Woodstock

Founded in 1787, the town of Woodstock (of Ulster County, NY) came into being as an Art Colony in the early 1900's. The town that actually held the Woodstock festival is Bethel NY in Sullivan County, an hour and 34 minutes from Woodstock NY. This is 60 miles away from Woodstock NY. Many who live here are artisan craftspeople who work from home, and favor walking and biking to driving more than the state average. However, a sizable portion of the populace has non-artistic careers. This diversity in Woodstock leads to a very livable and sociable place to visit and live. Plenty of local color in the best possible use of the word.

There's currently more than 5,884 people living in Woodstock today, whose homes cost around an affordable $341,000. The schools of Onteora School District (of 4166 State Road 28 in neighboring Boiceville, NY) are pretty good (for instance, Woodstock Elementary School gets a 4 out of 5 stars, and the high school has an 82.1% graduation rate). There's senior housing to be found at Woodstock Meadows (100 Woodstock Meadows Drive), great child care at First Step Day Care (223 Tinker St.), and excellent medical care (Maverick Family Health and the Woodstock Animal Hospital), as well as St. Benedictine Hospital in nearby Kingston NY and Dutchess Hospital, in Rhinebeck, NY (which is only 31 miles away). The Community Center (located at 56 Rock City Rd.) has Summer Recreation Programs for Children, and there is the Woodstock Artists Association & Museum on Tinker Street, which offers Art Exhibitions and Volunteer Opportunities. Woodstock doesn't have a town pool, but there is one at Aspects Inn and Spa (however only open to adult paying customers).

Woodstock has excellent restaurants such as The Red Onion Restaurant & Bar (1654 Rt. 212), Wok'n'Roll Chinese (Mill Hill Rd ) the Garden Cafe on the Green (6 Old Forge Road), Mountain Gate Indian Restaurant (that is some of the best in the Hudson Valley Area, located at 4 Deming St.), Ruth's Country Kitchen (located at 138 Tinker St.), as well as Taco Juan's at 31 Tinker St.).

You can find excellent night life when catching a flick at Upstate Films (132 Tinker St.), and the Woodstock Playhouse hosts Music, Theater, Dance, Film and Art. During the day, you can fly fish or enjoy toobin' down the beautiful Esopus Creek!

There's also unique stores such as the Woodstock Meats Delicatessen and Market (57 Mill Hill Rd.), Pondicherry yoga Arts (12 Tinker St.), the Emerson Country Store (Rt. 28 and Mt. Pleasant Road), the Woodstock Music Shop (6 Rock City Rd.), Woodstock wine & Liquors (63 Tinker St.) as well as The Liquor Cabinet (7 Zena Rd.), Jarita's Florist (17 Tinker St.), The Woodstock Trading Post (7 Tinker St.), BirchTree Fashions (6 Tannery Brook Rd.), The Golden Notebook, Woodstock's independent bookstore (it might be small, but it's quite magical, and has a wonderful selection of books, as well as unique events, such as visits from local artists, and workshops such as “Are You Experienced? How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art”, and more! You can find it right next to Jane's Ice Cream (yum yum!!), a very colorful store, and both are not to be missed! There's also The Reader's Quarry at (97 Tinker St.)which offers rare, used, and out-of-print books (they can be found right across from the neighborhood public library; there's also lots of parking spaces to choose from, which makes it easy to get too; it's right on State Rt. 212, north of the heart of Woodstock). They have an excellent selection of books and it's a very cozy place to be; it might be small, but you can browse for hours and never get bored! Also is the Sweetheart Gallery of Fine American Crafts (8 Tannery Brook Rd.) and the Sunflower Market (a little Pricy, but however good food---they are located at 75 Mill Hill Rd.). Also don't forget the Sunfrost Farm Organic Market & Juice Bar Cafe, found at 217 Tinker St. (Yes, Tinker St. is the happenin' place in Woodstock, but that's not to say that other businesses are worth your time as well---they definitely are, and have a charm all their own!) For instance, there's three gyms for a great workout: the 28 West Gym, Moving Body Pilates Studio, and Reflexology for the Spirit, all great choices with wonderful equipment and encouraging atmosphere!

Woodstock is a very quiet, peaceful place and is also very safe, with a very low crime rate. Whether you're living or visiting, you'll feel welcomed as a part of the community during the many Festivals and Events held here: the Halloween Parade and Memorial Day Parade, DruM Circles on the Village Green, Pet Parades, the Woodstock Guitar Festival, the Phoenecia International Festival of the Voice, the Woodstock Fringe Festival of Theater and Song, the Woodstock Writers Festival (in April), the Summer Songs Festival (in nearby Saugerties), the Maverick Summer Chamber Music Festival, the Woodstock Annual Film Festival, and the Woodstock Fruit Festival at Camp Walden in August. More programs reside in the Woodstock Public Library (located adorably at 5 Library Lane), which hosts a library forum with Poetry Readings, a Summer Reading Program with Special Guests from All Walks of Life (Bird Handling, anyone?), Booksales, Geneology Research Services, Story Activities for Kids and Teens, and More! Parks include Echo Lake, the Village Green and Woodstock Dog Park.

Whether visiting or planning to live here, you can see that Woodstock is not just a town, it's a community with a rich diversity and fun recreational activities that help bring everyone together in an unforgettable way! It's safe, is fairly affordable (especially for the working middle class) annd offers excellent education. If you're looking to live in Ulster County, why not choose Woodstock? It might not be where the legendary festival was held, but it's got plenty of Festivals to make up for that! Just come by and see for yourself---you'll wind up celebrating not just come Festival Time, but Every Day.