I heard an amazing story recently from a new acquaintance. It seems her husband needed to change careers for a variety of reasons. They lived in the mid west. They decided that since he was looking for a new career, the family may as well change where they lived as well. Never having been to Alaska, they made a big, bold decision to come here to the Kenai Peninsula. They sold everything, landed in Anchorage and started driving south. They had no job. Their plan was to drive all the way to Homer, the end of the road, just to scope out the Kenai and then head back north looking for the town they thought would be a good place to live. They got to Homer and never left. That was three years ago!
That's how this place is. It sucks you in, blesses you mightily, and won't let you go! At least that's how many of we newcomers feel. If I've heard one person say we won't be able to leave, I've heard dozens.
There is so much NOT to like here. The winters are long and dark, the summers very short. The spring is messy, muddy, cold. It's very expensive to live here. It's a long way to/from anywhere. Beyond objects of art and souvenirs, there is no shopping available. Traditional entertainment is extremely limited. The place is overrun with tourists in July. Gardening is next to impossible. Animals eat your grass and any semblance of a garden you might struggle to eke out. Your car is never clean longer than two blocks away from the car wash. In some places the water is horrible. You cannot swim in the ocean. You must guard your small pets from many predators. Often you can't get from here to there in a car without driving hundreds of miles out of your way. Heck, sometimes you can't even get from here to there by car at all because there's literally no road! You get my drift here. This list is not exhaustive.
So what's up with the draw this place has? What is the Homer mystique? I've been thinking a lot about that. Of course there's the obvious. The scenery is beyond gorgeous. Sometimes the air is so clear you can see a hundred miles distant. Auroras are visible from September to April. The fishing is incomparable, both salt water and fresh. The extended light from March to September is amazing. (at this point we have sunrise at 6:00 and sunset at 10:00 with very long predawn and post sunset light). Seeing the birds and animals in your yard is very exciting. The opportunities to ski, sled, snow shoe, hike, kayak, wind surf, snow machine, four wheel, hunt, boat, bird watch are abundant. It is a nature photographer's paradise. Great visual art of all kinds is readily available.
Then there are the people, and here's where I tear up. When Nelson and I were planning this adventure we determined that one of our goals was to get to know the people here. It wasn't hard. They are generous, warm, open, and friendly. If you have a need, they are there in a heart beat. If they can't meet your need, they'll find someone who can. They still have people in for dinner----frequently. This habit has greatly diminished on the east coast, in my opinion, but is so ideal for promoting relationships. They look forward to sharing their toys with you---snow machines, boats, four wheelers, etc. They have skills that are unmatched and share them freely. You need a plumber, no sweat. You need a backhoe, easy.
Because services are so hard to get, people here are very self-sufficient, and they look out for each other.
For the most part, the residents here major on the majors. How refreshing! The houses are humble and so are the people. The weather and terrain, it seems, are equalizers because both are so extreme and unalterable. No matter the social status or income, everyone wears jeans all the time. Everyone has to wear X-traTuffs much of the time. Everyone drives a dirty car and struggles with keeping their house clean. Everyone has a limited selection of overpriced food. Life is basic here, and that's very exciting.
If you want to live in a place where you're accepted/welcomed unconditionally regardless of circumstances, income, housing, status or any other worldly entrapment, come to Homer.
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