I will be starting school at the Culinary Inst. of America in early 2003. What is the Poughkeepsie/Hude Park area like. Living, rent, people, weather, etc?? I've been to NYC lots, so I don't need any advice there. Thanks!

ttt

Good luck with your studies! The area is very serene and beautiful. You will love it! The CIA should be able to direct you with respect to living arrangements. I have a friend who studied there and arranged his apartment through the CIA directly. I take it you have read Kitchen Confidential by Tony Bourdain?

It is a beautiful area, particularly along the river where CIA is located. My daughter attends Marist, a few miles south of CIA. The only precautionary note is to ensure that you see housing in advance before committing. Downtown Poughkeepsie has some rental hosuing that is decent but is unfortunately in a very dicey neighborhood.

Congratulations on going to the CIA, you'll love it! My daughter is finishing her second year there and lives in Poughkeepsie --like Owen above said the neighborhood is pretty dicey. She didn't find much help from the CIA in finding an apartment. You might want to check out the Poughkeepsie Journal on line. (pojonews.com)

CC;
Will you have a car?
Don't forget about heading a bit south or east. Wappinger Falls is a lovely area as is La Grangeville. Poughkeepsie has two parts. City of Poughkeepsie and Town of Poughkeepsie. Town is a bit more residentialand a lot nicer. Good Luck.

Thanks to you folks for the responses! Very helpful.

Don't overlook doing a search here for other things in the area - sort of of a touristy nature, but will be fun to do once you get your bearings. Try "Rhinebeck" "Hyde Park" and "Hudson River Valley" - there have been quite a lot of entries. It's a neat area to explore. Good luck at CIA!