Skaneateles, NY

Pleasant little town on huge lake in the middle of nowhere and no celebrity/.1% rat-fuck pretentiousness.

It has a beautifully preserved colonial/Victorian core, is at the head of the lovely eponymous lake, sits amidst verdant farmland, vineyards and countryside and is far, far, far, far away from the Hamptons.

Are the Hamptons considered uncool now?

The Hamptons are considered fucking annoying.

The Hamptons are ringarde!

The Hamptons have not been about “cool” since the 1970s.

Do people fly to Syracuse? It’s a long drive from NYC.

Are Kelly Rippa and Andy Cohen going to relocate?

OP = Philip Jennings, Mobile Real Estate Agent

well said, R2

*applauds*

Oops! Correcting R9, above ...That's Philip Martin Jennings, Mobile Travel Agent, Dupont Circle Travel.

The Finger Lakes are gorgeous

Well, it’s no Synedoche, NY

They are indeed, R12. Especially during a gorgeous fall like the one we're having.

So how the heck does one pronounce the town?

skan-ee-AT-las

Thanks!

What is there to do there? Any good restaurants?

It’s a five-hour drive. No thanks.

Some great restaurants including the Brae Loch Inn

[quote]It’s a five-hour drive. No thanks.

Enjoy bucolic Hoboken.

A five hour drive. Even if you take a private plane you still have to drive to and from an airport.

It’s cheap. Far cheaper than the Hamptons. Like Hudson NY, it’s about to become really chic & the next Brooklyn any day now.

I just looked. It ain't cheap.

Does it have an OnlyFans?

R8

DTMand his BF will host Kelly, Andy & Mark.

David Muir owns a $7 million house on the lake.

His sister lives in the town and grows heirloom tomatoes and sells flowers at the local farmers market.

Upstate NY is now going to get filled with insufferable rich New York cunts who will lord it over the local "deplorables" and make the place unlivable for the families there. It's already happening in New England.

R27 - do you have a picture of the house? $7 million sounds awfully steep for Skaneateles

I was there for a weekend away. There's a spa/hotel, a few good restaurants, and a charming historic street plus nice scenery, but I think one would quickly run out of activities for longer stays. It also feels a little touristy. Upstate New York is full of similar but less hyped-up towns.

R29

here’s the article.

seems like a place he can hide away from the public.

[quote] I just looked. It ain't cheap.

Sure it is. You can’t get a small, old teardown house for less than $575K in the Hamptons. In Skaneateles you can buy houses for less than $200k

Pretty cheap.

I thought it was pronounced Skuh-nee-tuh-lus

Dullsville.

R33 that house is a pile of shit. It just had a $75 Home Depot makeover. And if you going to drive that far from civilization, you should be at least near if not on the lake.

I thought it was pronounced skinny-atlas.

Wow David Muir has two very large homes on his new property.

He gets that big yellow pile? I wonder what shape it is, inside. Its a very pretty, not pretentious property setting, I'll say.

Wow, that is quite a grand house. I'd like to see what it looks like after he's done with the renovations. I hope he does one of those Architectural Digest YouTube videos "Welcome to my House" or at least has it in a magazine, but I guess that's doubtful since hes so private.

[quote] [R33] that house is a pile of shit.

Find an equal house in the Hamptons that is less than $550k. My point was, Skaneateles cheap; it’s much cheaper than the Hamptons. To which someone said “I looked. It ain’t cheap.”

Well....I looked.

It *is* cheap..

You can buy a teardown for under $200k there. You can’t buy a teardown in the Hamptons, Cape Cod or the Vineyard for less than $200k. And that’s why minor celebrities buy summer homes there.

Which is what the OP asked. “Why are minor celebs buying homes in Skaneateles?”

Because they can afford it, that’s why. They’re hoping they can make it the next popular summer destination. But it’s miles from anywhere. It’s no Woodstock, which is only 2.5 hrs from NYC as opposed to 5 hrs from NYC.

What DOES Miss Muir do with all those bedrooms?

