Sunday, September 1, 2013

Upper Peninsula House Hunting

Gary and I are interested in living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula so we are in house hunting mode. This does not mean an imminent move.  His sister Kathe has been looking at houses for over a decade and has not found the one she wants yet.  Still, we are finding interesting places.

The one we like is adjacent to the Ottawa National Forest.  It has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a hot tub, lots of storage space, a workshop, garage, and plenty of acreage. The house is on a highway that would be plowed out after each storm, but was surrounded by trees so there would be no highway noise. We would be close to Iron Mountain and the hospital. We would be within walking distance of Lake Ottawa. Cost, close to $300,000.  Unless I win the lottery in the next few weeks, we won't be making an offer on that one.

Today we looked at two more houses.  One was in a suburb of Iron Mountain. It was a good price, but did we want close neighbors?  Plus the house was too small for Gary. We checked that one off our list right away.

Then we looked at a house on Highway 189. Though that is a  busy highway, the two story house is set back. It was big enough for Gary with lots of storage space. I liked the raised garden beds and the greenhouse.  The house is backed by forest. One could expect visits by all kinds of critters. The price is exactly right.

The problem?  The house is across the street from Bigari's Ace Hardware.  Gary's eyes gleamed at the thought of access to that mammoth warehouse of a hardware store. For a pack rat like Gary it would be heaven, but to my way of thinking it would be like an alcoholic renting an apartment above a bar.

We will look some more.

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