My connection to the Catskills began long before I became a real estate agent. After years of traveling up from New York City, my spouse and I purchased our home near the Pepacton Reservoir in 2019. The rolling hills reminded me of the Flemish Ardennes in Belgium, where I grew up, and this part of the Catskills quickly felt like home.

Through Zeep Naturals, my artisan lifestyle brand, I became a regular presence at farmers markets in Bovina, Del...