POUGHKEEPSIE POOP -- $1,569 ?!? Are you kidding me?

Here's one of the things that boggle my mind about the Hudson Valley -- the rising cost of rents. I mean, we're 75 miles from NYC folks. I know a lot of people from the city have moved up here, but it's not exactly like we're a borough, or even a suburb.

Yet housing costs continue to skyrocket.

For instance ..... just saw that Hudson Harbour Apartments in Poughkeepsie, just off Route 9, is touting a 3-bedroom apartment starting at $1,569.

$1,569. Ridiculous. Even if you get heat and hot water included, $1,569 for an apartment is absolutely crazy. It's an apartment. You probably don't have a garage, you're surrounded by people and separated by paper-thin walls. It's not a single family house. It's not even a two-family house.

When we lived in North Carolina last year, we rented a single family house that was 4 bedrooms, an office (or fifth bedroom), 2 1/2 baths, 2 car garage, enclosed backyard and was on a cul-de-sac. It was also 2,400 square feet. The rent? $1,325, and this was in Mooresville, a rather high-end suburb of Charlotte where a ton of NASCAR drivers, owners and crew chiefs live. Moreover, if you check out the housing trends on a month to month basis, you'll find that Charlotte is one of only one or two cities in the Top 25 metro areas where the real estate market is thriving.

So, to recap: 3 bedroom apartment, surrounded by tons of people in the same building, small space vs. 4-5 bedroom single family house, 2,400 square feet, and it's almost $250 LESS.

All I can say is, wow.