“I just started to have panic attacks in the aisle of Home Depot,” he says. “I was just like, ‘I can’t take it anymore and it can’t be this bad Up North.’”
In September, Andy and his fiance Becky packed their stuff (including their dozens of plants — they are avid collectors) and moved to Traverse City, like many people who left cities in the pandemic for the tranquility of northern Michigan.
The transition was simple. Andy and Becky quickly found new jobs: Becky at a bank, Andy at a distillery. They lived three blocks from Grand Traverse Bay and enjoyed ordering vegan takeout.