The senior playdate
Last fall, family friends moved out of the city and into the country, north and west of here, only a few miles from Wisconsin. In fact, we'll sometimes go through that town, Harvard, on the way back from Lake Geneva, if we take the long way 'round. It's on US Route 14, which comes out of that area on the west end of the lake. Dad's buddy had a place in Wisconsin for many years, not too far from their other friend's place, but once he and his wife retired, it's like they split the difference--still an hour or two outside of the city, but not so far that it takes a good portion of the day to get there. He has a daughter older than me, and I'm not sure where she lives, but I imagine they didn't want to be too far from her. Their son is significantly younger (daughter from his first marriage, son from his second, born when I was in high school) and last I heard, he was on the West Coast.
Harvard is a huge change from the Far Northwest Side. They moved from the land of Superdawg to the land of Harmilda--that's the name of the cow who's the mascot of Harvard Milk Days (get it?). They have a large property, I think five acres, and their house is pretty good sized. The Zillow listing is still up so dad was showing me pictures after they got home, and telling me the changes they've made or will make, like the deck was extended, for one. There's also a large hot tub in this addition a previous owner had put on the house; dad said it fits something like seven people. And, dad got to drive the tractor! I think the wife is a little lonely, since they're not even in town, but outside it somewhere (I just checked--they're a couple miles east of town). They have to drive everywhere. Literally, on Zillow, the walk score is 0. That's a huge change from their old house. They've only been there a few months; per Zillow, they closed on the house just before my birthday, so they've only been there since the holidays. They've barely experienced a season and a half there. Let them get through summer and fall before they really pass judgment.
Harvard is a huge change from the Far Northwest Side. They moved from the land of Superdawg to the land of Harmilda--that's the name of the cow who's the mascot of Harvard Milk Days (get it?). They have a large property, I think five acres, and their house is pretty good sized. The Zillow listing is still up so dad was showing me pictures after they got home, and telling me the changes they've made or will make, like the deck was extended, for one. There's also a large hot tub in this addition a previous owner had put on the house; dad said it fits something like seven people. And, dad got to drive the tractor! I think the wife is a little lonely, since they're not even in town, but outside it somewhere (I just checked--they're a couple miles east of town). They have to drive everywhere. Literally, on Zillow, the walk score is 0. That's a huge change from their old house. They've only been there a few months; per Zillow, they closed on the house just before my birthday, so they've only been there since the holidays. They've barely experienced a season and a half there. Let them get through summer and fall before they really pass judgment.