In early 2018 I decided to move from Denver, Colorado to Newburgh, New York. After traveling the world for work and pleasure, I wanted to live in a climate that allowed me to have a nice garden. Colorado is lovely, however the climate so dry gardening is difficult.
Hiking and touring the Hudson Valley reminded me of when I lived in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The landscape is lush with trees and bushes (azaleas and rhododendrons to be precise). The more I contemplated where I wanted to live the more I was convinced the Hudson Valley could be my home.
I looked at a spooky, abandoned house in Poughkeepsie that needed a complete renovation. It had the potential to be lovely, but I didn’t want it to become like Mr. Blanding’s Dream House or The Money Pit. I searched the web site Old House Dreams, Zillow and Realtor.com. relentlessly. I found a lovely home in the City of Newburgh. Unfortunately, I found it too late. The realtor told me someone else had a contract. From my living room in Denver, I continued to peruse houses. I came across a listing for a house in the Town of Newburgh. I was in luck, it had not been sold, but I needed to view it right away. I couldn’t fly to New York, so my friend Andrew met the realtor and put me on FaceTime. I was hooked. It was a quirky house with elegant details.
After putting the contract on the house, I was asked by a company to go work in Brazil. Not only was I buying a house and moving across the country I was simultaneously relocating (temporarily) to Sao Paulo for work. Undaunted, I finished packing – even though the house had not closed – and loaded up my car for New York. My car had been in storage for 9 years – another story, because of my travels to India and Germany, but after some repairs it was ready. It was early March when I set out. I couldn’t find anyone to drive with me, so I went alone – my first cross country road trip. As soon as I got to Nebraska I hit a wind storm. Trucks were pulled over everywhere – needless to say I stayed the night in Nebraska and did not press further. The next morning I got up and drove to the outskirts of Chicago, where I listened to the newscast of a major winter storm approaching. The following morning, I awoke early and started again for New York. Everything was fine until I got to Pennsylvania. The state troopers were not letting trucks on the highway, because it was too dangerous – a major nor’easter had come in. I decided not to stop and kept driving. The conditions were horrible, I was constantly afraid of sliding off the road. I didn’t need to worry about other traffic, because in the final 80 miles I saw only one other car. No one else was as dumb as me to try to drive in such weather. A desperate search for a hotel room in Newburgh finally paid off. I put my car in storage and left for Sao Paulo.
After three long months, the contract for the house finally closed (when you buy a house from a church it takes special approvals – this could be an entire blog posting), my furniture was delivered and I made a long awaited trip to the United States to really get a good look at my new home.
It has been an adventure and I would like to share it with you. Sometimes I may write about my home, the beautiful yard/garden, the Hudson Valley, cooking or other creative pursuits. Enjoy reading about my life in Newburgh, New York and please leave your thoughts.