There is so much news bombarding us regarding the Coronavirus outbreak—it’s almost overwhelming. Major events are being cancelled or postponed (can you believe we have no NCAA March Madness tournament and no Masters Tournament!). Schools and universities are being shuttered and going to online classes. Offices are closing and office workers are going to fulltime telecommuting. Many people are going to be laid-off or, at best, collecting short-term unemployment. Cruise lines are shutting down. Disney is closing its parks. With employers and the government mandating travel restrictions, Airlines are cancelling flights and airports eerily resemble 9-11 days. Even Churches are going to online worship services for the coming weeks.
My husband Mike had to fly to Ohio this week on business and saw firsthand the effects. Here are his thoughts. For the first time in over 15 years, I had a whole row to myself on a primetime flight back to Atlanta from the capital of Ohio. I had to get senior management approval to even make it the trip as our company just instituted a full travel ban on Monday of this week. And, now after returning, I can’t help but wonder if there might have been some exposure to coronavirus which might flare up sometime in the next 14 days. Should I be in self-quarantine??? Whether this virus turns out to be the deadly event being forecast or not, better to be safe and not have to be worried about being exposed and contracting the illness. Even if you are young and healthy and have a less than severe case, you could still pass it along to elderly family or friends that might not be able to fight it off.
So now many of us have kids at home and have no where “safe” to vacation over prime spring break weeks. Well, if you have that mountain home, you have that perfect retreat from the coronavirus. Indeed, this may be the best place to ride out whatever becomes of this epidemic or Pandemic.
The mountains offer plenty of activities for rest, relaxation and spiritual refreshment. Instead of being on a crowded beach or in a stadium watching great college basketball, the mountains offer almost unlimited hiking, biking, fishing (streams or lake), canoeing and camping. Waterfall Hikes of North Georgia (https://www.amazon.com/Waterfall-Hikes-North-Georgia-Parham/dp/1889596221/ref=sr_1_2?hvadid=78271610187715&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=waterfall+hikes+of+north+georgia&qid=1584202345&sr=8-2 ) tells of over 200 waterfalls within reach via easy to strenuous hikes to match any desire and physical constitution. Even shopping the downtown areas in Blue Ridge, Ellijay, McCaysville, and Blairsville, etc. is pretty safe from virus contagion since you’re mostly outside walking and not in crowded malls.
If you don’t own a mountain home, it sure would be a good time to think about purchasing one. Interest rates are at 50-year lows and prices are still more than reasonable in the North Georgia mountains.
If you do own a mountain home, now would be a good time to visit—particularly if you are within driving distance and can avoid airports and planes to get here. Just be sure to bring your own toilet paper and supplies as, even here in the mountains, there are supply outages at our local Walmarts and other stores. If you’re not sure what to bring based on local store supplies, reach out to us and we’ll advise.
And if you do own, or are buying, that mountain home, do consider using a property management company such as Cabin-Keeper to maintain your property so that you can enjoy all that the mountains have to offer when you come to visit. Don’t be planning your trips around project work to be done on your cabin that consume your time when you come visit. Let us handle those jobs and prep your home for arrival and clean up after your departure. Because a mountain home is a perfect retreat from coronavirus and all the other issues this world and life can throw at you!