Carol Volk and Jules Leichter’s careers have taken them all over the world — Washington, D.C., Paris, Rome, Tel Aviv, Baghdad and Addis Ababa, to name a few cities they’ve called home. Most recently, in 2023, Ms. Volk’s work as a diplomat with the U.S. Foreign Service led her and Mr. Leichter, an economist with the International Monetary Fund, to Rabat, Morocco, for an assignment.
While there, the two decided it was finally time to wind down their international work, and they pondered where to spend the coming years.
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Given Ms. Volk’s roots in New York City, one of their sons now living in Manhattan, and an enchanting vacation experience a few years ago in the Ulster County hamlet of West Hurley, N.Y., they settled on the Hudson Valley.
“Friends of mine have a place in Halcott, and so I knew the area,” Ms. Volk said. “But when we rented the Airbnb in West Hurley, and then we visited Kingston, and we were able to visit Rhinebeck and Catskill and Saugerties, we sort of realized, wow, there’s a lot if you’re close to the Hudson.”
The couple wanted to find an area that offered the serenity of the country and the amenities of small-city life, like restaurants and big box stores. “We don’t necessarily want that in our backyard,” Mr. Leichter said. “But it’s nice to have it close by.”
In this not-too-isolated setting, they were hoping to find a home with a view, more land than just a lawn, and ample bedrooms and bathrooms for guests. Their budget ranged from $600,000 to $800,000.
Ms. Volk, who said she’s “kind of obsessed with real estate,” started the search in Rabat, spending hours on Redfin perusing properties and taking virtual walks around the block. The couple then traveled stateside in March 2024 and spent a couple of days touring homes.
Hillary Kolos, a licensed salesperson with the Upstate Curious team at Compass, said that a budget of up to $800,000 would be enough for a wonderful property in the area — though, with inventory running low, probably not one with everything on the couple’s wishlist.
“If you want to stay more to the 600 range, you can still find a great house, but you might see a neighbor, you might be a little closer to a road, it might need a little more work,” Ms. Kolos said. “If you’re looking in the 800 range, you can probably find something that’s a little more turnkey, a little more private — although we’ve just consistently been seeing the prices going up and up here.”
Among their options were homes at every level of their budget.
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