We do have the advantage when it comes to getting outside contractors at a reasonable price. That's because my husband is "from around here." Other folks in our little middle-of-nowhere addition aren't so lucky. They have to pay the "lake people" price.

Of course, my husband never mentions that the "from around here" part was from way back. Most of his life has been as a "city boy." Some big cities; some smaller. Of course, some people who've lived here all their lives define the "big city" as a population of around 50,000. We're thinking more in the upper 6 figures and well into 7, when you include our past lives in Sydney, Boston, and San Francisco. So, we now enjoy heading to the "big cities" of Longview or Tyler or Texarkana whenever we get the chance. (woo hoo - seriously)

But that was just a bit off-subject. What we tell the occasional noobs moving in from some "big city" is there's still a trick to actually get people to tone down the pricing part.

You simply say you "live out in the country."

Not at the lake. That gets contractors all in a froth to overcharge. One - they don't like lake people (those snooty ex-city folks). Second - there's this concept of mansions and three-bedroom boathouses (that's the lake over from ours).

So, once they arrive and actually see it really is "out in the country," they'll all softened up to be somewhat reasonable. That's still not quite as good as being "from around here."