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Get to know Olive

Set at the eastern heel of the Catskills, the Town of Olive hugs the western basin of the Ashokan Reservoir. It’s situated near the geographic center of Ulster County and consists of nine unincorporated hamlets, the better-known of which are Olivebridge, Boiceville, and Shokan—all were relocated over a century ago when New York City flooded the Esopus Valley to create its deepest and second-largest water source. The arched Dividing Weir Bridge over the reservoir acts as a gateway between both sides of town, but it's the landmarked c.1885 covered crossing over Esopus Creek that's referenced by the neighborhood. While Olive’s past depicts a place quite literally on the move, the lifestyle here is every bit slow and relaxed, surrounded by scenic wonder at every turn. Whether you seek full-time residence or a weekend escape within easy reach of Manhattan, you’ll find Olive an ideal place to branch out.

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Living in the Hudson Valley

This cultured countryside needs little introduction. It’s been called New York’s Napa, the anti-Hamptons, or simply “upstate.” From rolling farm fields to mom-and-pop Main Streets, the region is blessed with easy highway access, train service via Metro-North and Amtrak, and even its own international airport, making it exceptionally attractive to New York City residents seeking a little more nature and a lot less bustle. Most of the area falls within a two-hour radius of Manhattan, making it practical for weekend or full-time residence. Straddling both sides of its namesake river (much is actually a tidal fjord), the Hudson Valley’s traditionally defined core consists of Putnam, Dutchess, and Columbia counties to its east and Ulster, Orange, and Greene to the west. Their mélange of art colonies, rustic-chic hamlets, and charming post-industrial cities — set to a landscape so breathtaking it inspired an eponymous 19th-century art movement — welcome infinite possibilities, from slow-paced small-town living to total off-the-grid seclusion. Bordering both the Berkshires and the Catskills, outdoor recreation runs aplenty, whether skiing in winter or climbing wilderness peaks in summer.