Lifestyle

Memorial Day Weekend

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It’s a tradition unlike any other: An Upper Midwest Memorial Day Weekend carried out amidst the hindering malaise that is cold, rainy, cloudy, and otherwise unpleasant weather. Add in the … Read more

George Williams College Sells

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I suppose that’s an inaccurate headline. The college didn’t sell, but the land that once hosted the YMCA camp and later Aurora University’s Williams Bay operations, has sold. I have … Read more

Endings

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There is some question as to where the practice of providing those condemned to death a “last meal”. Some say it started with the Roman Gladiators. Others claim it began … Read more

Williams Bay Tornado

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That was quite a storm last night, perhaps the worst one I’ve seen here. Some meaningful tree damage on the village lakefront in Williams Bay and around the lake, but … Read more

Memorial Day Weekend

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Well, my 17th issue of Summer Homes For City People is finished. You should be able to find it around the lake this weekend, although the rainy day today is … Read more

George Williams College

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By now you’ve read the articles in Crain’s and the Tribune, so I don’t need to tell you that Aurora University has found a buyer for their cherished George Williams … Read more

October

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On Sunday I boated and maybe you did, too. It was that sort of Sunday. If you could boat, you did boat. One last ride, we all said. The skies … Read more

Oddities

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A Lake Geneva summer begins in earnest on Memorial Day Weekend, or so the cultural norm would have you believe. Fire up your grills and don your trunks, when that … Read more

Work From Home

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If no one had to work in a physical office with co-workers and a communal CLIFF BAR dispenser, then it made good sense that people might move to Whitefish, Montana. … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving

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Remember when I told you I was going to write about the things I’m thankful for? I was going to work on being grateful. I was going to really, really … Read more

Idle Hands

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If I’ve accomplished nothing else in my life, I’ve certainly succeeded in identifying the many reasons people buy Lake Geneva vacation homes. I’ve rambled about gibberish, tried incredibly hard to … Read more

Hey Jealousy

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I declared it to be the finest place I have ever visited. No, more than that. The finest property I have ever seen. The finest of everything at any time … Read more

Mr. Complacent

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I’m complacent. I can feel it. I still turn over every rock and sweat out every deal, that part of me will never fade. It’ll kill me, but it won’t … Read more

These Days

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I spend most of my time wondering how Jackson Browne could write this song when he was just 16 years old. I remember being 16 years old. I had a … Read more

Lake Geneva Real Estate Market Update

Lake Geneva Fireworks

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If this blog was about my neighbors, and I was tasked with telling you when their firework celebrations were to occur, I would fail miserably. There are myriad reasons why … Read more

Ban

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I think everyone knows how I feel about pontoon boats. In case you don’t know, I hate them. That’s not to say that I don’t understand them, it’s just that … Read more

Pier 290

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I’m grateful for the dull things in life. For the way I feel when I go to the hardware store and buy two furnace filters and a small pack of … Read more

Lake Geneva For Sale

Gratitude

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I’m not one of those people who have trouble saying thank you. I say it all of the time. I say it when someone refills my water at a restaurant, … Read more

The stunning pastels of a Lake Geneva spring

Finally

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I feel better now. I was on the verge of breaking, but in true Midwest fashion I powered through the difficult days knowing that there were better days around the … Read more

Low Grade

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What if some houses are actually terrible? What if certain houses were built by people who shouldn’t have been allowed to pick any tile, flooring, cabinets, light fixtures, paint colors, … Read more

Merry Christmas

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It’s strikingly obvious to me that without my clients and friends, my family would not be so uniquely blessed. For that, I am exceedingly thankful and appreciative. There’s a lot … Read more

Happy Thanksgiving

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My wife and her family are Canadians. It’s not their fault, really, they just are, and they do the best that they can with this condition. During our Covid Chronicles, … Read more

The Romantic

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Growing old is fascinating. There are things that matter and things that don’t, and when I was younger I assumed that when I was older I’d have a better understanding … Read more

California Dreaming

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California has positioned itself as the cultural king of America, as every Midwestern kid knows. A weekend visit to judge its importance.

Calm

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There’s something wrong with the way a summer day makes me feel. I’ve heard stories that some people tell, stories about lazy hazy days. The setting is always summer. Never … Read more

October

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I don’t like September anymore. In fact, I don’t know why I ever did. October is where it’s at.

Fall At The Lake

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Well, that’s that. Summer is dead and gone. My dreams of enjoying it are left mostly unfulfilled, and I know it’s my own fault. When you’re young and you’re taught … Read more

Freedom?

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Covid was hard on Michigan. Tim Allen wants you to return to normal, while at Lake Geneva we never departed from it.

Regrets

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Regrets are a part of life. Thankfully, Lake Geneva ownership isn’t one of the sources of regret. And for that, we can all be thankful.

Improvement City

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The City of Lake Geneva is nice. But it could be a whole lot better. Step one in a multi-step plan to improve the city.

Mountain Towns

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Ski Towns are more popular today than ever before, but will the new owners actually enjoy living full time in a vacation destination?

Force

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Years ago, I wrote often about the need to carve out time and dedicate that time to the enjoyment of this place. It was the time of our lives, after … Read more

May

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Corona is everywhere and no one should leave their homes. If you do, you might get it, which is to say we’re all going to get it, because without herd … Read more

Vacation Home Markets

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In the good times, underlying market weakness is hard to see. During a crisis, there’s no hiding what makes most vacation home markets weaker than Lake Geneva.

