There’s loads of cool stuff in New Hampshire and the environs. If Peekskill is in serious contention, then there is good reason to check out New Hampshire, which is significantly better along most axes. I’d recommend that you physically send people to look around for a couple of weeks.
I will second the claim that being more than an hour from a city means most people will not casually go there.
I think you will find that most of the more livable places to live in the United States require a car. The places that truly do not require a car are quite expensive to live in comfortably and often have other drawbacks as well.