Finding Home: 50 Cities in 50 Days
Category News, Spotlight On | Posted on July 11, 2019
Finding Home in Springfield: 50 cities in 50 weeks - By Rod Dollins
In July 2017, Susan and I embarked on an adventure of a lifetime. We sold our home in St. Louis to embark on a trip where we would visit 50 states in 50 weeks with the intent of finding a new place we could call home to live out our duration. In five years of planning, we researched a myriad of areas and factors including the cost of living, climate, crime, health services, and recreational opportunities such as trails. We intentionally selected one city in each state to visit that somewhat mirrored our expectations and values.
Our journey first led us through Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and through New England during the fall. In Massachusetts we experienced the rain and wind of Hurricane Jose’s remnants. We hiked across Cape Cod which is much longer than it looks on a map. Taking a 31-foot trailer around the megaplexes of Boston and New York became a white-knuckle affair, as did maneuvering onto a ferry from New Jersey to Delaware.
We experienced Christmas in Melborne, Florida, in 90-degree temps suffering from a bad case of December chiggers. We celebrated New Year’s Day in Gulf Shores State Park in Alabama where we turned in at 10:00 P.M. and never heard a peep out of our fellow campers. Interestingly, our coldest experience of the trip was in northwest Louisiana where we awoke one snowy January morning to an 11-degree temp and frozen pipes.
Our journey meandered through the Southwest dodging snowstorms and high winds. We experienced Death Valley, Sequoia, and Yosemite National Parks despite ruling out California before we began the trip. We stored our trailer near Seattle and took a plane to both Alaska and Hawaii where we actually liked Alaska better due to beautiful hikes in Chugach State Park. We experienced a snowy journey over the Rockies into Idaho and then on to Montana and the Dakotas. We finished our trip on Flag Day as we waded across the Mississippi River at its source in Lake Itasca, MN. Overall, we hiked 777 miles. We met nice and friendly people everywhere. We never had anything stolen or vandalized. We encountered feral pigs, long horn sheep, moose, a wolverine from afar, and one surly bison. Thirteen snakes also crossed our path which equaled to one snake every 69 miles we hiked.
We determined our top five cities or areas to resettle to be Bowling Green, KY; Asheville, NC; Johnson City, TN; Waveland, MS; and Springfield, MO. We selected Springfield because it offers many of the amenities of St. Louis, but with small-town flavor. What we enjoy most is Springfield’s quality of life. The ease of being 20 minutes from everywhere, and the opportunity to participate in several university programs and excellent public libraries. People here take advantage of using the Ozark Greenways trail network. Big name musical talents frequent Springfield, there is a top-notch symphony and of course the Springfield Cardinals. It was an easy decision to crown Springfield our Queen City. We have not regretted it one minute – love this place!
Hear more about the path Susan and Rod Dollins took to land in Springfield at rdollins.wordpress.com.