When people leave New York and the surrounding neighborhoods in search of weekends, they invariably fall into western Connecticut, the Hudson River Valley, the Catskills and other northern areas of New York, Jersey Shore and the Hamptons.
As places where New Yorkers traditionally rest, acquire second-level homes, celebrity clocks, and more, it is clear that these locales are at the top of the list.
But what about a place close to Manhattan, like any of the aforementioned hotspots, which offers almost everything we find attracting us with our second and holiday choices - historic villages and cities, amazing countryside, outdoor activities, farms, markets farms, artists, country restaurants - but they have no buzz or name recognition, at least not yet.
In the New York area, there is an area that is still ignored by the masses. Where residents already start dinner on Friday night in their stone farmhouses, while weekends get stuck en route to Lichfield, or Reinbek, or East Hampton. Even further downstream locations such as Bucks and Pike counties in Pennsylvania and Sullivan County in New York receive more information. Well, let me introduce you to a previously depressed backwater that has transformed the beautiful and comfortable country of Warren County, New Jersey.
Interestingly, Warren is surrounded by counties that are consistently among the richest in America: Hunterdon, Somerset and Morris. These are counties full of investors, highly educated labor, an abundance of so-called McMansions and quite a lot of disposable income. And, of course, some of the eastern border cities of Warren picked up on events and transplants from these increasingly impregnable neighboring areas. But, for the most part, they are locals who know or believe that they live or visit Warren County, and even then the western and northern areas are still quite rural and untouched. For most of its history, Warren County was either a mystery to those who had never seen it, nor a place to be avoided by those who had heard of their largest city, Phillipsburg, a poor industrial city that fell in difficult times.
A pleasant surprise
Four years ago, my partner Mark and I accidentally stumbled upon a village of Finesville in the southern county of Warren. While living in the suburb of Morristown New Jersey, we looked at the second purchase of a house in the country and saw a house in Baks Pennsylvania on a real estate site that we were interested in. Always for the weekend, we decided to find him. With the map in hand, we took what looked like the most direct route to Upper Bucks County, and ended up after the Muskonetkong River, along the southern border of Warren, past a collection of about fifty small but magnificent stones from the 18th and 19th centuries and buildings of carriages, known as Fineville, shortly before we crossed Pennsylvania.
Although Warren County was barely on my radar screen as a real estate agent specializing in historic homes and neighborhoods http://www.gerrykasper.com, I was stunned that there was a village of this size and quality in Northern New Jersey knew. Even more surprisingly, Mark grew up in the eastern county of Warren, and we visited the auction just three miles from Finesville, so I had some knowledge of the area.
With its roots in the mid-18th century, Finesville began as a collection of taverns, shops and mills along the Musconetcong River, run by the families of the graceful and Siegel of Germany. The village was quite prosperous throughout most of its history, but declined during the twentieth century. Today, local residents bought and restored many of their buildings and, indicating its growing high-class nature, two vineyards, a winery, an antique shop and an alpaca farm set up a shop in the village. Some of the restorations were so impressive that two Finesville homes were recently featured in national home and garden magazines.
At the time when we discovered this, a Georgian stone colonial stone was sold in the village. The exterior was in some kind of malfunction, the plaster was cracked and flaked, and the original front doors disappeared. But the location in this unspoilt and unusual village was beautiful, and the price of $ 135,000 was irresistible. Inside, we realized that it was our dream home in the country. The interior was almost completely untouched with a fireplace, stairs in the closet, beamed ceilings, wide wooden planks and original windows - a jewelery box in the house that just needed some layout. And so we bought and restored this house and received an award for the preservation of historical monuments of Warren for our efforts. Even better, because of the Warren County portfolio, we were able to sell our main home in Morristown and constantly move into the country.
Villages and countryside
Warren County is full of hidden and beautiful villages and towns, such as Fineville, and from the moment of their arrival some of them have seduced us to consider moving.
