In early 2015, caught in a business contraction at age 65
and with some health issues, I retired with no regrets. My lovely wife and I had anticipated that
move for some time and were ready. We had looked for a house on Cape Cod for a
couple of summers. But with grandkids in Atlanta and Seattle, it didn’t take
much thought to realize maybe we didn’t want to be so far from our third kid
who was newly married and living just west of Boston.
We looked at Cape Ann, attracted by the:
- Geography: the ocean, a small city in
Gloucester, and to our surprise a very diverse place with urban, suburban and
very rural areas; the variety of neighborhoods, villages and environs is
astounding
·
Demography: a place with livings earned from
natural resources who were there for the work, replete with those of Italian
heritage, ok, mostly Sicilians, but with a comfortable approach to life for me;
and with an area of 26 square miles, it has the lowest population density in
eastern Massachusetts;
·
- Culture: a very high percentage of population
with a Catholic background (carefully chosen words because they attend church
at a very low rate these days); culture is largely still, a product of religion
- Economy: property taxes are half of what we were
paying where we brought up our kids and goods and services are correspondingly
(although not proportionately, priced
- Culinary conditions: caught-daily seafood is the
obvious feature, but additionally most of those Italians know how to eat – the
restaurants and even the grocery stores reflect demand by customers with discriminating
pallets
- Spirituality: coming from one of the most highly
developed (Vatican II as a measure) and welcoming parishes in the Boston
Archdiocese, Sacred Heart in Lexington MA, nowhere does one randomly find a
comparable substitute; nevertheless, the adherence of the population to the
faith, if not the Church, here is both committed and full; one finds their own
way in every Catholic parish and you get out what you put in
- Microclimate: 14 miles out to sea with a limited
land area compared say to Cape Cod, the marine environment controls weather
here to a great extent; this also limits airborne allergens, a truth to which
my wife, a long term allergy sufferer, will attest. Further, it’s often 5 to 10 degrees warmer in
winter and 5 to 10 degrees cooler in summer than inland areas. with limited snowfall for many non-coastal
storms
- Geology (a personal and professional specialty):
there is limited variety (basically just granite, diabase dikes, a few faults
and glacial features) for this element on Cape Ann, but it forms an
interesting, if limited, story. The underlying bedrock provides a strong
foundation for the shorelines compared to the loose erodible sands of Cape Cod.
Facing east, the shoreline is generally protected from hurricanes moving up
from the south and there is actually more threat from nor’easters than from
hurricanes or tropical storms – the cold ocean water diminishes those big mean
storms this far north and the water is colder – try bathing here vs. Hyannis!
·
Friendliness and welcoming of the people: while
it may stem from the renowned tourist industry and the unique culture, that legendary
New England standoffishness has only shallow roots here
The limited economic base (mainly tourist trade and seafood
harvesting) limits development and privation is not absent. That is one
necessary while unfortunate tradeoff of life here. Locals seem too often
misplace blame for lack of opportunity here on the place rather than the lack
of initiative to improve it.
I do see
that changing.
Since taking up residence
here we have seen the Beauport (Luxury) Hotel and the GMGI - Gloucester Marine
Genomics Institute rise in the harbor area. The latter is in one of President
Trump’s
Opportunity Zones.
These are certainly a tribute to the wisdom and work of the current city
leadership.
Related stories on many topics have developed in our lives
since we took up residence here, far exceeding our expectations when we moved
into this unique city. I hope to carry them all to this blog.
