A small tranquil Pennsylvania town is poised to become the new Hamptons as celebrities continue to flock there for its ‘quiet’ lifestyle.
New Hope is situated next to the Delaware River and gained attention when Yolanda Hadid purchased a 32-acre piece of land there to be near her model daughters, Gigi and Bella.
The property included a stone farmhouse, horse barn, and formal garden, making it an ideal family retreat where both sisters began to spend more time.
In 2018, the Hadid matriarch described their countryside life and told The Toronto Star: ‘We ride horses, we have a vegetable garden.’
Zayn Malik, a member of the band One Direction and Gigi’s partner and father of her child, also acquired a farm in New Hope to raise his young family. In an interview in 2018, he expressed his appreciation for the town’s peaceful environment, mentioning his enjoyment of the lack of people in the area.
Gigi even gave birth to their daughter in the county in 2020.
Over the years as parts of New Hope continued to feature on their Instagram pages, people began to make their way to the scenic town and buy properties – to the point where locals now say it is ‘overcrowded’.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Justin Bieber and film crews have begun popping up nearby for movies. And Gigi’s new love interest, Bradley Cooper, bought up a farm near Yolanda’s.
Bucks County (pictured) is up and coming and many celebrities are flocking to New Hope, like the Hadids
New Hope, a town located adjacent to the Delaware River, first came into the limelight after Yolanda Hadid bought a 32-acre property there to be closer to her model daughters, Gigi (pictured) and Bella
Mira Nakashima moved to New Hope as a child in 1943 with her father, George – a woodworker and designer whose tables and chairs are displayed at MOMA and tend to fetch thousands of dollars at auction, she told The New York Times.
After his death in 1990, Mira, now 82, took over Nakashima Woodworkers and began holding open houses on Saturdays.
But lately, she had to resort to having guided tours by appointment only after the grounds became extremely overcrowded.
‘Everyone is from Brooklyn. I can smell Brooklyn on them when they arrive here,’ added Soomi Hahn Amagasu, Mira’s daughter-in-law and the studio’s sales manager. ‘So many young people are coming here.’
But it is stores like Mira’s that have stood the test of time and turned New Hope into a must-visit.
According to Larry Keller, New Hope’s mayor for the last 27 years and an antique dealer in town, the lack of luxury stores of the kind you might find in East Hampton is by design.
It also does not favor national chains and city council revised zoning laws to favor local businesses after Starbucks and Dunkin’ moved in.
‘You don’t have the square footage,’ Mr. Keller said, referring to the tiny storefronts. ‘Where is Ralph Lauren going to have a store and sell enough gear to make sense? These are boutiques.’
Gigi’s new love interest, Bradley Cooper, even bought up a farm (pictured) near Yolanda’s
Over the years as parts of New Hope continued to feature on their Instagram pages, people began to make their way to the scenic town and buy properties – to the point where locals now says it is ‘overcrowded’
But that doesn’t mean locals won’t find Bella Hadid shifting through the racks of the town’s vintage store.
Despite that, the town has made some changes to entice new visitors as more and more farmland is seized by the superrich and transformed into estates.
Luxury hotels now dot the view with fancy in-house restaurants and even inns are renovating to draw new attention.
Truffle fries – a staple in New York City, which is located only an hour away – are even being served in restaurants, Katsutoshi Amagasu, 21, who grew up in New Hope, told The Times.
And much like New York City’s famed restaurant week, New Hope began offering one this year that featured more than two dozen eateries, according to Phillyburbs.com.
Almost 10 in New Hope alone participated, plus more in nearby towns.
Real estate has soared in price as New Hope transforms into a celebrity enclave.
‘The old Bucks County farmhouse is now being blown out and expanded into true estates,’ Michael J. Strickland, a real estate agent, told The Times.
And there’s more to do then just avoid people, like Zayn Malik likes to do, as the area offers two museums, a castle (pictured), an art center, and bowling in the area
Luxury hotels now dot the view with fancy in-house restaurants and even inns are renovating to draw new attention (pictured: art museum)
But even with the rising prices and changing tides, it’s still more affordable than the ultra-expensive Hamptons
Homes are also being built along the Delaware River, impeding on the view locals once had.
But even with the rising prices and changing tides, it’s still more affordable than the ultra-expensive Hamptons, the popular Long Island destination known for it’ rich residents.
And there’s more to do then just avoid people, like Zayn likes to do, as the area offers two museums, a castle, an art center, and bowling in the area.
And the Hadids, Cooper, and Zayn aren’t the only famous people who have called New Hope home.
Poet Dorothy Parker, writer James A. Michener, and playwright George Kaufman have all called Bucks County home at some point.
‘There’s a reason they call this the genius belt,’ Bucks County Playhouse Marketing Director, Michael Traupman, told Travel & Leisure.
It’s also the birthplace of early-20th-century Pennsylvania Impressionism and the town where Liza Minnelli and Robert Redford got their start, according to the outlet.
The town, which was originally called Coryell’s Ferry before a mill fire changed everything, is a friendly place to live as well.
‘New Hope is a town for all,’ resident David Myers told Travel & Leisure. ‘The residents and people here hold ourselves accountable to a high level of expectation of inclusivity and kindness.’