As a testimony of Warren County, less than stellar reputation, a sign welcoming visitors to its constituency, describes the Victorian Belvidere as "New Jersey's best secret." Belvidere is a sleepy city located off the beaten track and scattered over the Green Green tree in New England. Every September, the city celebrates Victorian days, emphasizing the prevailing 19th century architecture, which builds streets and forms the basis of a small commercial area of the city. Most of the great houses have already been restored, and in this small cohesive community reigns great pride. Its location directly on the Delaware and Pekesta rivers also makes it a good base for outdoor activities.
Warren North County offers a scene that competes with the most beautiful in New England. Hope is a single pass intersection founded in the 18th century by a group of Moravians who left an impressive collection of stone houses, which are now restored and transformed into factories and residences. One of them is a former cartilage, turned into a hotel and conference center. Stone and waffle houses surrounded by cows and sheep represent a landscape resembling the hills of Lichfield. With little commercial development, the pace at Hope is obviously slow, but it just adds to its appeal.
To the north of Nadezhda, there is a slightly larger village of Blaistown with a recently renovated collection of shops and restaurants, which is currently seen in the National Register of Historic Places. The main street is booked by a prestigious preparatory school and a city postal store. This is a pedestrian village, a good walk for an hour with a weekend to visit and poking around the shops and quiet streets.
West of Hope and Blaistown, there are outdoor activities in the National Recreation Area of the Delaware Reservoir, which includes part of the Appalachian Trail, Millbrook, a recreated 19th century village and Peters Valley, a colony of artists that offers regular shows and exhibitions.
On the eastern edge of Warren, Hackettstown still retains its 19th-century feel with impressive colorful Victorian houses, antique shops along the main street and a century-old college in the middle.
Phillipsburg - Industrial City Reborn
As beautiful as the countryside of Warren, this is the city that we initially tried to avoid, which captured our imagination and could ever tear us away from Fineswil. The county’s largest city is a small, formerly industrial city and transportation hub along the Delaware River that has been ignored for many years. Think Hoboken New Jersey or Hudson New York before gentrification. Fortunately, this neglect, as in most of the counties of Warren, has retained most of its historical fabric intact and over the past 20 years, building owners have polished the old aluminum siding to show stunning architecture.
The city actively encourages business recovery and development - Phillipsburg businesses charge only 3% sales tax, and some of this money will be spent on revitalization projects. Progress was slow, but now there are several highly regarded restaurants in the renovated city center, as well as antique shops and several specialty shops. A trip along the Delaware River begins in the city center and is popular in the summer, as well as for Halloween and winter holidays. On Thanksgiving, Phillipsburg High School plays its rival Easton Pennsylvania in its annual football game. P, as is known to locals, is extremely convenient, since routes 78 and 22 pass near the city, as well as an express bus to Manhattan, which stops at Phillipsburg shopping center.
There are several plans to transform Phillipsburg, including redevelopment of its underutilized embankment into a residential area, with the start of construction in 2006 and the re-deployment of a vacant industrial park in a new shopping center. It is rumored that the bed and breakfast is scheduled to open in a historic stone tavern near the Delaware River Bridge. Phillipsburg was named the site of the New Jersey Museum of Transportation and Heritage. Unfortunately, legislation to provide funding for its implementation has stalled and appears unilaterally. Nevertheless, the city seeks to build its own museum and has plans already in the works.
Only across the river is Easton Pennsylvania offering more restaurants, the Crayola factory museum, a very popular local grocery store (which may have a branch in Warren County), a thriving community of artists, the State Theater, and the Hill College Historical District. Even more fascinating, there are several luxury condominium projects currently being built or planned at existing Easton historic sites, such as the former Easton Hotel, which will bring wealth to people within walking distance of downtown Phillipsburg.
Phillipsburg has great bones and incredible architecture. The South Highway at the Delaware River Bridge has been largely restored and is ready to become the next cold spring in either South Norwalk or New Palts. And prices are still a relative bargain. Last year, we acquired two historic sites on Phillipsburg’s main street: 1887 fire houses for $ 60,000 and a 19th-century colonial colonial flavor for $ 90,000.
As the city continues to liven up, we view the transition to colonial as our permanent home, so that we can wake up on Saturday morning and walk to our favorite breakfast place on the street. Although we will probably keep Finesville’s house as our place in the country.