Wednesday

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I took a walk yesterday. The last time I took a walk in the middle of the day was so long ago that I cannot remember it. Of course there … Read more

Monday

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Why do we even bother giving the days names? I read this in a tweet over the weekend and I thought it was funny. But then I also thought about … Read more

Reminisce

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What an odd time to be alive. I’m glad to be alive during it, because the alternative seems worse. I think all of this social distancing and economy destroying is … Read more

Sail Lake Geneva Wisconsin

Lake Geneva Quarantine

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I’ve been contemplating what, if anything, to write about the current state of things. Things, as a point of fact, are bad. Individually, I’m fine. I have a nice house … Read more

Lake Geneva Farms

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My wife and children were to be out of town for a few days, and my job was simple. In the morning, let the chickens out and be sure they had food

Lake Geneva Videos

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It’s gray again. The snow has melted, so we have that going for us, but the white has been replaced with the grays and browns of November, and

High End

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What is it that makes a house appear high end? Is it the color palette? If we gray out a house in the most modern style, will that make it high end?

Lake Geneva Water

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I see the world in black and white. I see it in wrong and right. I see the people who dwell in the gray and I wonder why. Packers fans see Bears

November

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If I were the sort of person who was forced to spend sixth months in a more tax advantageous state, it would be a struggle for me. In order to find

Elevated

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I spent last week in the south of France. It was a nice week, although it could be successfully argued that sitting at this desk watching the fall leav

Lake Geneva Lakefront Homes For Sale

The Test

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Considering Lake Geneva for a vacation home but you’re unsure about the scene? Take my test and find out in just one day!

Lake Geneva Winter

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This is the time of year when social media feeds are filled to the brim with mockery. Mockery of our place, of this place, of the cold. The snowbirds are … Read more

Lake Geneva Boat Slip

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It’s that time of year again. The time of year when the piers are unceremoniously disassembled and stacked along our shorelines. That happened in October, sure, but this morning there … Read more

Lake Geneva Winter

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I think it’s cute that the city of Lake Geneva is installing an ice rink this winter. The ice rink will complement the ice castles that are currently being built … Read more

Lake Geneva Ski Season

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I write with disappointment today.  Today is opening day at Alpine Valley, the ski hill near Lake Geneva where my family spends considerable time during these coming winter months. Last … Read more

Lake Geneva Video

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It’s been three years since I had my homepage video filmed. That was a terrific video, if I do say so myself. But this last week’s weather was so perfect … Read more

Emagine Theater

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I’d like to become the sort of person who only spells theater theatre. I’d like to place emphasis on the A, while I’m at it. But I’m not sure I … Read more

Lake Geneva Real Estate Market Update

Summery

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My calendar said spring turned to summer last week. The first day of summer, it said, capitalized with an exclamation point. The hardware stores had an ad in the paper, … Read more

Process

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There’s a process to this whole thing.  This is something the buyers who wish to be here on these shores, but lack either the financial ability or the mental focus … Read more

Of Houses

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I have a good friend who has found himself in the middle of a housing conundrum. It’s a geographic conundrum, really.  It might be a different sort of conundrum, but … Read more

The Hunt

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I kill animals every year. Or at least one animal every year. It’s a right of passage, a tradition, something I do, annually.  I’m a killer, I suppose.  But I’m … Read more

Fall Rules

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I have several different sets of rules pertaining to several different disciplines. My real estate rules are well known. Don’t buy a house on any lake that doesn’t start with … Read more

The Why

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It was windy. It hadn’t rained yet, but the clouds had overtaken the moon and everyone knew the rain was near. It wasn’t warm anymore, not warm like the day … Read more

Sell The Lake Geneva Riviera

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In a recent Lake Geneva Regional News article, City of Lake Geneva Alderman John Halverson, when discussing the state of the Lake Geneva Riviera and a desired multi-million dollar referendum … Read more

Summer’s End

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The streets are quiet now. The excited conversations of summer are now just a murmur, fading like the green in all of these leaves. There was life back then, so … Read more

Summer Night

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There is some thought, rampant among those who cannot yet know, that a night is a night is a night. The night it dark here, just like there, in fact … Read more

Fontana Fireworks

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I admit I’m a lazy fireworks watcher. I know what happens. The fuse, the ssssssss, the explosion. I’ve watched them before. I know the weeping willow and the star ones. … Read more

Lake Geneva Musky

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It wasn’t so long ago that I remember seeing a rainbow trout. It was swimming from my childhood pier to the next door pier, aloof, brilliant, without purpose or direction. … Read more

Vernacular

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If we were in the deep south, it would be understood that there would be certain words we’d use at certain times. We’d drop the G on many words, like … Read more

Mushroom Time

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When an acorn falls in the forest a squirrel eats it. The squirrels wait for the acorns, then the acorns drop from the trees, and then the squirrels eat the acorns. … Read more

Avant Bicycle and Cafe

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Resort towns in the Midwest tend to follow the same pattern. A downtown, some shops. The outskirts of the downtown, some big box stores. In the downtown you’ll find some … Read more