Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Unschooling in Small Towns

Well, thankfully I had a revelation lately, one day when chatting with a new friend of mine, and we got to chatting about various towns in the Midwest that might be better for unschooling in, and Ashland, Wisconsin came up. Now I know that moving to Ashland would not solve all my problems, but a lightbulb when off in my head - aha! That is what is missing from my life! Outdoor recreation people/activities! And we've been looking at land for about 10 years, my husband and I, and we've almost exclusively looked in Southern WI and MN, because that is where he has been thinking he'd like to live, because there is great visibility for storm-watching, and there is no Lake Superior (one of my favorite things in the world) to "mess up" the weather.

So we went up to Ashland last weekend, just to see if I would feel more comfortable there, and the city itself definitely could use a little beautification, though not too much more than the one I'm in (Viroqua). But the exciting thing was that there were BIKE TRAILS. And there is a giant lake!! And a REAL COFFEE SHOP!!! Wow!!! And ads up for drumming, martial arts, outdoor recreation for children, and various other things I can't remember. But they were exciting.

Anyway, my revelation is that if I'm not going to be in a big city, I need to be in a town that at least offers the kinds of things I am passionate about. Duh, right? Well, I guess I didn't realize how un-passionate the rest of the U.S. population is about things like public gathering spaces and outdoor recreation. Thank God I have now seen the light. Now to figure out what I'm going to do about it.

3 comments:

  1. I'm actually thinking I never did make the point I intended to. But I do not feel like fixing that.

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  2. Bike trails, coffee shops, outdoor activities - sounds like a perfect place! Best wishes on your journey!

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  3. They have a good co-op too. :) Michael has a big dream to own a farm near Ashland someday. Maybe we'll be neighbors!

    Emily (the other Ezra's mom)

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