Thinking about visiting the Hudson Valley Region of New York, excellent idea! Before you head over, there are just a few things you will need to know to get yourself acclimated.

Don't worry, all-in-all, the Hudson Valley Region is beautiful, and the people are mostly friendly. So, what do you need to know?

Where is Upstate New York? Is the Hudson Valley in Upstate New York?

filo/ThinkStock
filo/ThinkStock
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The Hudson Valley Region is most definitely in Upstate New York. Here is where you will get people into an argument quicker than anything else, ask them where the line is that differentiates "Upstate New York" from the rest of the state. Some people will say it is Route 84, which goes through New York from Pennsylvania to Connecticut, others will say everything north of Manhattan is "Upstate". Ask people in Westchester and you will probably get another answer, Putnam County and north is upstate to them. Tell someone from Westchester you are from the Hudson Valley, and they think that it is all farmland north of the county line and we all have cows in our yard. 

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The Hudson Valley New York is home to how many Colleges?

Vassar College Main Building
Photo by Karl Rabe
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Sitting here thinking about this question and I immediately start thinking I am leaving one (or three) out.

  • Vassar College, Poughkeepsie
  • Marist College, Poughkeepsie
  • Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson
  • State University of New York New Paltz (SUNY New Paltz)
  • SUNY Dutchess Poughkeepsie
  • Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park
  • Orange County Community College, Middletown

Should Columbia-Greene College be on the list or is that in the Catskills, not the Hudson Valley? Let's discuss that another day.

READ ON: 5 Stops to Make on the Dutchess County Beverage Trail

How will you get to the Hudson Valley New York? Maybe this way?

NYS Bridge Authority
NYS Bridge Authority
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Odds are that at some point getting into, out of, or around in the Hudson Valley, NY you will need to cross a bridge. No worries, we have a few of them, and while there is one just south of the area that no one can agree on the correct name for, here are a few that you will travel on while you're visiting:

  • Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge
  • Rip Van Winkle Bridge
  • Mid-Hudson Bridge
  • Newburgh-Beacon Bridge
  • Bear Mountain Bridge
  • Walkway over the Hudson, Pedestrian only bridge

You can walk or ride your bike over all of the above bridges, with the exception of the Newburgh Bridge, you are restricted to the walking hours of dusk to dawn.

READ MORE: 5 Things to Know about Bear Mountain Bridge

Another reason to visit the Hudson Valley? It's hard to find a bad slice.

NYC Pizzaria Pizza Pie
Getty Images/iStockphoto
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There is a tremendous number of great places to eat, drink and explore when you visit the Hudson Valley. Do you love pizza? Then you are in luck. What you will most often find is a traditional NY Slice. There are also quite a few places that are doing super thin crust pizza, Grandma style (thick almost Sicilian style), you can even get Detroit style pizza in the Hudson Valley now. Don't just try one place, try three. Don't care for pizza? No worries, there are another 25 or 30 great restaurants just down the street.

READ ON: 5 Things New Yorkers Would Not Order on Their Pizza

Love craft beer, hard ciders, mead, whiskey or vodka? Then the Hudson Valley is your place!

bhunter/tsm
bhunter/tsm
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Over the course of the last 20 years, the Hudson Valley has grown from one or two craft breweries to 60 craft breweries, 3 meaderies, 12-15 distilleries, and a dozen or so places that are making hard cider, and to be honest, I think I am vastly underestimating those numbers.

READ ON: Take a look at Dennings Point Distillery in Beacon NY

Wrong Answers Only: Why You Should Move To The Hudson Valley

The Hudson Valley can be considered an oasis or nightmare residents. A recent poll was taken on WRRV's Facebook page in regards to why people should move to the Hudson Valley. They were asked to answer this with wrong answers only.

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