How many of us find great places to stop between frequent trips from here to there?
For years I would find great buys in a small town clothing shop in a town half-way to the Twin Cities. Get up, stretch your legs, check for bargains and hit the road again. Maybe you’ve found a gas station or a coffee shop along your frequent route?
For Lauren and Adam Loe, that great midway stop was Glenwood. “We had been driving through Glenwood for years, traveling from Fargo/Moorhead to Spicer where the family lake home is,” Lauren said. “Adam and I always saw how beautiful the town is, how the people were always warm and welcoming, and it reminded us a lot of our hometowns.”
If you didn’t guess, Glenwood, the place they liked to stop, is now their home.
The Loe’s rural roots helped drive their decision. Lauren grew up in Granite Falls, set in western Minnesota, and Adam’s hometown is even smaller. “I loved growing up in a small town where the neighborhood became family,” Lauren said.
She started her physical therapy career at Essentia Health in West Fargo. Healthcare occupations run in the family as her Dad is an optometrist and her younger sisters are poised to enter the healthcare field. “Adam is a chiropractor,” Lauren said. “I enjoy working directly with patients, exercising, and helping people reduce pain and get back to doing things they love so Physical Therapy was a great fit for all of that!”
However, the Moorhead/Fargo area wasn’t the right fit.
“We were not enjoying the hustle and bustle of the bigger towns anymore,” she said. “I loved my job and my coworkers, but my husband and I were missing the “small town things” and wanted to be closer to our families.”
What are those small town things? “For example, friendly warm welcomes where ever we went, willingness to help your neighbor, everyone in town knowing my family, friends, or some family backstory.”
So Lauren landed a new job with Big Stone Therapies and they made the move to Glenwood, that little town they discovered on their frequent trips. “Big Stone Therapies has created this wonderful company that treats patients across 3 states (Minnesota, North and South Dakota). They offer many different locations to work in, so it has provided me a great opportunity to continue working in different settings and learn about so many great communities and the people living there,” Lauren said.
She sees patients in both Henning and Alexandria, and occasionally provides coverage for other therapists in long term care centers in area communities.
Lauren reflects back on their decision to move to a small town.
“You will still find many great places to eat, shop, and activities. It just may be at a smaller scale; boutiques rather than a mall, family restaurants instead of a chain, plus so many activities just a short drive away. You are supporting a family in those small towns by shopping smaller or eating at that family restaurant,” she said.
She says others should consider the move, especially now that working from home is a viable option. “Moving to a small town helps you gain family,” she said.
Gain family? “We enjoy caring for the community, supporting them, and they support us. Small towns have warm, welcoming people who care about you. Neighbors get to know you and are willing to help in any way.”
Neighbors who are like family. Pretty good find on one’s travels.