What is it like where you live?

MarcieZoob · #1 (**permalink**) 03-10-2005, 08:21 AM

With WPW members literally posting from all over the world, I'm very curious to know what everyone's home town is like.

I live in one of the most beautiful places in northern Michigan. It's a small town that relies on tourism year-round for snow sports and wealthy summer residents. We are nestled on a bay along Lake Michigan which provides sailing and boating in summer.

It is very quaint and safe here with lots of friendly year-rounders who call this town "home" - we have a strong sense of community. A larger city is just across the bay for shopping and also provides us with added business opportunities.

I live on the bluff above town and my office is downtown on Main Street - I can walk one block to the beach, marina and city wharf. Much of our business comes from the two towns on the bay but we have been expanding our reach across the northern Michigan region more.

The photo below shows the view from the bluff and my little piece of heaven...

**ctabuk** · #2 (**permalink**) 03-10-2005, 08:44 AM

Hi Marcie, I went on Search tour around your town, very beautiful, I'm useless at downloading stuff, but here's our local website, my village is Donington http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....ton_images.htm

Follow the village link

Faglork · #3 (**permalink**) 03-10-2005, 10:31 AM

I live in a kind of "nature reservation park" called "Franconian Switzerland", because we have a sort of miniature version of the alps here:

I live close to the end of this valley. Our region is also famous for the highest density of breweries in the whole world: We got 384 Breweries in our area, and all of them have excellent stuff ... which naturally does'nt help to keep a slim body ;-)

Of course, the region is one of the top vacation areas of Germany. Our official tourism site (not coded by me!!!):
http://www.fraenkische-schweiz.com/b.../index_en.html

Our customers are mostly from this region, thats why we built a regional information portal to offer advanced marketing services to our clients (and others).

My office is in the next town 10km away, a 10-minute drive. I do not have computers at home - I would work myself to death ...

Greetings from Germany,
Alex

**ctabuk** · #4 (**permalink**) 03-10-2005, 10:40 AM

Alex, no wonder you are such a great guy, sloshed half the time, lovely picture. I've joined a really great Real Estate Forum in the USA the guys and gals are great fun, but talk about making me jealous, beach parties, open top Porsche's, still it's spring here.

MarcieZoob · #5 (**permalink**) 03-10-2005, 01:16 PM

Wow, Alex, that's wonderful! Mountains and breweries - sounds like a dangerous combination. How is your English after a visit to a brewery? My first hubbie was from South America and, after a few beers, he thought he was still speaking English...

ctabuk, sounds like you live in a quaint village; I would be interested in all the history an area like that would offer. We're still so "new", our village was settled in 1829 - woo hoo.

Faglork · #6 (**permalink**) 03-10-2005, 03:06 PM

Idunnohowmmmyeng..ing..en..wassissnameahhhrgl

The combination IS dangerous, since a) you can't drive anymore after a few beers and b) if you use your bicycle to get home you get into trouble as well. Those small bicycle roads don't have any street lights ...

We have a special sort of gastronomy here which exists only within a small area of ca. a hundred squaremiles: The so-called "Bierkeller", literally translated as "beer cellar". Indeed, those are cellars hewn out of the solid sandstone at the mountain slopes: The breweries in our region did that to keep the beer cool in those days when there were no frigdes yet. It became a habit to meet near those cellars and have a beer or two, and by the time small inns were established, most of them still in existence after two hundred years or so. Those places are the preferred after-work meeting place in summer:

collusion · #7 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 12:09 AM

I feel like the odd man out! I would post a picture of where I'm from but you really wouldn't want to see the projects in Chicago.

I bought a house 189 miles from there in a town called Galesburg, IL. just before last Christmas. I moved there because it is much smaller than Chicago and I got a huge house.

I would love to live next to water though!
I am working on it.

freehits · #8 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 12:38 AM

Been in a half dozens cities on the east coast and here in Charlotte has been an amazing experience for freindly folks.

Where everyone may say , wow peope are nice there.....thats all talk of the locals. There is a strange something here in Charlotte, and people are earnestly extremely friendly, I will definately be staying for awhile.

**ctabuk** · #9 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 07:48 AM

Our village History, 1774 Donington was the birthplace to Matthew Flinders who sailed with Captain Cook. The End

MarcieZoob · #10 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 09:38 AM

ctabuk, that sounds like the beginning! (Didn't I see you in Pirates of the Caribbean?)

