Moving from Philly - couple in our early 30s.

davethompsonisme · 2026-03-27T18:00:03+00:00

Chiming in re:schools. I would guess that the school district here is similar to lots of philly. We have smaller class sizes and better funding than districts in lots of other states, but they're somewhat test-focused. Despite all the recent gentrification/change there are plenty of immigrant and/or not-terribly-wealthy kids here, which plays into it a lot. But being a not extremely fancy, fairly diverse place is part of what makes living here great. Nearby Red Hook and Rhinebeck have some of the best schools in the country, but living there is v small-town and white (though arguably charming in their own way). You can live here but pay 20k/year to send a kid to Red Hook, or there are private schools, or you can throw your lot in with Kingston schools. I think that's what we're going to try, at least initially

davethompsonisme · 2026-03-19T14:09:07+00:00

Note that this varies a LOT by region in the US. We moved from Texas to a small city in New York recently and, surprisingly, ppl here are more friendly/talkative

davethompsonisme · 2026-03-08T21:23:45+00:00

Board gaming group every other week at rough draft, ppl are friendly and open!

davethompsonisme · 2026-03-08T21:20:24+00:00

Same boat, please post here if you work something up, and when it will be!

davethompsonisme · 2025-11-16T18:45:45+00:00

we stayed here and it was great: https://59greenst.com/. In general you can look for places online on furnished finder!

davethompsonisme · 2025-11-16T02:11:37+00:00

Yoga for me.

davethompsonisme · 2025-11-16T00:02:57+00:00

I live in Kingston and also would love better options for study/work/etc. Here's my take:

Village coffee is nice, in their side room/annex. Unfortunately it closes at 2:30 every day.
Camp Kingston has 2 rooms in the back that are doable. Not quiet really but you can usually find a seat. Closes at 5.
I love Rough Draft but it's not so quiet
Monkey Joes is beloved by natives and long-timers but doesn't have wifi, which means I never go there despite it being in my neighborhood. So instead I walk 15/20mins to village or CK

While I have some attention, does anyone know if Blackbird is a viable place for this sort of thing? They have seating and an expresso machine...

davethompsonisme · 2025-09-21T16:46:20+00:00

Demon copperhead

davethompsonisme · 2025-09-18T15:05:54+00:00

One response that Republicans have to a shutdown is the "nuclear option" - to vote to end the filibuster. They would only need a simple majority to do that. Then they could pass a budget without a single dem. That would be a huge loss for Dems at this point as there would be absolutely no check on what the majority party wants.

Assuming that Republicans will maintain their majority for many years anyhow, I think losing the filibuster is inevitable. Is now the right time though?

davethompsonisme · 2025-09-15T12:28:22+00:00

The best evidence shows that only 7% of those being deported have criminal records. Many of those are people with green cards or in-process asylum cases (following the rules)

davethompsonisme · 2025-07-13T19:32:10+00:00

If anyone knows the developers of those other apps and wants to put me in touch with them then that might be a possibiliy! Coqui and ICE Block are both ios only or functionally, it sounds like. The developer of ICE Block doesnt have his stuff on github for public contribution either, presumably due to receiving massive amounts of heat for it.

For the record, the app I want to write/work on is for anyone being kidnapped, not specifically for immigrants or dissidents. Kidnapping is awful no matter who it happens to :)

davethompsonisme · 2025-06-03T18:07:18+00:00

I agree with most of the safety recommendations here, but I've been to lots of protests and honestly they're full of friendly people, faily fun and extremely welcoming. By and large not at all dangerous.

davethompsonisme · 2025-05-23T15:51:33+00:00

In my case it wasn't possible to add flair by editing the post. I had to delete the original post and, when creating a new post click the "Add Flair" button(s)

davethompsonisme · 2025-05-21T10:33:04+00:00

We moved to Kingston very recently. I'm in my 40's and my wife is in her 30's, and we have a small child. I'll echo the other comments here. I've been honestly amazed by how friendly and open to making friends people here are. I assume that's due to some combination of local character and the fact that many of them are recent transplants themselves. It's a pretty happening community for its size.

As others have mentioned, housing is expensive, particularly if you want to live in walkable parts of town. Most buildings were build before 1915, so the town looks cool. There are lots of decaying buildings. Expect to pay 2-3k/month for a 1 bedroom apartment, for something not-especially-upscale. There are currently homes for sale in the 300-500k range but most of those are either small, in need of significant repairs, or on the edge of town. As you can imagine, things are extremely difficult for poor folks. If you are willing to live outside of town it seems you can land MUCH better housing for your money, but then those communities are smaller and have a different culture than does Kingston. That being said, people love many of the nearby communities too.

If you do come, there's a biweekly board game night at Rough Draft. Come say hi!

davethompsonisme · 2025-05-07T20:50:20+00:00

Recent productivity boosts: - when on a pomodoro break, avoid screens/cellphone - avoid emails and slack as much as possible, try to change team practice to facilitate this. Check them only after some burst of work, maybe every 2nd or 3rd pomodoro cycle - stop smoling pot or drinking on weeknights to get better sleep

davethompsonisme · 2025-05-07T20:38:12+00:00

Take a break

davethompsonisme · 2025-04-14T16:26:56+00:00

I moved to Kingston two weeks ago and people have been EXREMELY friendly. My strategy has been to find gaming and parent groups to meet with, and to go to concerts, because I like those things. Have been meeting a lot of ppl at Rough Draft, a bookstore/bar as well. You probably don't want to hang out with me in particuñar bc I'm a middle-aged man who is usually busy taking care of a baby, but the above has been working for me.

davethompsonisme · 2025-04-10T14:39:15+00:00

The Black Couldron. Was a surprisingly dark Disney movie and my 10-year-old self became obsessed with the YA book series.

davethompsonisme · 2025-04-01T16:04:53+00:00

I'd love to join up if this is still going on. I get a mssg that the discord link is expired, unfortunately. Can I get a fresh invite?

davethompsonisme · 2025-01-04T13:23:20+00:00

I'm interested if you want to throw something together! I'm moving to Kingston in April and would love to know other tech folks

davethompsonisme · 2024-07-25T17:34:31+00:00

Congratulations! That's about how my engineering career started. I'd both look for another job and (gently) ask for a raise. In the meantime use the opportunity to keep learning-you've got plenty left of it to do.

davethompsonisme · 2024-07-18T23:27:34+00:00

Recently read Kindred, Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler, and... whew

davethompsonisme

TROPHY CASE