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The retreat from New York City is a common leitmotif, most famous in Joan Didion’s Goodbye to All That, her seminal 1967 essay about leaving the jarring confines of New York City for softer, if not greener, pastures (Didion moved to Los Angeles). More recently, the publishing world was aflutter over a new magazine, helmed by a former Manhattan editor who decamped to upstate New York with the idea to create a manual for the intellectual locavore. In its first year, Modern Farmer won a prestigious award from the American Society of Magazine Editors; in its second, the magazine temporarily shut down, plagued by the same problems most new, ambitious publications face. Despite Modern Farmer’s momentary scare, the magazine was still lauded for tapping into a restless urban undercurrent, a longing for connection with nature that goes beyond vegan leather and rooftop gardens.
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For most of us, a complete renunciation of city life is not an option, let along a necessity. A temporary retreat to rolling green hills and idyllic lakes, complete with all the appurtenances of luxury we’re used to, is often cure enough. Here are 11 luxe hotels that will give you a taste of that bucolic life, accompanied by five-star dining and spa options, each located within a few hours from the Eastern Seaboard.
