What You Get for... $600,000 WHAT: A four-bedroom three-and-a-half bath Colonial SIZE: 2,882 square feet SETTING: Slate Hill is a rural hamlet in the Hudson Valley, 70 miles from New York City. This house is on a gently curving road with horse and dairy farms for neighbors. Other parts of the area are more suburban, on two-plus acre lots. Stores, services and a Metro-North train station are six miles away in Middletown, a city of 28,000 in the foothills of the Shawangunk Mountains. Trips to New York take about two hours. INDOORS: The house was built in the mid-1750s as a one- or two-room dwelling, expanded over the years and last renovated in 2008. In 2001, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Original features include inch-thick wide-plank oak floors and several brick fireplaces. The oldest part of the house, which functions as a dining room, has hand-hewn oak ceiling beams, a Dutch door and a wide brick fireplace with a pot hook and a bread oven. The dining room opens to the kitchen, creating a 45-foot-long space in total, spanning the north side of the house. The kitchen has Jenn-Air appliances, granite countertops and light wood cabinets. The center hall - part of a 19th-century expansion - has patterned Victorian wallpaper and a cloth floor covering hand-painted to mimic granite. There are parlors on either side. Some of the wall sconces and iron door hardware are original, as is a chandelier in one of the parlors. The master - the largest room in the house - has 11-foot ceilings supported by oak beams and a walk-in closet. Another bedroom has an original built-in cabinet likely designed to store children's toys. Two of the upstairs bathrooms have cast-iron claw-foot tubs. OUTDOOR SPACE: The house is on about 1.1 acres, all of it lawn. TAXES: $9,000 (estimated) CONTACT: The Rev. Tom Bartolomeo, for sale by owner (815) 793-7465, 633ridgeburyroad.com WHAT: A three-bedroom two-bath Craftsman SIZE: 3,108 square feet SETTING: This house is in Piedmont, a neighborhood characterized by early 20th-century bungalows, Cape Cods and foursquares about five miles from downtown. Originally planned as a suburb in the late 19th century, Piedmont is home to the city's oldest public rose garden and second-oldest playground, both in Peninsula Park, about seven blocks from this house. Shops, restaurants, cafes and other small businesses - including the local chain New Seasons Market - are within walking distance of this house. INDOORS: The concrete-block and stucco house was built in 1907. The architect was Alfred Faber, who designed several homes in the area in the early 20th century. With the exception of the kitchen and bathrooms, the house is almost entirely original, including hardwood floors and dark molding on door frames and windows. The dining room has a set of pocket doors; the living room has an original brick fireplace. The kitchen has stainless-steel shelves and appliances, installed within the past year. Behind the kitchen is a wood-paneled office with a set of French doors opening to a back patio. The master opens to a private balcony through French doors. The upstairs bathroom has tiled floors and a claw-foot tub. The attic is finished, with two built-in desks and two rows of built-in shelves. The basement is used for storage. OUTDOOR SPACE: A deep front porch accented by columns, a backyard and garden beds. TAXES: $3,339 annually CONTACT: Aimee Virnig, Windermere Real Estate/Cronin & Caplan Realty Group (503) 803-7678; aimeevirnig.com WHAT: A three-bedroom three-bath contemporary SIZE: 2,603 square feet SETTING: This house overlooks a creek in a wooded residential neighborhood called Lakestone. Houses in the area were built in the 1960s and "70s, and include several contemporary designs. Downtown Raleigh is about five miles from this house; Midtown, a commercial pocket with a huge mall called North Hills, is within a mile and a half. The city's Greenway - a system of 28 wooded trails that traverse more than a hundred miles - is a five-minute walk. INDOORS: The house was built in 1977 and designed by John Farabow, a Raleigh architect, as his family residence. It faces west and has several walls of windows, but is screened by surrounding trees. Built into a slope, it has two levels. The common areas are on the entry level, which has oak floors. The living room has a pitched ceiling and walls of windows. The lower level has a bedroom, a study and a family room with slate floors and a fireplace flanked by windows that run floor to ceiling. Both levels open to decks. OUTDOOR SPACE: The 1.8-acre lot is landscaped and irrigated. TAXES: $4,382 annually (approximately) CONTACT: Joe Hodge, Hodge & Kittrell Sotheby's International Realty (919) 818-2071; hodgeandkittrell.com