I confess to an addiction to HGTV. My latest guilty pleasure is a show where Americans shop for inexpensive homes in the European countryside in hopes of slowing down and spending more time with family. The villages are so quaint I hardly mind that not a single participant has bought any of the homes they toured.
But as much as I enjoy the show’s escapism, I feel like these people who are willing to move thousands of miles might be missing the point.
They come from places like New York and Seattle. They complain about the fast pace and high cost of living in the US. They want to slow down, work less, enjoy life more, maybe garden and eat locally grown food. It makes me wonder, have they failed to notice all the small cities, towns and villages across the US? Did they overlook the Midwest altogether?
The Rust Belt may not have the same appeal as the Mediterranean, but it can be the setting of the slower, communal life many of us seek. The affordable housing in DeKalb allows me to work part time. Nearly every day, I’m done with work in time to pick up my kids from school and cook dinner together. We volunteer at the local animal shelter, have Sunday dinner with friends, and experience many of the everyday pleasures the HGTV folks travel so far to seek.
Maybe we don’t have to travel so far to experience a slower pace of life. Maybe it’s within reach right here in our own Midwestern backyards.
I’m Beth Schewe, and that’s my perspective.
