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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Re: It's Friday Randoms
No offense, Molly, but I think that lake looks kind of icky. Also remember that it isn't MM to own a vacation home. I think it's one of the worst financial decisions you can make, actually. Another set of maitnenance costs, taxes, all in addition to the purchase cost/mortgage.
With how much you like to travel, think about how many fabulous trips you could take for $65,000. You live so close to several other lakes, at least one of which I can guarantee is better than Lake Lure
You all have no vision!
I would love a weekend getaway house on a lake somewhere nearby. My grandparents had one and all of my cousins and aunts and uncles would hang out there on the weekends. The boating, bonfires, swimming, camping and hanging out with family are all memories I would love for Tennyson to have.
And yes I could have a ton of awesome vacations for $65,000. There are positives to both sides. We can leave the weekend house to T, and can use it over and over for the rest of our life. And we could always sell it down the road and get (at least some) of that money back.
We aren't doing it, but it's fun to think about.
Fun!
LOL. We will NEVER be able to afford Lake Michigan property. But year, that would be amazing!
Sorry about your neighbors.
I totally get your vision. My grandparents bought a lake house 60 years ago on a little lake just north of Baldwin. Totally not a destination spot, but we went almost every weekend growing up and loved every minute of being there. Bonfires, swimming, etc. Loved!
My parents even bought the place behind my grandma's cottage. We all go up there often and it is so great to see Henry playing in the water that I grew up in. Amazing, actually. We go biking, on the quads and moke. My brother is even starting to organize a one-lap run around the lake. It has totally become my whole family's place to go and it is only an hour and 20 minutes away.
And as cool as Trout-a-rama might be, Baldwin definitely doesn't have the draw that resort towns do.
I've got vision. L and I were at one time seriously considering buying an oceanfront condo in Miami for vacation/retirement use. Then I realized it didn't make any sense.
You can buy a boat/jet ski and take it out on Bear Lake which is practically in your back yard and make all of those same memories with T!
I agree, fun to think about. But I still think there are better small lakes than that one. It just looks kind of slimy and gross.
Somehow I knew you'd get my vision. Haha. There are a couple of houses that made my 'short, imaginery list' in Baldwin.
I wouldn't be looking for a hot spot destination. Just a fun, old rickety lake house to make memories like I had growing up.
My husband hated Disney World and I attribute that to not experiencing it as a child and having the gooey, warm fuzzy memories of it. Thankfully his grandparents had a lake house that all of his family retreated too and those are some of his favorite memories, so we're on the same page. It's on the 10 year plan.
Oh no! Hopefully she calls soon.
My friends and I used to play this "educational" board game called Cashflow. Robert Kiyosaki (who is sort of a financial hack) created it. The game helps you learn to think about finances in a more fun way. Your goal is to get out of the "rat race" by creating enough passive income (from investments) to pay all of your expenses. Along the way there are opportunities to invest and also financial "catastrophes." It's funny how some of these things stuck with me--the three worst things in the game were "You bought a boat!" "You just had a baby!" and "You just bought a vacation home!"
Baby was somewhat helped by the fact that you could draw the marriage card and get rid of one kid's expenses by paying for a wedding. The other two you were stuck paying for for the entire game.
That's no fun.
Hope she calls soon (or that you are talking to her right now!)
Chymes, I hope you're on the phone now.
D&M, I get it. If you're looking for a lake place, check out Higgens Lake. There are a lot of affordable places right now, thanks to the economy. The lake was voted (by someone?) The 6th most beautiful lake in the world. Hee hee. That's where my parents have a place, and we love it.
LOL. Awesome.
All three of which I will or do currently have. Haha.
We'll probably end up waiting about 10 yrs and buying house on a local lake. That way it won't be a vacation house, but it will still feel like a vacation every weekend in the summer.
Best of both worlds.
And what I really want anyway is to live on a lake that is connected to Lake Michigan. So Bear Lake or Mona Lake would be ideal.
Hee hee. My goal is to find friends with boats and vacation homes
Nope. Nothing yet.
This is quite inconsiderate.
There's a time difference, so I was even sure to specify EST when setting up the interview and she confirmed.
Ugh.
Do I call her? I already emailed to check in - no response yet.
I share this goal!
I had also never heard of Higgins Lake before the board, which is odd because it seems popular here and this is a very small sample size of people.
Chymes, I would call for sure.
Higgens Lake, it seems to me, is a getaway for Metro Detroiters. To the point that if they buildt a light rail along I-75, it would be popular. And, there are a lot of empty cottages now because of all of the laid off auto workers.
See, now that is a vision I support. Much better financial decision! You also want the homestead exemption anytime you're on a lake since taxes are usually higher.
On the "less desirable" side of Mona Lake you can find some really inexpensive properties. We were looking at a house a couple of years ago that was ~$100K.
I totally agree, way inconsiderate. I would call at this point.
Unfortunately the same situation happened to me a few years ago. My phone calls went unreturned and I never heard from the company again (it was a reputable place, too, so it wasn't like they just disappeared). I always wonder what happened and why they didn't call.
Hopefully you have a much better outcome!
Would that be the south side? Oh wait, you must be talking about the east side. I wouldn't live on the east side.
And...for us at least...it's not always about the money. I think memory making will trump any financial gains to be made (or lost...ha!) in whatever route we choose.
I didn't think you would live on that side of the lake, but for half the price, I must say it would be tempting, depending on what spot you're in exactly. Although you probably have the concern about school districts, which we don't have. We also spend more time on that side of the lake, better restaurants, better access to the freeway, etc.
I agree, it's not always about the money. We definitely don't always make the wisest choicest in that regard (hello crazy amount of travel that we've done!), but I try to compromise somewhat and things like a second vacation home are just albatrosses that stick with you for life. I like to ask myself "Can we get a similar experience for less $$$?" If there is a way, then that's what I try to do.
Definitely tempting! And of course there is always school of choice. Ha.
Yay! Glad it went well.
Am I allowed to ask questions? Is this something you'd have to move for?
Yes. It's in Kansas City, Missouri. Know anything about the area? 'Cause I certainly don't.
I haven't had time to really go back over everything in my head because we had a family birthday dinner to go to, but my initial thoughts after the interview are "meh." And part of me thinks I need to be wowed and really excited about a job in order for me to pack up and move. Of course, the other part of me reminds me that I've been sending out resumes for journalism jobs for a year (this time around) and this is the first interview I've scored since secretly going back on the job market. So... yeah, things are not plentiful out there. It's a small paper, with a lot of outdated things but at the same time an approach to journalism that I like. The interview conversation was kind of odd, too, with her asking me about three questions and me asking about a billion...and she seemed perfectly happy to keep talking.