Did you ever daydream about leaving it all behind and taking off for the Canadian wilderness or the tropical South Pacific?  Maybe living on a houseboat on the Seine (that’s in Paris!), or setting up residence in a castle in Scotland. We all dream from time to time of simplifying our lives and doing more of what we actually like to do.  Did you know that most people work hard all year long just to reap the rewards of 2-3 weeks (if they are lucky!) in an idyllic location?  Well, the process of escaping one’s lifestyle does not necessarily mean passports, visas, airline tickets and currency changes.  And even if you haven’t yet qualified for that perfect job: retirement, you still can escape to a locale that will make your work-a-day much more agreeable and enjoyable.

How my daydream became reality…..

My escape was defined by two factors:- 1) what new profession could I perfect within 2 weeks and then immediately get offered a job, and 2) where could I go that would be surrounded by the sea and nature, but within a couple hours drive to Boston where my son was in college.  After 25 years working as a designer of museum exhibits, retail displays, signage programs, and interactive visitor centers, I decided I just wanted to paint; for myself.  No more design committees, revisions and final outcomes that looked nothing like my original concepts. What I needed was a new occupation that made use of the skills I had cultivated for most of my life.  An occupation that required good people skills, an understanding of what folks want even when they aren’t sure themselves, and a flare for creating and using space.  Those skills, as a contract designer, I had perfected.  Add the fact that I was accustomed to working on a commission basis, the sum of all the parts became clear - Real Estate!  I could take a weekend grand-slam-course, wait 3 days (actually study my brains out for 3 days), and take a gruelling board exam.  All of that I proudly accomplished on my first go-round!  I had succeeded in creating a new profession. Factor 1) - complete.

As for factor 2), location by the sea, I had to keep in mind that even with my great new title of Real Estate Agent I still needed to land a job.  I did my homework, consulted the web, and discovered that Barnstable County had the highest real estate growth in the state of Massachusetts.  The commute to downtown Boston was under 2 hours, and the best part - Barnstable County defines what is better known as Cape Cod!! 

The fortunes of Cape Cod have always been linked to the sea.  For centuries fishermen in search of a livelihood, explorers in search of new worlds, and pilgrims of one sort or another in search of a new life - down to the beach-bound tourists of today - all have turned to the waters around this narrow peninsula arcing into the Atlantic to fulfill their needs and ambitions.  I too would join the pilgrimage in search of a new life!

Take route 3 south….

My escape was to be from the suburbs of Boston Massachusetts, to Cape Cod.  Not a very big “escape” you might say?  Well, save that opinion until you finish reading my tale.  First of all, Cape Cod is essentially an island connected to the mainland by two bridges.  So I escaped to an island.  Do you disagree?  Now you could argue that Long Island (that’s part of New York) is an island, with bridges, but not a place you would want to escape to.  But for matter of discussion, let’s think of an island as a less developed, more out of the way place surrounded (somewhat) by water.  At least less confining: free.

Speaking of Real Estate: Capes, ½ Capes, ¾ Capes and Warts……

Originally settled by the Wampanoag tribe the first homes on Cape Cod were wigwams.  The first English to settle these parts copied the natives and built homes from tree branches, bark, grasses, cornstalks and hides.  Obviously none of these would be left to sell when I arrived!  But eventually the European settlers cut down the forests for farmland and had the lumber to build more traditional framed homes but with a whole “new world” look all their own.  This creative innovation led to two popular styles: the Saltbox and the Cape Cod cottage.  These styles were to be then copied all over the country, with the most original and charming ones still located on Cape Cod.

The ½ Cape was asymmetrical in design.  It had a front door towards the corner of the building, and two identical windows across the front.  As the family grew, an addition with one more identical window created a ¾ Cape.  Or with the addition of two identical windows one got a symmetrical design called a full Cape.  Oh, and the little additions built into the sides came to be called warts!

The saltbox house was more of a renovation style then a building style.  Just like a ½ Cape, it could be enlarged to accommodate a growing family, the classic two storey Colonial was altered by adding a single storey addition to the back creating a long sloping roof reminiscent of the boxes that stored the kitchen salt.  These innovative spaces were a design/planner’s dream!

And what’s more, a colony for artists……

Lift up your left arm parallel to the floor.  Bend your elbow to make an “L”.  Now bend your wrist with your fingers pointing back at your head.  You have now illustrated Cape Cod.  Look at the map.  Around your elbow is Chatham, kind of the turning point on the Cape.  From your elbow up your forearm is called the Outer Cape and it consists of some charming, funky, historical places like Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet and Truro.  And the outermost of the outermost, Provincetown.  Artists have been drawn to Provincetown from the early part of the 20th century.  Some say it was the light.  Others insist it’s because, like Key West, Provincetown is at the “end of the earth”. 

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