New Yorkers, anxious at the best of times, are having an especially angst-ridden year. For those free from health or employment woes, What-To-Do-About-Summer has been a mounting source of anxiety-especially for working parents facing months without camps or nannies.

The classic Hamptons rental season, bookended by the Memorial and Labor Day holidays, has been thrown into disarray this year, with families fleeing the city as early as March, as lockdown descended. New Yorkers who scorned the embrace of Florida in favor of the frigid charms of the North Atlantic were rewarded with first choice of the area's sumptuous rental properties. Locals who at first shunned the Manhattan diaspora as bringers of plague quickly realized that well-heeled New Yorkers would be willing to pay almost any price for a back yard, let alone a pool, ocean view, media room and live-in staff quarters.

So if you're only just letting go of that dream of a far-flung foreign vacation or long-promised sleep-away camp, don't panic. You may be late to the party, but the party is still happening, and you're very much invited. We have scoured the listings and personally selected the cream of the crop of to-die-for rental homes so you don't have to. Bring on summer.

1.  Lee Avenue, Southampton

Photo : Courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

A traditional home in an out-of-the-way spot on Heady Creek, this eight-bedroom retreat sits on 2.2 acres of lawns sloping down to a private dock at the water's edge, from where you can glide out to Shinnecock Bay. Inside, 6,000 square feet of neutrally decorated space includes an eat-in chef's kitchen and first-floor bedrooms overlooking the yard, two ponds and a heated pool with hot tub.

Rental Rates

July: $150,000
July-August: $310,000
August: $200,000
Weekly: $65,000

Contact: Brown Harris Stevens

2.  Water Mill Towd Road

Photo : Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

A new, 6,000-square-foot home built in traditional style near the north shore of the South Fork, by Little Peconic Bay. Inside, a double-height entrance hall leads through to a modern dine-in kitchen, butler's pantry and formal dining room. Upstairs are seven bedrooms, with two decks overlooking the outdoor pool, with its white stone patio surrounded by just under an acre of green lawns. Downstairs, there's a movie theater and gym for rainy days and a generator, because who knows what 2020 still has in store.

Rental Rates

July: $150,000
August: $175,000
Seasonal 'til Labor Day: $325,000
Weekly: $60,000

Contact: Douglas Elliman

3.  Ox Pasture Road, Southampton

Photo : Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

An off-market listing on 10 landscaped acres near Southampton village and Agawan Lake. The vast property, built in 1915 and recently renovated, has more than 18,000 square feet of space, encompassing 11 bedrooms, 15 bathrooms, a circular, glass-walled home gym and an indoor pool with a built-in slide. The outside amenities include a heated pool with pavilion, grass tennis court, paddle court and a four-car garage, enclosed behind mature trees, shrubs and rose gardens. You could probably find a new room every day from now to Labor Day. The effect is very much one of a rambling, historic hotel, so if you've ever wondered what it would be like to live in your own resort, now's your chance to find out.

Rental rates - Upon application

Contact: Douglas Elliman

4.  Horse Meadow Lane, East Hampton

Photo : Courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

The owners of this pastoral retreat north of the highway in East Hampton are renting their summer home for two weeks in July and for a month from mid-August to mid-September. The house, which is around the corner from East Hampton Tennis Club, is on just under an acre and overlooks extensive green fields. Indoors are five smartly furnished bedrooms, a big basement TV room and lots of open-plan living space, a large outdoor deck with heated pool, separate hot tub and three seating areas.

Rental Rates

Two weeks in July: $60,000
August 15th to September 15th: $150,000

Contact: Brown Harris Stevens

5.  Hither Lane, East Hampton

Photo : Courtesy of Douglass Elliman

This pretty, six-bedroom house in the heart of East Hampton village feels like a home, with personal touches including a piano, books and bright rugs. The 5,100-square-foot villa includes a double-height living room, master suite with fireplace, roomy walk-in closet, dressing room and steam shower, plus a library, gym and decidedly fancy laundry room. Upstairs bedrooms overlook the pool and twin pool houses.

Rental Rates

Weekly: $125,000
July: $275,000

Contact: Douglas Elliman

6.  Middle Lane, East Hampton

Photo : Courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

Sitting on more than two acres of manicured grounds on East Hampton's exclusive Middle Lane, this 7,000-square-foot, ivy-clad estate is minutes from the beach and the center of the village. Six newly renovated bedrooms, a library and sunroom look out onto a sweeping drive, extensive lawns, hedges and ponds, and a little bridge that leads to the heated pool and pool house.

