7 Things I Wish I Knew When I First Moved to the Hudson Valley

So, I have been in the Hudson Valley for a few years now, but realized the hard way that there are things that people just don't know when they move into the area and no one tells you about them.

Here are a few to share so newbies are in the know:

• You can buy beer in the grocery store, drug store and a quick mart, but you cannot buy it where you buy wine and liquor.
• You cannot buy wine or liquor anywhere in the state before noon on a Sunday. You also cannot get served wine, liquor or beer anywhere (a restaurant, etc) on a Sunday before noon, unless that place has put in for a "Brunch License" with the state. You can buy beer at 8am on a Sunday, in the above mentioned places, but you can't get one served to you on Sunday before noon. Wild, right?
•  If you put your windshield wipers on when it is raining, during the day, you are required by New York law to have your cars headlights on.
• If you try to order just a plain coffee, a regular 'ol coffee, you will get it with milk and sugar. For someone who drinks their coffee black this was an eye-opener. Took me a bit to figure this one out.
• When you tell your out-of-state friends that you live in New York, 100% of them will think you now live in New York City.
• I didn't know that the Hudson Valley is part of "Upstate New York" and depending on who you talk with "upstate" can mean anything north of I-84 or anything north of Westchester County.
• If you talk with people who live in Westchester and you tell them you live according to them, way far away, in Dutchess or Ulster county or even more north, they think that you live in the utmost rural farmland and that there are cows walking on the streets. I couldn't believe the conversation I had when I told someone from Yonkers that I live in Dutchess County. It was wild.

What do you wish someone had shared with you before you moved into the area? Let us know.