We don’t live in a vacuum. The ways we respond to the world are affected by where we were born, and where we reside today. Are you an outsider, different from most of the people around you? Have you chosen where you now live? Are you there from accident of birth? Or demands of employment?
I know that all sites occasionally have threads asking people to talk about themselves. This is different. Tell me about your community, your travels, and your exposure to the world. Even in the world’s largest cities, you live in a neighborhood. What kind of place is it? What kind of interaction do you have with your community? What places have you visited that influenced your perceptions? Where do you find off-line intellectual stimulation? What is in your village?
I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am in the southeast area, in the straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. I enjoy the clean air and water and incredible beauty this region has to offer.
I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I am in the southeast area, in the straits of Mackinac where Lakes Huron and Michigan meet. I enjoy the clean air and water and incredible beauty this region has to offer.
Although I am originally from the greater Chicago area, about eleven years ago I moved up here to one of my favorite vacation destinations. I’ve enjoyed traveling through the U. S. and Canada, especially the Western States. One of my favorite vacations was six weeks spent in Banff and Jasper Alberta, with some side trips to beautiful British Columbia.
I moved North during my divorce and have never regretted the decision. However, decreased income has limited my travels. I haven’t been able to spend much time overseas. So far, my favorite vacation occurred a few years ago. I spent two weeks wandering Ireland with two friends.
Fortunately, I live in a place that other people consider a vacation destination. For six months of the year hundreds of thousands of visitors come here to enjoy the natural beauty, historic sites, and novelty of a community that bans private motor vehicles. This prohibition has nothing to do with religious beliefs. It was originally initiated to protect the tour buggy drivers in the early twentieth century. Now that motor vehicles are so prevalent, the lack of them is also a tourist attraction.
In the summer, foot, bicycle, cart, or horse moves every person and every object. (Emergency vehicles such as ambulance and fire truck are available.) The difficulty of attracting workers who are willing to relocate for six months of the year has been an ongoing problem. The current immigration debate is closely followed here. I’m talking about legal immigrants of course.
From May through October the local community of about 550 year round residents expands as seasonal cottage and condominium dwellers increase the population by several thousand. Additionally, several thousand workers from North America and many other parts of the world move here to provide services in the shops, hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions.
Several million visitors arrive to enjoy the Island. Many of them also believe that we are part of Canada. As the crow flies, the border is less than twenty miles away so the confusion is somewhat understandable. Many businesses, the State Park, and government buildings fly large American flags. Yet every day a few people will ask, “Do you take American money here?”
The diversity allows for interesting discussions and opportunities for learning alternative social and political views. In any given summer, my co-workers will come from a wide variety of backgrounds and ethnicities. Imagine the lively debates when you combine folks from Michigan, Iowa, California, Montana, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Alabama, Florida, and Vermont with their counterparts from Bulgaria, Australia, Scotland, Russia, Japan, Jamaica, Canada, Austria, England, Mexico, India, and South Africa.
In the winter months, the year-round population averages about 550. Most locals are descended from original French and Native American fur traders, and they later inter-married with nineteenth century Irish immigrants. The `transplants’ moved here because they fell in love with the Island while working or visiting here. Most are vastly over-qualified and over-educated for the jobs they hold. The overall community is caring, creative, independent, and self-sufficient.
Alternative relationships are accepted with equanimity. The small school covers K-12, and the personalized attention allows them to boast a zero dropout rate. Almost every graduate for at least the past ten years has gone on to pursue additional education.
We love snow here. In the winter months the motor vehicle ban is relaxed enough to allow snowmobiles. The convenience of traveling more quickly is a welcome change. It also makes it easier to create social gatherings. Imagine walking or bicycling to visit a friend two miles away vs. snowmobiling there. Believe me, no matter how much you walk or bike up these hills, you never get used to them!
