Hi Judy,

I just read your article about sheltering at home to ensure your health during the Covid lockdown and it gave me such joy and inspiration.  You see after spending years of taking our now 27 year old daughter skiing at Belleayre and spending a fabulous long weekend at the Mountain Creek Inn last Fall, my husband and I decided it was time to start looking at leaving our suburbia home in NJ and head for a simpler life, cleaner air and no expectation of keeping one’s home completely manicured. We have spent the last 3 weekends viewing homes all over Delaware County and currently have an accepted bid on a home in Andes about 10 minutes from Main Street.

In my area of  NJ, I have access to more grocery stores than you can imagine. Just this week we were out of organic fruit so I placed an order to Whole Foods at 10 am for grapes, melon, and peaches only to have it arrive at my door a bit over an hour later. So while I cannot wait to leave suburbia behind, there is a true fear of how do I feed my husband and myself once I have been removed from all of those things I currently rely upon. I know we will be newcomers— transplant—and since my husband is still currently working for a NYC company there is a very good chance he will at some point be required to go back to NYC, but until then and as we transition from NJ to Andes, your account of your lockdown ordeal has brought to me a sense of comfort. But most of all it has solidified what it is I know I want from the community where I choose to live: the chance to care for each other, to know each other, and to know we will not be allowed to starve even during a pandemic.

I will be subscribing and donating to a resource I think I am going to find invaluable as we start the process to make our Andes home our true forever home.

Brenda Doherty~