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Life in Traverse City
Our Northern Oasis
Interlochen is located just 15 miles from Traverse City, one of Michigan’s most popular vacation destinations. The area is steadily growing in popularity as a year-round residence due to its natural beauty, cultural vibrancy, excellent schools, and small-town atmosphere.
Interlochen's Director of Music Production & Engineering Marc Lacuesta and his wife Dana, a full-service interior designer, moved to Traverse City from Nashville, Tennessee for Marc's new position. Listen as Dana and Marc (along with their daughter Sunday) tell their story about settling in to Traverse City life.
Traverse City, In Brief...
Get a taste of what Traverse City has to offer you (and your family) when considering a position with Interlochen Center for the Arts. Click on the options below to learn more.
Do you have more questions about life in Traverse City? Contact hr@interlochen.org.
Traverse City is a nature lover's paradise. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which was named Good Morning America's "Most Beautiful Place in America," is just 30 minutes away and offers ample opportunities for hiking, swimming, and canoeing.
Beyond the lakeshore, the region is traversed by dozens of popular hiking trails. The TART Trails network connects destinations in Traverse City to the nearby Leelanau Peninsula via a paved, multi-use trail popular with walkers, joggers, and cyclists. Cycling is a popular pastime in Traverse City, which is home to a variety of bicycle shops and both youth and adult cycling clubs.
Downtown Traverse City offers several miles of public freshwater beaches on Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay. Other popular beaches can be found in Sleeping Bear Dunes, the Leelanau Peninsula, and the Old Mission Peninsula. Water and paddle sports are also popular; most lakes and rivers in the region, including Lake Michigan, have public access points.
Traverse City is renowned as a "foodie town" and has a thriving brewery scene. Restaurants in the area range from old-school diners to high-end bistros and offer a variety of global flavors including Italian, Mediterranean, Mexican, French, Thai, Japanese, and more. Locally owned bakeries, coffee shops, and ice cream parlors are also family favorites. More mature locals enjoy sampling craft beers at the city's many breweries.
In addition to food and beer, Traverse City is also a rising star in the wine world. The area's sandy soil and temperate weather yield grapes that rival the produce of Italy's finest wine regions, and wines from the Old Mission and Leelanau peninsulas are beginning to receive international acclaim.
Art lives here—at Interlochen, and in northern Michigan. The Traverse City area was recently named one of the nation's top-ten arts-vibrant communities.
In addition to Interlochen, northern Michigan boasts a wide variety of incredible arts organizations. Our music scene includes the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, instrumental and choral ensembles from Northern Michigan College, and many local bands and singer-songwriters. The Dennos Museum Center and City Opera House host dozens of local and national talents at their annual concert series, and the National Cherry Festival attracts a wide variety of big-name performers.
Other popular entertainment options include:
- Catching a Traverse City Pit Spitters baseball game
- Seeing a show at the Old Town Playhouse or Parallel 45 Theatre
- Attending a National Writers Series event
- Touring the Grand Traverse Commons
- Sailing the bay in a historic tall ship
Traverse City is not only a terrific place for a vacation—it's also a great place to raise a family.
The area has an exceptional public school system which includes 11 elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools. You can also choose to enroll your child in one of the city's many private schools, such as The Children's House, The Pathfinder School, Traverse City Christian School, St. Francis Catholic High School, Trinity Lutheran School, or Grand Traverse Academy.
Athletic students will find a wide variety of opportunities to get involved in sports both in and out of school. Independent sports organizations include the Traverse City Junior Golf Organization, Traverse City Little League, the Grand Traverse Hockey Association, North Shore Volleyball, North Storm Soccer, and the YMCA. Norte provides cycling equipment, instruction, and events for local youth.
On your days off, there are plenty of kid-friendly activities to enjoy with your family. Go bowling at Lucky Jack's or Incredible Mo's; hit the slopes at Crystal Mountain Resort, Mt. Holiday, or Timberlee Hills; explore the Northwestern Michigan Fair; or get an ice cream cone at Moomers Ice Cream—which was named Good Morning America's Best Scoop.
Northern Michigan boasts a rich history. The region was first settled by the Ojibwe, Ottawa, and Potawatomi peoples, whose descendants still call the area home. Their history and culture is preserved by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. European colonists arrived in the early 1800s, with the first permanent settlement founded in 1839.