KENT—A drive down country roads, brilliantly fringed by trees decked out in autumn colors, is definitely a leisure-time favorite among locals and visitors, alike. In 2010, Yankee magazine honored Kent by naming it the town with New England’s “Best Foliage.”
Well, the magazine’s staff has been back in town, and this time the town won kudos as the “Best Remote-Work Town.”
The magazine looked at towns for a large range of categories in its article and, recognizing the realities of the cost of home ownership and the diverse opportunities offered by each community, it listed three towns for each designation—“best,” “worthy alternative” and “affordable.”
Kent, earning a top spot, was reported to have a median home value of $509,500. For that money, emigres can expect to enjoy beautiful surroundings, fine dining opportunities, world-class galleries, many outdoor recreational activities—and ready access to New York City.
“Sublimely scenic, surprisingly sophisticated, Kent claims three state parks within its borders, along with an independent bookstore, high-end decor showrooms like RT Facts, and restaurants headlined by Ore Hill—chef Tyler Anderson’s contemporary farm-to-table venture—just named to The New York Times’ annual best-in-America restaurant list,” the magazine reports.
All this and “robust Internet” make it the best country retreat from which to work (and to make it even better, the town is now investigating ways to boost its broadband service throughout its hilly terrain.)
“You’ll have robust Internet here,” promised staff writer Kim Knox Beckius. “ And you’ll get used to the occasional dropped cellphone call. After all, working from home is all about flexibility. You’ll have that in spades as you rub shoulders with other balance seekers walking their tots to preschool, snagging bestsellers at a library book sale, or tapping keyboards and sipping frozen frappamochas at 45 on Main.”
The ”Worthy Alternative” to Kent? Barnstable, Mass. But there you would have to deal with a population of 48,916 and a median home value of $690,000. The “Affordable Option”? Remote Berlin, NH, still three times the size of Kent, but with median home values of only $180,000.
Read more here.
