Well, now that I have gotten a little bit of my philosophy and basic ideas put down in this blog it is only natural that I move on to the practical application of these ideas. This brings me to the thought of the night (sometimes there are several "thoughts of the night," but tonight there is but one!).
After much deliberation and a few intense debates, Rose and I have decided to return home to the US after this academic year. I met this with trepidation as I have a desire to stay around here, continue to let my ideas (and this blog) develop, and get a tighter grasp on how we can put these ideas into action upon our return. Well, we are putting those plans in fast forward now and have also been squeezing the accompanying stress into a smaller package in the process. But great pressure is needed to form diamonds, right? Well, I hope that the ideas that have come out of this are as good as diamonds. I believe that there is at least one that is a golden idea none-the-less! Let me know what you think about it!
Grand Marais. A beautiful, scenic, eclectic, and expensive place. There aren't that many places to live in Grand Marais and due to its proximity to Lake Superior, the places that there are to live are hard to come by and usually pretty expensive. Often times this is overcome by just how COOL Grand Marais is though. There are adventures for just about any soul in this town: arts, crafts, scenery, hiking, canoeing, fishing, birding... the list just keeps rolling on! BUT, no matter how cool the town is, if you can't find affordable housing or a job that can sustain you (and your family), then you are kind of out of the running. Now, before I go any further I feel obligated to mention that there are many young families in Grand Marais that are making it work and there are many pioneering people up there of all ages that have made the Grand Marais lifestyle work despite its challenges. These people have often adopted at least some elements of a simpler lifestyle, either it be by living in a cabin without water or by passing on many of the material pleasures of the world so that they can enjoy the natural pleasures. This plays a role in where I am going with this:
If there could be a way for people to live in Grand Marais in a comfortable, cheap place, those people would be free to use their money for other things, probably things in the community... That seems like a pretty good idea, eh?
So this is my idea:
Right now there is a property for sale in Grand Marais. It is the old Go-Fer Cabins on the eastern side of town. It used to be an RV park and a small resort, but has gone through many incarnations of this and that, currently ending up as a kind of neglected looking question mark. My idea involves purchasing this property, renovating the cabins into efficient, intuitive little homes that could be rented out monthly for a relatively low amount, and developing this new little microcosm of Grand Marais into a contributor to the community.
This is my vision:
-There are 8 cabins and 11 RV/trailer spots. After renovation (can you say container houses?) this could be the new affordable and efficient home for 19 families! This is a new neighborhood. If you were to live in these cabins you would agree to be respectful to the other families in the neighborhood and to support local businesses as well as to give some of your time to beautify the area/tend the garden. We would throw block parties and host events in the neighborhood to get people involved and mainly offer a solution for one of the problems in Grand Marais... but not a solution that would burden the community with a huge increase in population. There are many people who want a simple life, but also want to have some of the comforts of a modern home. I see this option as offering both!
There are challenges however. I believe that this operation would be run very much like (or AS) a non-profit with any and all of the profit from rent being re-invested into the community and the housing situation. The only way that this would really work is if the cabins were full almost all of the time. I do not have a finger on the pulse of the community enough to know if this is realistic; if there would be people in Grand Marais who would like to live in a situation similar to this... Anyone have any ideas?
Also, where does the money come from? The property is selling for $259,000 and this is, um, kind of not in line with my previous conversations about living a life free from debt! I would be very much willing to take on the financial challenge of this if I had support and the information to know it would work. The question is whether any self-respecting bank would agree to let me!
So here is my challenge for the blogging community out there: If you can think of some way that this can become a reality, if you have ANY ideas about funding options or if there is some really simple solution that is beyond my grasp at this point, let me know PLEASE because I do believe that this could happen and it could be pretty amazing. We just need to get all of the puzzle pieces together!
After much deliberation and a few intense debates, Rose and I have decided to return home to the US after this academic year. I met this with trepidation as I have a desire to stay around here, continue to let my ideas (and this blog) develop, and get a tighter grasp on how we can put these ideas into action upon our return. Well, we are putting those plans in fast forward now and have also been squeezing the accompanying stress into a smaller package in the process. But great pressure is needed to form diamonds, right? Well, I hope that the ideas that have come out of this are as good as diamonds. I believe that there is at least one that is a golden idea none-the-less! Let me know what you think about it!
If there could be a way for people to live in Grand Marais in a comfortable, cheap place, those people would be free to use their money for other things, probably things in the community... That seems like a pretty good idea, eh?
So this is my idea:
This is my vision:
-There are 8 cabins and 11 RV/trailer spots. After renovation (can you say container houses?) this could be the new affordable and efficient home for 19 families! This is a new neighborhood. If you were to live in these cabins you would agree to be respectful to the other families in the neighborhood and to support local businesses as well as to give some of your time to beautify the area/tend the garden. We would throw block parties and host events in the neighborhood to get people involved and mainly offer a solution for one of the problems in Grand Marais... but not a solution that would burden the community with a huge increase in population. There are many people who want a simple life, but also want to have some of the comforts of a modern home. I see this option as offering both!
Also, where does the money come from? The property is selling for $259,000 and this is, um, kind of not in line with my previous conversations about living a life free from debt! I would be very much willing to take on the financial challenge of this if I had support and the information to know it would work. The question is whether any self-respecting bank would agree to let me!
So here is my challenge for the blogging community out there: If you can think of some way that this can become a reality, if you have ANY ideas about funding options or if there is some really simple solution that is beyond my grasp at this point, let me know PLEASE because I do believe that this could happen and it could be pretty amazing. We just need to get all of the puzzle pieces together!
