Looking for a quieter life in an arts community, a couple left Oakland, Calif., for a house in Kingston, N.Y. Here’s what they found.
Lexa Walsh and Daniel Nelson spent years making a comfortable life in the art community in Oakland, Calif., after meeting at a 2004 New Year’s Eve party hosted by some mutual friends in Berkeley.
“This handsome guy opened the door and said, ‘Hi Lexa. Do you want to have the first kiss at midnight?,’” Ms. Walsh said.
That kiss eventually led to a June 2009 wedding at the Redwood Grove and Amphitheater at the University of California at Berkeley’s Botanical Garden. Over the years, Ms. Walsh worked as an artist and a personal chef, while Mr. Nelson worked in marketing. And they watched uncomfortably as the city became more expensive and less artistic, especially in the years surrounding the pandemic.
Know Thyself 