We spent much of the day in Muskegon, of course visiting another beach, but also looking at where we might live come May. One of the many positives in no longer owning a house… we can just pick up and move. The move is also made easier by the minimalism and simplification we adopted last year.
Sitting in the restaurant directly across from our possible new home my wife said, “This is the exact opposite of where we live now.”
She’s on target again. Where we are now is calm, peaceful, natural, almost rural. This… would definitely be city. Wouldn’t even need to leave the building for a restaurant. And when walking out the door, three coffee shops, three brewhouses, a distillery, and a dozen restaurants within a few hundred feet. The main museum two blocks away. The arena a couple blocks. The Culinary Institute of Michigan… with all the super cheap, creative dishes… right across the parking lot. But it is city living. Even tho we would be 5 floors up off the street, and the streets in this area are usually quiet.
A big change. But exciting and fun. Or, should we stay in quiet, peaceful, super-safe Grand Haven? Such a decision. Should we stay or should we go?
Try it for a year then move back to the quiet if you don’t like it. Had four different apartments in NYC and loved trying out new hoods every time!
In the end, safety played a big part. Muskegon is a very high crime city, even though the small area we would have lived in seems safe. I thought about Lori walking our 12 years old lab alone at night and decided it would be better for us to stay in Grand Haven. We are only a 25 minute drive away from the downtown fun.