Although there are some fabulous Victorian mansions (cottages) here, most people live in the same types of housing you would find on the mainland. Small houses, apartments, condominiums, and duplexes are the norm. Since most of the Island is a Michigan State Park, land is at a premium. Every nail, washing machine, two by four and carton of milk must be shipped one extra step by boat or airplane. This adds to their cost. Few year round jobs are available, and all jobs pay less than their mainland counterparts. Not everyone would enjoy residing here. Those that do are willing to pay that price.
Cross posted: My blog: http://dialoguesandideologues.blogspot.com/
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Known to most as Silicon Valley, the dot-bomb bust showed the Valley’s true colors as a few hit the jackpot but most were left holding an empty bag.
Real estate prices still make home ownership out of reach for most, especially those who are on the downhill side of 40 and not too thrilled with the idea of a 20 or 30 year mortgage eating into their retirement. So, the spouse and I are apartment dwellers. We like our current location much better than our previous — it’s amazing how moving just 5 or 10 miles away can save $500 in rent, and it’s a far nicer place. We’ve been here about a year and a half, but I still don’t know a lot of the neighbors; I know a few just to say “Hi” to, and I see a lot of the same kids, but since I don’t have kids of my own that sort of puts up an invisible block in some minds.
Car use is still the norm around here, but we chose this location due to its proximity to public transit — at the time we moved here we didn’t have a car (we got my mom’s before she died). We’re just a short walk from the train station and several bus routes, and within two blocks of a couple of the routes.
The central location is what I enjoy the most — we’re just about a half hour train ride from San Jose (for Sharks hockey or just assorted entertainment) and just over an hour to San Francisco and all that offers. The weather is (usually) quite pleasant, not too hot nor too cold. And the presence of universities like San Jose State, Santa Clara, and Stanford give the area a well-educated feel, and mostly liberal/progressive; the few Republicans we have tend to be well-mannered and at the left end of the right-wing scale (we were represented for years by Pete McCloskey, one of the earliest Republican opponents of the Vietnam War). Our church is a “welcoming and accepting” community, and not the only one in the area.
Although I’ve thought about moving elsewhere, it’s really the proper place for me in this stage of my growth. My siblings are all in the area, my in-laws (who I adore) just a short drive away…I really can’t picture myself anywhere else.
I’m in Marin County just about 20 miles north of SF. My neighborhood was built in the early 1950’s and is now considered a ‘starter home’ neighborhood.
The homes are small and the families are in 3 categories: young families with very small children, older couples with kids grown and either retired or close to retired, and multi-family homes. Most of the families are working to middle class and the median income is high for the nation but for CA relatively normal. The ethnic diversity is pretty mixed with hispanic, white, black, middle-eastern, and asian.
My village is part of a friendly neighborhood. People walk their dogs and ride bikes with their kids – evenings and weekends. The neighbors generally know each other by name.
Real estate here is among the highest in the nation and I probably couldn’t afford my own home. We’ve lived in this home 20 years come November.
The overall culture is very progressive socially and very conservative fiscally. The old money suburbs of SF live in our area. The area is very strong on environmental issues and social programs. A substantial amount of the county is devoted to open space and parks. Hiking for me is about 2 blocks to the wetlands, or 2 miles to China Camp State Park, or 30 minutes to near the top of Mt. Tamalpais, or 1 hour to Pt.Reyes National Seashore. The Golden Gate Bridge is 20-25 minutes south of me.
There is mass transit (commuter buses or ferry service) to SF from my area. Most of the people I know that go in to the city take mass transit. There are a reasonable number of jobs in the county, but most people commute to SF or Oakland.
Our weather is warmer than SF by about 10-15 degrees in the summer time with limited fog, and about 5 degress warmer in the winter. We have three types of weather…rain, fog, or sun.
My husband, an only child, grew up in the area so we originally moved here to be close to his parents before they died.
I love the area for it’s diversity, but I miss the 4 seasons of the mountains I grew up in.