Rental Rates

August: $275,000

Contact: Brown Harris Stevens

7.  Georgica Road, East Hampton

Photo : Courtesy of Compass

A six-bedroom home clad in natural wood, tucked deep inside East Hampton's estate section, with a separate en-suite studio above a detached garage. High, vaulted ceilings with exposed beams characterize the light, airy living space, which extends over 5,500 square feet. The first-floor master bedroom overlooks a garden with heated pool and built-in outdoor grill and seating area. Downstairs, a large TV den features a huge glass wine cellar.

Rental Rates

Seasonal to Labor Day: $200,000

Contact: Compass

8.  Davids Lane, East Hampton

Photo : Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

Close to the restaurants and shops of East Hampton's Main Street, and a few minutes from the beach, this brand-new seven-bedroom house is luxuriously kitted out in traditional style. More than 6,000 square feet of space includes living rooms with high ceilings, exposed brickwork and colorful paint finishes, and children's rooms with built-in beds set into wooden window alcoves. From the house, a large covered outdoor dining area leads out to landscaped lawns and a heated pool and hot tub surrounded by outdoor seating.

Rental Rates

Weekly: $195,000
August: $350,000

Contact: Douglas Elliman

9. Neck Path, Amagansett

Photo : Courtesy of Compass

An ultra-modern glass house, extending over 10,000 square feet in the rural Springs area, north ofAmagansett. Built in 2016 and set on just under two acres of grounds, the house is a two-story glass box with minimal subdivision of rooms, enabling almost complete open-plan living, and a feeling of seamless connection with the surrounding greenery and swimming pool. The house stands without, apparently, any interior supporting columns. On the cavernous first floor, a clinical white kitchen by Scavolini and Gaggenau sits like a minimalist art installation on the concrete floor, amid disparately grouped seating and dining areas, while two cantilevered staircases lead to two master suites and four further guest bedrooms upstairs. In the basement, a four-car garage connects to the driveway via an underground passage. The entire house is controlled by a smart home system including the front gates, lighting, heating and air conditioning. Maybe don't rent this if you've seen Parasite.

Rental Rates

August to Labor Day: $100,000
Short term: $45,000

Contact: Compass

10.  Old Montauk Highway, Amagansett

Photo : Courtesy of Compass

A classic beach house, newly renovated with clean lines, neutral colors and lots of light, airy, open-plan space. At the end of a long drive south of the highway, near the beach at Amagansett, the house is set on an acre of grounds, including a large heated pool and basketball court. The master suite and living space is upstairs, with a sun-filled sitting room and kitchen opening onto a spacious wrap-around roof deck with ocean views and two seating areas. Downstairs are four further bedrooms and a media room leading out to a ping-pong table on the patio.

Rental Rates

August to Labor Day: $100,000

Contact: Compass

11.  Stoney Hill Road, Sag Harbor

Photo : Courtesy of Douglas Elliman

A contemporary five-bedroom home on the edge of Sag Harbor, by Paynes Creek, designed by architect Annabelle Selldorf, best-known for art galleries, including the New York homes of Hauser & Wirth and David Zwirner, as well as the new extension to the Frick Collection. The 4,000-square-foot house, which has never been listed for rental before, is full of modern art and Japanese design elements, including a gravel and rock garden. Four acres of private grounds include a heated pool on a raised deck.

Rental Rates

July: $75,000
August: $110,000
Seasonal to Labor Day: $220,000

Contact: Douglas Elliman

12.  Main Street, Sag Harbor

Photo : Courtesy of Compass 

A newly constructed, traditional-style home in the center of Sag Harbor village, this five-bedroom house was the first to be built in 75 years on Main Street's historic "Captains' Row" of 19th-century whalers' villas. Designed by Alicia Murphy, the 4,800-square-foot house is luxuriously furnished, with oak floors, bespoke cabinetry and a chef's kitchen with professional La Cornue range cooker. The house is built for outdoor entertaining, with a large pool-side patio seating area and a fully equipped pool house with kitchenette.

Rental Rates

Seasonal to Labor Day: $325,000

Contact: Compass

13.   Jefferson Street, Sag Harbor

Photo : Courtesy of Brown Harris Stevens

An historically important house, dating from 1750, on one of Sag Harbor's most beautiful streets. Fully restored and modernized inside, with a quirky mix of contemporary art and traditional motifs, the house has six bedrooms (and six woodburning fireplaces) over 5,200 square feet of meticulously curated space. The interior is light and sunny, with lots of exposed beams and brickwork, leading out into just under one acre of landscaped grounds, including 100-year-old trees, a pool, paved terrace and pool house.

Rental Rates

August: $150,000

Contact: Brown Harris Stevens

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