by Martha Jean

Created on: August 08, 2008

I've lived and worked in New York City (which I will refer to frequently as the "City") most of my adult life. The City has many things to offer, including some beauty. The most significant reasons for my having continued to work here are compensation and convenience. However, my feeling on these reasons are changing. I don't think the City continues to offer the best opportunities for everyone. It also has one of the highest costs of living in the United States and is getting more expensive each week. Certainly I myself could have a better quality of life by relocating to another part of the country, away from the northeast. As far as I am concerned, the City is not, as is said in the vernacular, "all that." Having said that, there is little to compare of the City to the tranquility and beauty of the mountains, although monetary compensation from a typical "nine-to-five" in the mountains of the Northeast generally would not be worth comparing.

Nearly 20 years ago I was invited to spend a long weekend at the newly constructed home of a friend in a northern area of Northeastern, Pennsylvania. The house, a 4,000 square foot contemporary, was surrounded by large mature trees and situated in a beautiful, amenity-filled community about 3-1/2 hours north of New York City. Although constructed without central air, the house was cool. Sleeping with blankets year-round was not unusual.

Now, I must say that I have vacationed in many places of beauty. However, the first time I visited Northeastern, Pennsylvania, I truly felt that this was Paradise. Almost immediately after my first visit I began to think on how I could find a way to build my own house in the mountains. Within two years of that initial visit, I purchased land and two years later started construction in the mountains of Northeastern, Pennsylvania, more commonly known as The Pocono Mountains or the "Poconos."

What follows is a condensed version of my experiences and reflections on some lessons learned.

Lesson 1: Don't start construction in the Fall on a house that will be more than an hour's drive from your current residence.

In northern regions of the U.S., it is best to commence with building in the Spring. Starting in early September, just before the frost, led to my having to drive 2-1/2 hours from the City frequently in inclement weather during the winter months. Not actually realizing how scary driving could be for the inexperienced in bad weather, I learned the hard way. However, bad weather can occur

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