Our town came to be first because of the lumber then because of the summer climate. People from Chicago, Detroit and Indianapolis were looking for a clean place for their summer homes and many beautiful cottages were built that still stand today. There are some exclusive associations for the very wealthy (Wrigley, Gamble, Ford, etc.) that are only open in the summer - true summer resorts.

Not too long ago large cruise ships stopped in our little town as part of a Great Lakes cruise. That must have been fun as a kid to see the big ships come in with all the rich resorters. Now they just arrive by Mercedes and Jaquar. :)

**ctabuk** · #11 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 10:19 AM

Yes I was in Pirates, I played the parrot, peices of eight, peices og eight.Ok if you must know, here it is, by the way Paulhiles sent me a beaut, search Donington Lincolnshire on Google.
My wife ratbag, sorry Leslie,and I did a pond project three years ago, because of the number of trees we have there was no way to get a digger in to do a pond, so I got digging, and I have the photo's to prove it! It ended up 5' deep and 20' x 25', it took a few weekends and a few beers. Well this is interesting but what has it to do with history? Be patient, anyway, I started to find sea shells, pure white mollusc shells, hundreds of them, so we knew where the seabed had been (Lincolnshire Fens are reclaimed land) after a bit of research we found that the Romans had a port at Billingborough and they loved seafood, so they actually had huge breeding beds (called saltings they served dual purposes)and our garden was about 10'deep and was fished by the Romans. They even had a lighthouse at Bicker.The Romans have gone now, ratbag saw them of when she was Bodicia in another life.

MarcieZoob · #12 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Paulhiles sent me a beaut, search Donington Lincolnshire on Google

Oh my. Is that site an alternate source of income for you...or just a site you maintain for fun? :)

Finding your sea treasures in your yard must have been quite a surprise. I grew up in a town that had oil shelves below it. My grandfather was getting ready to build a hunting cabin on a piece of property he owned and he hit a large shelf of oil. Talk about a surprise! Fool's gold, Texas tea...

Easywebdev · #13 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctabuk

The Romans have gone now, ratbag saw them of when she was Bodicia in another life.

Ah man you made me spit coffee over my monitor. I think you missed your calling in life. You ought to be writing gags for the standups.

**ctabuk** · #14 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 10:58 AM

I would do if ratbag would let me out!

wenwilder · #15 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 02:24 PM

The area I live in looks like a huge dust bowl compared to the pictures posted. I am truly jealous! Now I know it is time to move!

Besides the cows, corn and cowboys I get to see every which way I turn we have buttes/bluffs.

The best I can do picture wise is here. Simply because I'm embarassed to post links to local websites. :(

Marcie and faglork those are very beautiful pictures!

MarcieZoob · #16 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 02:36 PM

wenwilder, that chimney rock is pretty cool! I used to live in what we called the "flat-lands" of Michigan, truly the least beautiful of the state. You could see across miles and miles of soybean farms.

We made the move up here 5 years ago and I still feel like a tourist. The clouds and fog on the bay do something unique everyday - we get lots of rainbows and sundogs. We can drive 10 miles to be on a stretch of private sandy beach without another soul around.

I can't see myself anywhere else...until I get too old to stand the cold!

designhead · #17 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 02:56 PM

Sorry to brag, but:

Downside: most expensive place to live in California. I don't know the figures for the whole U.S. but I'm sure we're close to the top. The median price for a single-family home is $1 million!
Upside: Great weather (if you don't like weather), great hiking, swimming, kayaking. Great community, creativity, liberal politics.

MarcieZoob · #18 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 03:10 PM

Wow, Judith, that's beautiful! No need to apologize...looks like some have more to brag about than others. :)

This is me playing tourist -

Faglork · #19 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 03:14 PM

wooow ... to cite Albert Hammond "it seems it never rains in southern california"
ever since I heard that song I've been dreaming of visiting CA, but somehow never got to do it. Guess I better just kick myself in the butt and get on a plane ...

Alex

**ctabuk** · #20 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 03:31 PM

Alex, if your paying, Leslie & I will join you

designhead · #21 (**permalink**) 03-11-2005, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by faglork

"it seems it never rains in southern california"

Well, we did get our share a few weeks ago! But, we're back to normal now.

Hey faglork, your spot looks beautiful. Yours too Marcie, but I wouldn't last a winter. I got frost bite camping in Maine (or was it South Dakota?) 16 years ago. Now, my fingers turn blue in the grocery store. Ack. I grew up in Florida and these bones were bred for sun and sea--not snow.