For author Steven Stapinski Andover is the ideal place for living in Massachusetts. I was fortunate enough to have a catch up on video chat with Steven, mainly to talk about his writing work. The conversation lasted for quite some time and during that time I was keen to learn more about his hometown of Andover, MA. Boston had been somewhere that I would like to live for some time now, and to be honest having listened to all of the great stuff which Steven told me, it may well be that I put Andover on that list of places to live.

For those of you who do not know, much like I didn’t until recently, here is what it is like to live in Andover.

Safe Place to Live

We live in strange times at the moment in the USA and there are many big cities which have seen huge surges in crime and delinquency. Andover however, is not such a place and the crime rate here is very low indeed. On average you have a 1 in 220 person chance of something happening to you here, that is 77% lower than the average across the country, certainly somewhere that you and your family can feel safe.

Nature Lovers

Because Andover is set further inland, it doesn’t have close access to the coast, what it does have however is hundreds of acres of gorgeous natural landscapes, rivers meeting and nature reserves just waiting to be explored. Many who live here will spend weekends in the forests here, and the way of life is very in tune with the natural wonder which it is surrounded by.

Access

Because of its proximity to the city of Boston, Andover is the ideal place for those who wish to be involved in the city, without actually living there. There are many business people who live here and who commute to the chaos of the city each day, before retiring back to their quiet town after a hard day’s work.

Family Friendly

This is very much a place for families, largely because of the security which is on offer here. There are also some very high standard schools in this area too and that is a very compelling reason for parents to wish to move their families up to Andover.

Cost of Living

Although this is quickly changing, the cost of living in Andover is far lower than you would first think and house prices are still very reasonable. This is a great surprise given how the rest of Essex County has seen a sharp rise in property costs, which does certainly suggest that now would be the perfect time to get into Andover whilst things were still affordable. There is little doubt that a place which is so accessible to the bright lights of Boston, will soon become highly popular, and pretty expensive.

Is this the type of place where you could envisage yourself living?

Amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals during the past several weeks have spent more time at home versus on the road. However, many of these same individuals are ready to beat their cabin fever by finally hitting the open road this fall, with Los Angeles remaining a dream vacation spot for many. The question is, what are luxury accommodation providers—namely corporate housing providers—doing to keep their guests healthy and happy, and how will they fare in the months ahead? Here’s a look at how luxury apartments in Los Angeles are adapting following the pandemic, according to travel expert Brian Ferdinand in a recently published article.

CORPORATE HOUSING CLEANING PROTOCOL

According to Brian Ferdinand, the managing partner of CorpHousing Group, reputable providers of corporate housing are now making soap/water and/or hand sanitizer easily accessible to guests during their stays and upon their arrival in the current COVID-19 era. In addition, they are giving their guests disinfecting and/or cleaning products to use, along with clear instructions for using these products during their stays.

The best corporate housing providers are also waiting as long as they can (ideally, one day) before entering their properties to clean them. In addition, they are removing shared objects that are hard to clean regularly; these include decorative pillows and additional throw blankets, for example. They are also opening their unit windows and balcony doors to allow for air circulation. This can enhance their units’ air quality and possibly dissipate any virus particles in the rooms, according to Ferdinand.

ADDITIONAL CLEANING PROTOCOL MOVES

As corporate housing providers strive to keep their units as coronavirus friendly as possible, they are paying increased attention to cleaning touch surfaces thoroughly. In addition, they are completing deep cleanings of their units’ food-prep areas and refrigerators, according to Ferdinand.

As part of their efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus, corporate housing firms today are also posting signage for both guests and employees regarding good sanitation and hygiene practices. They are also creating comprehensive cleaning checklists for their properties to ensure that all of their properties are thoroughly cleaned between guests. Thus, even when guests take steps to clean their properties themselves, they implement extra disinfection afterward. During all of their cleaning steps, it is critical that today’s corporate housing providers follow Centers for Disease Control disinfecting guidelines for the best results for their guests time and time aga

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I really enjoy living here in St Louis, I was born and raised here and following a 7 year gap where I lived in other parts of the US and the world, I came back to the place I knew best. For my buddy John Eilermann St Louis means the same to him, yet recently he has spoken to me about getting a sort of cabin fever, because he has never lived anywhere but St Louis. Prior to this pandemic kicking off, I genuinely believe that John has plans to spend a couple of years away from here, and I think that he definitely will once it has all calmed down.

I reference all of this to open up the discussion as to the risks of staying in the same place from birth until death, something many do, which I think needs to change a little.

Breakaway

I should start off in saying that I don’t believe everyone should run away from friends and family forever, merely that a break away, an experience elsewhere, can certainly make you a richer person.

Never Venturing

There is a real risk or your own character if you settle on staying in the same place with the same routine for long periods of time. Eventually you will lose the desire to try new things, you will do nothing more than stick to the safe side of the street. Whilst this sounds like a normal way to live, there is something inside all of us which needs to be exercised, something which we have in our make-up, with regards to being adventurous. Variety they say, is the spice of life, a failure to ever venture beyond the safety of your own neighborhood ensures that you will never get the chance to increase the amount of variety in your life.

 Being Someone Else

When you live away from what you know it forces you to look further inside yourself to find out who you really are. Also, you will meet a broader range of people who will motivate and inspire you. This means that you could find an entirely different path to the one which you are currently destined for, because of the people you meet and the experiences you have had. If you play it safe and stay in your own neighborhood, you will simply tread the path which has been trodden so many times before by others who didn’t look for adventure. Get out there and experience life, you never know who you could become.

Ultimately I believe that everyone should look to at least spend some time away from their hometown, at least for a couple of years, just to truly experience something in life which staying at home all the time would not offer. Whether you go to another state, another city or another country, there is so much to gain if you are prepared to take a risk.