thanks for reminding me of that. Crowding had been my concern of White Mountains also.

Though to be fair, the high peak region of ADK isn't exactly cheap either. And that happends to be the area where kayaking (big lakes) are also. Still, I doubt it's nearly as busy as coastal Maine.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

True about the sea kayaking. You might want to look up some of the less-touristy towns that surround Penobscot Bay: Belfast, Searsport, Bucksport - might be more affordable than others like Camden, Rockland. Also to consider: Maine has pretty major tides. Low tide is unnavigable here, period. So you are confined to the lunar clock where anything ocean is concerned.

Not an issue on inland lakes! If you want to go as far as inland Maine, give me a shout. It's way more affordable (and way more remote) than NH/VT. However, there is that PHONE ISSUE...

I've done Lake Placid in July, and while it's busy (esp on weekends and during the big horse show), it really isn't as busy as the Maine coast which is hundreds of miles of traffic jams (seriously...). It's just easier to get away from the action centers in ADK. Lots of outlying towns. What about Lake Champlain area?

 

[2ski2moro]

I live just north of Saratoga Springs. Late July to Labor Day is Track Season (thoroughbred horse racing) and all lodging is at a premium. If you wanted a seasonal rental, there might be something around Skidmore College to sub-let for the whole summer. It wouldn't be in the mountains, but you would have the amenities and be close enough to drive. From my house to Lake George is around 30 minutes, Lake Placid in 1.5 hours, Killington in 2 hours, 3+ hours to Montreal, Boston, or NYC.

If you want me to look for something specific, I'll be happy to try. You might want to PM SnowflakeADK. She lives north of Lake George Village and might know of something else.

 

[abc]

Thanks for the offers to help. I'll have to think about the whole thing a bit before pulling the trigger. I was originally thinking a bit further north, closer to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake areas.

(Lake George strikes me as rather crowded and touristy, at least during peak season. So I'm not surprised it'll be pricy. That's for the same reason I'm not considering Catskills too seriously)

Lots of outlying towns. What about Lake Champlain area?

That's a good idea. I'll give it some more thought.

And yes, inland Maine, Moosehead Lake......

(plus Baxter, 100-mile wilderness...)

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^ Ah, yes, but......reliable internet connection: something else that might be an issue in Maine. Wilderness and high-speed internet do NOT go hand in hand! Internet service is poor here: very little high-speed outside of cities - some cable, some DSL, NO fiber optic anything. Get this CONFIRMED wherever you go. Many have moved to Maine with the presumption that they would be able to at least get DSL (which isn't as fast as cable) only to find out otherwise! They wind up having to buy costly packages to run through their cell phones, or the dreaded and not great satellite (also very expensive).

I live about a mile outside of a town, and we have only had DSL here since 05.

 

[vanhoskier]

There are a lot of outlying towns close to the High Peaks region that probably have cheaper rentals.....Wilmington and Paul Smiths comes to mind. The wireless connection may be an issue. I'd call a realtor in Lake Placid or start looking at the listings online to give you an idea of what's out there. You may be able to get a better deal if you are renting for a month vs. a week.

I did a 22-mile sea kayak trip on the lakes up there....the lakes I paddled were connected by locks, which was very cool.

 

[2ski2moro]

nopoleskier is a Realtor in the southern Adirondacks. She might be able to help you find something or refer you to someone farther north.

 

[altagirl]

^^ Ah, yes, but......reliable internet connection: something else that might be an issue in Maine. Wilderness and high-speed internet do NOT go hand in hand! Internet service is poor here: very little high-speed outside of cities - some cable, some DSL, NO fiber optic anything. Get this CONFIRMED wherever you go. Many have moved to Maine with the presumption that they would be able to at least get DSL (which isn't as fast as cable) only to find out otherwise! They wind up having to buy costly packages to run through their cell phones, or the dreaded and not great satellite (also very expensive).

I live about a mile outside of a town, and we have only had DSL here since 05.

I was going to say running your internet through you cell phone can be a good option. It depends on your carrier, but I can hook my laptop up to my Verizon Blackberry while we are camping in Moab and have a lightning fast internet connection while sitting in the middle nowhere (faster than our DSL line at home). Obviously this all depends on the coverage in the area, who your carrier is, how many people are trying to use it all at once... But it could be a good option. Also worth looking into just upgrading your minutes. My husband uses an unlimited minute plan that really isn't THAT bad. And Verizon has let me upgrade to different plans for a month or two as necessary (international plans in my case), but they will pro-rate it and switch back and forth. So that might not be as bad as you think.

 

[abc]

^^ Ah, yes, but......reliable internet connection: something else that might be an issue in Maine. Wilderness and high-speed internet do NOT go hand in hand! Internet service is poor here: very little high-speed outside of cities - some cable, some DSL, NO fiber optic anything. Get this CONFIRMED wherever you go. Many have moved to Maine with the presumption that they would be able to at least get DSL (which isn't as fast as cable) only to find out otherwise!

I live about a mile outside of a town, and we have only had DSL here since 05.

Actually, that's what I thought. And since just about every small town/villages have cable (thanks to TV-addicted couch patatos plus greedy advertisers), that should work better than just about everything else except fiber optics.

