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Relocating Can Be Complicated When Airplanes Are Involved

Housing options may be easy to find, but great hangar options, not so much.

Finding a great hangar can be extremely challenging, and when faced with relocation, leaving one can be even more so. [Photo: Jason McDowell]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • A pilot with a new remote job intended to relocate to Ann Arbor, Michigan, but found the search for housing easy while specific, high-quality hangar options for his airplane (enclosed, with electricity and grass runway access) were exceedingly rare.
  • Despite an extensive search, suitable hangars in his desired Michigan area were unavailable or had long waiting lists, forcing him to re-evaluate his moving plans.
  • Ultimately, the author decided to remain in his current Wisconsin location, realizing it offered an "enviable situation" with a great hangar, a supportive flying community, and abundant unique local flying adventures, accepting that his airplane's needs were dictating his residential choice.
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Relocating to a different part of the country is, as it turns out, considerably more complicated when there’s an airplane involved. Just as parents might prioritize school districts when evaluating places to live, an airplane owner might shop for hangar options first and then center the Zillow search radius around the preferred airport. Or, if you’re like me, you become stuck in limbo.

It all started last winter. Fed up with endless frustrations inherent in my public-sector job, I began exploring options in an entirely different career. By spring of this year, I had accepted a new job that is 100 percent remote and allows me to live anywhere. By any measure, it was a huge improvement.

Jason McDowell

Jason McDowell is a private pilot and Cessna 170 owner based in Madison, Wisconsin. He enjoys researching obscure aviation history and serves as a judge for the National Intercollegiate Flying Association. He can be found on Instagram as @cessnateur.

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