Man, that sucks. But at least you can meet up with a few of the forumites in your neck of the... well, not woods. You know about the Sullivan Act, right? "Nuff said - stay out of that sort of trouble.
Upstate NY can be nice - although last fall I was dismayed to see how much/far surburbanization has spread out around formerly small towns. Helps a lot if you know some folks upstate, of course. It's hopefully not as horrifying as it must have first seemed <grin> - there are upsides.
Hope all turns out well for you and your family. Please keep us posted - and again, there are several forumites you could actually get to meet.
Best wishes,
Tom