A couple weeks ago, on the heels of another depressing spell of fruitless job hunting and relentless angst, we threw our bags in the 'ol van and headed north. We were probably crazy for not pinching our dwindling pennies instead, but this just had to be done. And I am SO glad we did! Have you heard the term perspectacles? It's a silly word mash-up that basically illustrates the act of looking at something with a healthy, realistic perspective. The opposite of rose-colored glasses. Well we put on our perspectacles and began to explore the county.
Not only did we spend 4 days combing through the details of what it would take to move there, we took an honest look at the year-round life of a resident in Door County. We met with a real estate agent to get the scoop on the local rental market. We grilled the sweet ladies at the local visitor's bureau about schools and surviving the winter and finding jobs. We asked just about every local we could awkwardly approach if they knew of working conditions, year-round sustainability, and the cost of living. We located every school on the peninsula, and we checked out their websites and calendars. We found the hospital, the Target, and the hardware store. We found the movie theater, the fire department, and the place you go to get your car registered. We tried out a favorite pub for locals, and we encouraged our boys to mingle with the local kids at a community concert in the park. We took a genuine long look at what it would be like when 6 feet of snow hushed the landscape and slowed the pace of this vibrant tourist area. We found the places we felt good about living, and we ruled out places that just didn't suit our family. We checked out the local music scene - a very important component for Husband and his dream of being an active musician again. We looked up demographics, crime statistics, climate information, and growing zones. We even took a few hours to revisit some of our favorite tourist spots.
Not only did we spend 4 days combing through the details of what it would take to move there, we took an honest look at the year-round life of a resident in Door County. We met with a real estate agent to get the scoop on the local rental market. We grilled the sweet ladies at the local visitor's bureau about schools and surviving the winter and finding jobs. We asked just about every local we could awkwardly approach if they knew of working conditions, year-round sustainability, and the cost of living. We located every school on the peninsula, and we checked out their websites and calendars. We found the hospital, the Target, and the hardware store. We found the movie theater, the fire department, and the place you go to get your car registered. We tried out a favorite pub for locals, and we encouraged our boys to mingle with the local kids at a community concert in the park. We took a genuine long look at what it would be like when 6 feet of snow hushed the landscape and slowed the pace of this vibrant tourist area. We found the places we felt good about living, and we ruled out places that just didn't suit our family. We checked out the local music scene - a very important component for Husband and his dream of being an active musician again. We looked up demographics, crime statistics, climate information, and growing zones. We even took a few hours to revisit some of our favorite tourist spots.
Do you know what the big take-away was from our whirlwind scouting mission? In a word, encouragement! It would be a wonderful place to raise our sons. It would be a beautiful place to enjoy a rich quality of life. There is a job market outside of just the tourist industry. There is a wonderfully low cost of living. There is no reason we couldn't head there tomorrow and try to make a go of it. The question is now, do we have the guts to pull the trigger? Do we dare?
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