I didn't have fiber optics until recently. Still that didn't prevent me from working full time from home since 2001, over a dial-up connection! (because all I do is connect to the server at work, so connection speed is not much of an issue. however reliability is more important)

Why did you go to DSL over cable? (I never tried DSL because I didn't have a phone line to start with :p)

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Why did you go to DSL over cable? (I never tried DSL because I didn't have a phone line to start with :p)

I live outside of town limits; cable was never an option. For tv, it's satellite or bust, antenna used to be possible but no more (too far from transmitters with HD). It was dial-up only for internet until DSL came to neighborhood in 05. If you do go the cell phone route, definitely check to see how much GB your plan will allow. Many people are surprised to see how much they use when online, and there are limits. I'm no longer sure how many dial-up services remain - ?? There are a few, far fewer than before dsl. The one I had wasn't bad: slow, but rarely disconnected or busy signal.

 

[abc]

I live outside of town limits; cable was never an option. For tv, it's satellite or bust,

I see.

I usually just ask about cable. Most people assume I mean cable TV. In reality, I don't bother paying for cable TV. If I want to watch TV, I can just stay in NYC and do that! I want the cable to connect me to the internet!

Cell phone is "usually" worse in terms of coverage compare to cable. I'm surprise it's the other way around where you are. (The last time I stayed in the backwood in Conneticut, I got cable alright but very poor cell coverage. So I ended up put in an internet phone instead.)

 

[ski now work later]

I can hook my laptop up to my Verizon Blackberry while we are camping in Moab and have a lightning fast internet connection while sitting in the middle nowhere (faster than our DSL line at home). Obviously this all depends on the coverage in the area, who your carrier is, how many people are trying to use it all at once...

It's so frustrating because in places like Big Sky or Snowbird I get perfect cell service with Verizon, but at my home (8 miles from Northampton, MA) service is very spotty and once I drive 2-3 miles toward the Berkshires I lose cell service all together..... So ya never know until you try the area!

 

[abc]

It's so frustrating because in places like Big Sky or Snowbird I get perfect cell service with Verizon, but at my home (8 miles from Northampton, MA) service is very spotty and once I drive 2-3 miles toward the Berkshires I lose cell service all together..... So ya never know until you try the area!

I'm with you there, literally!

I think the Berkshires must be one of the worst cell coverage. Where I was (2 year ago) in CT (Kent) was also like that, very spotty cell coverage, dropped calls every 30 seconds, etc. :( OK, I was 2 miles out of town...

On the other hand, "city slickers" from my neck of woods (I mean "concrete woods") likes the isolation when they go "away" to places with only 2-3 hours drive and feel like a different world. (I'm guilty of doing the same from time to time.) I could see how frustrating it is for the locals.

 

[Mango6112]

What about further south in ADK like 1st-4th lake? Good kayaking there.

 

[gr8outdoors]

The area of the Adirondacks near 1st - 4th Lakes does not have very good (if any) cell phone reception. You really need to be close to Old Forge (South of 1st Lake) to get reliable reception - sometimes near 4th Lake in Eagle Bay you can also get service. This is with AT&T, anyway. I think Verizon may be better!

 

[nopoleskier]

Never thought I'd be the one asking about this...

After all, I like living in New York, especially in the summer. So I "normally" dont' go anywhere in the summer, saving my vacation time and money for skiing trips. But this new situation isn't exactly "normal"...

Boss walked into our "cube area" and announced "We don't have enough cube space. So get your remote access setup ASAP and everybody will work from home 2 days a week!" Oooops!!! Pity this didn't happen 3 months ago during ski season! :(

Well, it got me start thinking. Instead of working remotely 2 days a week out of my dinky apartment, I could potentially work remotely every other month instead! That would allow me to spend a month somewhere in the mountains convinient for good biking and hiking! Alternatively, somewhere close to the ocean for some sea kayaking and riding could be nice too, though probably more expensive...

I may not get another chance to do the same again. (I think the space issue will go away before winter, again, a pity) So I'd like to at least THINK ABOUT taking advantage of it to get a good summers worth.

The area that immediately pop to my mind is the Adirondack area, The White Mountain of NH is a very close second, though I don't know NH well enough to pick an exact location (village). Other places like Maine or Cap Cod are also potentials, which I know even less about...

Anyone else have their own favorate candidate?

The critiria is simple enough:

- It's got good nature and outdoor stuff to do. (cycling, sea or flat water kayaking, hiking, in that order)
- Not outrageously expensive to rent a place for a week to a month.
- Must have reliable internet connection and a land phone ! (I'll be working out of it, can't be burning my cell minutes on hour long meetings)
- More than 2 but less than 10 hours from New York. (closer, I can do it on weekends, further, I can't get back to the office on short notice)

I would love to do that out west. But the logistic of transporting my toys out there will be too daunting. If only I had more advanced notice of this opportunity...

Let the summer begins!

Hi ABC, I Just found your message. I am realtor in Fulton County Caroga Lake Area is southern adks we do have cell service and dsl via frontier phone company &/or timewarner cable. we have 44 lakes. lots of hiking/kayaking. a nice get away is my old employer www.laplandlake.com xc ski center in winter just for lodgers in summer, no motor lake. very nice, quiet, and lodge has dsl. no phones in cabins you'd have to go into town 15minutes for cell service.
In Caroga lake, new cell tower this Fall! Summer rentals usually 800-1000+/mo in summer. we are 45min lake george 35 min saratoga, exits 27,28,29 NYSthruway west.