Cooperstown is a charming, walkable lakeside village on Otsego Lake anchored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame and buoyed by a surprisingly rich arts and food scene — Fenimore Art Museum, the Glimmerglass Opera, craft breweries, seasonal festivals, boating, trails and a compact Main Street — all the ingredients that make multi‑week contracts feel more like a comfortable, interesting stay than being stuck somewhere dull.
If you want occasional big‑city options, Albany (about 60 miles) and Syracuse (about 67 miles) are within roughly an hour–and‑a‑half drive for larger hospitals, airports and nightlife, so you can balance peaceful small‑town living with easy access to more services.