Help me Walden out on the cheap, outside NYC?
October 10, 2010 7:00 PM Subscribe
Help me Walden out on the cheap, outside NYC?
I need to get away and just sit in the woods for a while with books and do writing. An obvious answer is just to camp, but I don't have any supplies. Any ideas.
Ideally outside, NYC - accessible by train or bus or both.
On the cheap and super minimal. Any ideas?
I need to get away and just sit in the woods for a while with books and do writing. An obvious answer is just to camp, but I don't have any supplies. Any ideas.
Ideally outside, NYC - accessible by train or bus or both.
On the cheap and super minimal. Any ideas?
(By the by, you'll have plenty of time to think/write/ponder on the bus).
posted by scblackman at 7:07 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by scblackman at 7:07 PM on October 10, 2010
The fall colors around New Paltz will be getting good in the next couple of weeks. You could take a bus to New Paltz and stay at the local hostel. I stayed there a few years ago and thought it was a nice place. During the day, it should be pretty easy to hitch a ride with climbers or hikers to the Mohonk Preserve or Minnewaska State Park, they're both great.
posted by otolith at 7:26 PM on October 10, 2010
posted by otolith at 7:26 PM on October 10, 2010
Eh, if you don't know what you're doing, please do not camp in the winter time, do it in the summer time. You may die, if you're not prepared. I'm not joking. That is all.
posted by alex_skazat at 7:49 PM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by alex_skazat at 7:49 PM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you're talking about a long-term Walden-like situation, not just a weekend away, you could try to get a housesitting job. You take care of someone's summer home during the winter -- though they might want to spend Christmas there, in which case you'd need to spend Christmas somewhere else -- and you get the hell out of there in the spring. You keep the place clean and occupied, the heat and lights on, and discourage break-ins and mold and frozen pipes. When the owners come back in the nice weather, the place is spotless and functional thanks to you. If something bad does happen while you're there, the owners could be thousands of miles away, so you're the person responsible for getting the police or plumber or glazier or whoever is needed, making sure the problem is resolved quickly and economically while keeping the owners in the loop but minimally inconvenienced. Try for places where people with a little money build their summer homes. Martha's Vineyard, for example, could be a very lucky gig for you.
There are organizations that match homeowners to sitters. Do you have any home maintenance skills? Good references? If so, you could be just the right person for such a job. Tell them what you intend to do -- sit alone and write Gatsby Revisited, not party every night with your crazy city friends -- and you might get a job.
posted by pracowity at 12:41 AM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
There are organizations that match homeowners to sitters. Do you have any home maintenance skills? Good references? If so, you could be just the right person for such a job. Tell them what you intend to do -- sit alone and write Gatsby Revisited, not party every night with your crazy city friends -- and you might get a job.
posted by pracowity at 12:41 AM on October 11, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Shouldn't cost you more than $50. $15 each way for the Fung Wah, probably $5 each way for the MBTA. A few bucks for the T.
posted by scblackman at 7:06 PM on October 10, 2010 [1 favorite]