R40 ok I agree, yes, compared to the Hamptons. I was both those replies. The houses there are either complete teardowns or expensive - nothing in-between. I live on Cape Cod and up to this year there have been better deals. I've redone three houses here - the worst house in a good neighborhood. But if you're buying one for the land, your best case scenario is spending about $400 on a $200 lot (not near the lake) and then end up with a decent house worth nothing more than you put into it in a town that's marginal at best.

Trust me if you say "Skinny-atlas" somewhat fast no one in the upstate NY area would think you pronounced the town wrong.

There are a lot of nice towns in upstate NY that are nice to visit & spend a few days. But for a summer residence, it really needs to be within a 2.5 hour drive from NYC, unless you are very wealthy & have access to a heliport in the city & at your destination. Five hours of driving may be ok when you’re young, but as people have children or as people age, they’ll wind up needing to pull over somewhere to eat, or shit, or get out & stretch the cramp in their leg, or get a repair, and they’re in the middle of nowhere with nothing around. It’s risky, as well as boring. “Getting away from it all” isn’t so great after a few years when your friends refuse to drive 10 hours all the way out to see you and to look at your lake view or view of rolling hills (not really “mountains” in upstate NY) and back.

“Look a deer!” Hey, you can do that in CT an hour away from Manhattan. There’s loads of wildlife & trees once you pull off the parkway, a lot closer to the city. If you’re totally into obsessing over your family, then yeah, doing a 10 hour trip to the boonies is worth it every weekend. And there are family-obsessed people like that, especially nowadays with Instagram where parents photograph every organic vegan meal they foist on their children. (“Made this Jude-approved quinoa, squash & spinach dish!” .....”Here’s the organic autumnal pizza with roast root vegetable that’s 💯 Silas-approved! Now for some paddling in the creek before dark!”)

What kills me is how these folks travel for hours & hours to commune with nature, then drench their property in pesticides because they’re terrified their kids will get Lyme disease. “Gee, there used to be fireflies at dusk and the sound of crickets at night. Not anymore...... I wonder why? I miss the good old days that I eradicated. Oh well, time to use Roundup on the gravel driveway.”

[quote] Getting away from it all” isn’t so great after a few years when your friends refuse to drive 10 hours all the way out to see you

I’m not interested in hosting my friends and providing for their entertainment. It’s a ton of work having weekend houseguests in the country, even with the benefit of staff. My friends and I go out to dinner once in a while and that’s quite enough, thank you.

A "weekend home" is different than a summer home, or home in the country, or another vacation home. It's longer to travel to Nantucket from NY than to the Finger Lakes. The upper strata of income people are not limited to "weekend" visits. Anderson Cooper has (or had) a vacation house in Brazil.

There’s stuff to do in Brazil.

Yeah, an army of rentboys.

Some of you seem quite knowledgeable about New York State and environs.

What areas would you recommend for a NYC single middle-aged guy looking for a weekend getaway, possibly moving to in retirement? Would love to find something freestanding, charming, in decent shape for under $250K.

I'm more interested in a property near an existent community than in having friends and family drop in.

R49 Do you want to drive to this home from NY or take public transportation? If public transportation, do you want to be close to the train station, or need to take a taxi?

I'm not much of a driver, R50, but I imagined taking a train and keeping a car in the neighborhood. You're correct: I would need to think about getting back and forth from the train. Uber (or a similar service) is everywhere, aren't they?

sure taxi from station, but its added cost and TIME.

It is pronounced skinny-atlas

R53 is correct. My friend lives there and I grew up in the Syracuse area and went to school in the western Finger Lakes. I visit her often enough. The main attraction is the lake...it is pristine, looks like the Med in some spots. It is almost necessary to have a boat because that is what the main leisure activity is. The Brae Loch is in a different town called Cazenovia another lovely town that rings Syracuse, also on a lake.

Think David Muir’s “summer home” is in Sag Harbor, Hamptons. His “weekend home” is the new one at the Finger Lakes.

Think he and the boyfriend are renovating it. They are both recently following architects and interior designers. David will probably show it off on instagram, like the West Village townhouse.

