After a very long winter followed by a very very wet spring, we’ve finally had some nice weather over the last couple of days. It’s really been glorious. My oldest is finishing up kindergarten this week and his teacher gave him a shovel and pail as his goodbye present. Well, when I picked him up, that meant only one thing, that we’d spontaneously head off to our little beach on the lake after work. It was already 5:30, so we didn’t have time to pack real bathing suits or a picnic or anything, so we just went on a whim. We had nothing with us but some sand toys, a towel and a couple of juice boxes.
The best lakefront property is not on the lake
I spent a lot of time at this beach the last two summers. To this day, I continue to marvel at the gorgeous scenery that is just a stone’s throw away from my home. Yes, lakefront property is crazy expensive, but living near a lake is not. There are homes that are less than 1/4 mile from my home that sell for 10x more than mine because they are on the lake. I feel like I have the best of both worlds. Easy access and low cost.
Poor and Rich don’t Mix on the Lake
Anyway, whenever I go, I always wonder why there aren’t more people enjoying the lake midweek and even on the weekends. Most of the time, the only people I see there are carrying in their obligatory bag $0.99 Value Time Chips and soda pop. Clearly, these aren’t the same folks that pack their wicker picnic baskets with wine and cheese and listen to the Boston Pops on the lawn of Tanglewood. It made me wonder: Where are all the rich people and why is beach going not an acceptable form of entertainment for them? I’m positive there is no sign on the lake that says no one over a certain income limit is allowed here. However, it sure seems like the poor people go to the beach to play and the rich people ride their boats around on the lake and there is an invisible force field that keeps the two groups from mixing with each other.
Yeah, the beach sand always seems to have the token dead fish in it that the kids pick up and throw at each other, but it’s still pretty darn nice. We even have a family of 5 bald eagles nesting across from our boat launch.
Do the Poor Have More Time?
Last summer, when I was at the beach often, I would see the same young families there all the time. It really seemed like a few families lived there on the weekends. It made me think “wow, I wish I had that much time.” Then I thought about what ate up my free time: Caring and maintaining our home. If you’re a renter, you don’t have to mow a lawn, do house maintenance, renovate or weed. You pay your rent and that’s it.
Although I love my house, it was then that I realized that home ownership isn’t just a big money suck, but it’s a big time suck as well. I love tinkering so I wouldn’t have it any other way, but I’m not sure I realized just how much time it really took out of my week until then. I had to think back to when I still lived with Babci and I could just pick up and go somewhere without having to worry about what chores I was leaving behind. Ah, those were the days. Thanks babci. Back then, it was more like involuntary simplicity vs the voluntary kind that’s so chic these days. I think many of my beach going neighbors also were of the involuntary ilk but they seemed to be making the most of it.
Then I thought about those boaters that most of the people on the beach would probably love to trade places with. How much play time are they losing by having to hook up the boat, pack the boat, put the boat in the water, take the boat out of the water, unhook the boat, unpack the boat, etc… You probably lose 1/2 your fun time just dealing with boat stuff. This doesn’t even include the time it takes working to pay for your boat and gas. It’s such a hassle that you hardly see any boats on the water midweek. Why not just forget the boat and drive over to the beach instead? There is plenty of daylight and since we have such a short summer, after work excursions midweek are a must in our book.
Self Segregation
When my friend’s wife turned her nose up at our local lake, I asked her where she takes her kids swimming. She said that most people she knows go to the other lake 20 minutes away (in a much more expensive town). “The beach is much nicer there.” It’s been at least 5 years since she told me this and I still haven’t gone there. I’m sure I’ll go to that other beach someday for a change of scenery, but if I’m going to drive somewhere, I might as well keep going another 2 hours and get to the ocean.
In her defense, sometimes our town’s beach gets closed because some rotten kids decide it’s fun to throw trash cans full of garbage in the lake and contaminate the water. That only happens once or twice a year and knock on wood it hasn’t happened yet this year. “What? You’re taking your kids to the e-coli lake? I would never do that.” As an aside, I hate vandals. They stink. My friend just finished building a playground at his kid’s school and it got vandalized the very next day. Stuff like that breaks my heart. What the heck is wrong with these kids?
I feel that I’m very fortunate because I have experienced life at a wide variety of income levels and I definitely think that there is a point where having too much stuff takes away what little free time we have.
Do you see this same kind of segregation? I’m really perplexed why more people of all classes don’t go to our gorgeous little town lake. Does fun have to be in the form of a weekend cottage on Martha’s Vineyard or a second home on a lake somewhere? I scratch my head and wonder where all the middle class families are and what they do come summer time. If nothing else, I think I walked away noticing that for a lot of folks, the more money your have, the more time you waste gearing up for fun vs just maximizing your time relaxing and enjoying life. (ie. traveling to a vacation spot, preparing your expensive stuff so you can use it, driving hours to six flags instead of going to the carnival, etc.) Does that theory hold water or was it just a goofy observation?
I know when I was going through my year of no spending, I took my kids to the lake, playground or to the Y swimming and it didn’t make a lick of difference to them. They had a blast. Sure, we like going to zoos and stuff, but they often prefer the instant gratification of just doing something “right now” vs packing up the car for an all day adventure. I love all day adventures, so I think it was much harder for me than it was for them. If you’re looking to save a little money this year on summer fun, first look to see what’s right in your backyard. I was amazed when I took the time to explore my local options more thoroughly. I don’t think I would be enjoying my local lake as much as I do if it weren’t for that experience.
On that note, to all you US folks, have a great 4th of July holiday. Hurray to some time off.
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