David is CNY’s famous hometown boy. Wonder how his private hasn’t been reported on there.

Thinking he is more public in Skaneateles than NYC. No paps wondering around to catch him. Suspect they respect his privacy there and don’t out him.

It's only pronounced 'skinny-atlas' by natives who have that Midwestern tendency to turn short 'a's into short 'i's. Anyone else says 'skanny-atlas', pronouncing the short 'a' as a short 'a'.

Just like some natives NYers say 'New Yawk' and some native Georgians say 'Lanta'. Unless you're from there, you sound like an ass for pronouncing 'New York' and 'Atlanta' that way.

Sometimes we just call it Skinny

Upstate NY'er here, we pronounce it Skinny-atlas

Is DTM there this weekend? Is it too cold there to take his dog out on the Chris Craft today?

Sigh... I'd just like to get a look at David Muir's Skaneateles, or hold his Skaneateles, or finger his Skaneateles... (Lick his Skaneateles?)

How big is his Skaneateles?

By the way, what is Skaneateles?

R60

David gor that hunting dog to fit in with the upstate vibe.

Axel was bought from a kennel, he is definitely no rescue!

[quote]By the way, what is Skaneateles

Probably an Native American tribe, like every other weird name in Upstate.

I much prefer Schsicgnexustady. Such beautiful homes!

R49 check out Saratoga Springs — it’s a lovely town with many cultural attractions in non-covid times.

Saratoga Springs is a very long haul for a "weekend getaway" and there is 1 train, 1x a day.

I made a stopover there once. Very impressive little village. Homey. Took a boat out and it's amazing how impressive some of the houses along the lake are. Outside the immediate lake area? Blah.

Is David in Skaneateles or Hamptons?

David looks like he is upstate.

Don’t think he is that public in the Hamptons or City.

Most of the time he just hides out.

His insta story shows he was in the Hamptons!

Oprah mag rare Skinnyatlas #1

Joe Biden was married there. To the dead wife.

The lakeside homes look like towns in Italy

If I'm trying to get away from the city for a weekend, I don't need "attractions" or cultural events or shopping. I do all of that in the city. I want peace, quiet and the absence of other people.

It's where the cat was invented.

Isn't it snowed in for about half the year? Who wants to spend a weekend in that?

Skaneateles seems a little more upscale than the other Finger Lakes. Very quaint commercial area. I don't know about snow. It's not like Buffalo or places up north but I like some snow during the winter. The mansions along the lake are impressive.

I'd love to live there. But you're looking at a minimum of $500K for anything halfway decent...which I don't have.

^ that's a gorgeous house but I can't imagine trying to keep it dusted

why is there almost NOTHING on the walls? it's like a Dutch church inside

[quote] and they’re in the middle of nowhere with nothing around. It’s risky,

Oh, MARY! It's highway driving the entire route. There are rest stops, and if you meet with an accident, the highways of upstate are crawling with state troopers looking to give out speeding tickets. You won't have to resort to cannibalism.

It's pronounced Skuh-needles.

Yes they get a ton of snow up there. Syracuse, Buffalo and Rochester are some of the snowiest cities in the country. But, there are plenty of fun winter activities. We used to play broomball when the lake froze over, downhill skiing nearby, cross country trails. It is really a winter wonderland but it just drags on and on.

Stop trying to make Skinnybeatles happen.

That does NOT look like Italy.

Auburn would be better for manly men!

It's pronounced sni-ker-dü-del.

Skaneateles? That's nice, dear.

David Muir could do live location performance of “Love, Valor, Compassion”. The Victorian house in upstate NY. The dance studio above the garage. Skinny dipping in the lake.

Is David chillin in the Finger Lakes region this weekend?

Im chilling in Skaneateles this Christmas week we had some snow and then this rain and 50 degrees today.

[italic]Skaneateles[/italic] sounds like a Greek island instead of a Native American place name.

DTM has abandoned the Skaneateles this winter, maybe he and Axel & the bf will show up in the mansion for new years.