Aspen Colorado vs. Ely Minnesota
Aspen vs. Ely
Today I am going to give you some speculative information about a little, isolated real estate market in Northern Minnesota. If you live or have lived in Minnesota, you are probably aware of this little village up north, if you live anywhere else in the country, you have probably not heard of Ely Minnesota.
Ely (pronounced Ee-lee) is a small town of about 3,700 people, which sits right on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The BWCAW is the largest wilderness preserve east of the Rockies - with more than 1 million acres of pristine forests and waterways - the vast majority of the lakes and rivers in the BWCAW are paddle only - meaning no motorized watercraft are allowed. Like Aspen (population 5,800), Ely’s economy is based purely on tourism.
I have been to Aspen several times - in both the summer and winter months, and you can take my word - these are two very different places. As much as Aspen is about full-length fur coats (men & women) and designer ski boots, Ely is about birkenstock sandals and mukluk boots. But the last time I was in Ely (July ‘06), I noticed something a little different about the town. There were a heck of a lot more real estate companies - and a heck of a lot more Mercedes Benz and BMW automobiles parked up and down the main street. I noticed a shift taking place in Ely.
Like Aspen, Ely is an oasis for those who love outdoor adventure, this small town in Northern Minnesota is and was home to National Geographic photographers, Wall Street Journal freelancers, and North Pole explorers. The main street (Sheridan St.) is becoming more and more upscale with new restaurants, coffee shops, galleries and boutiques springing up everywhere and spilling over to off-main street locations. Heck, when the only radio station in a town of 3,700 (WELY - End of the Road Radio) is owned by the infamous journalist and broadcaster Charles Kuralt (before he passed away), you know it must be a very special place. In Charles Kuralt’s America he said: “It’s hard to be a stranger there. If your name is Charles, everybody in Ely calls you Chuck.”
As a real estate speculator & pundit (and somewhat of an authority on the vacation home market), I do not feel I am going out on a limb when I predict that Ely Minnesota will soon become a nationally recognized, high-end destination. Excellent city planning (including an airport with a 5,600 ft. runway that is suitable for private jets, corporate charters, and eventually non-stop flights from anywhere in the country) has created an infrastructure that can handle the growth - it’s all there - and I am not the only one talking about it. The September 2006 edition of National Geographic’s Adventure Magazine calls Ely Minnesota an Outdoor Mecca and one of the 31 Best Places To Live. In the past, National Geographic named Ely Minnesota one of the 50 Places of a Lifetime (must see).
As the Ely lakeshore property market becomes less about walleye and more about wine cellars I recommend getting in while the getting is good.
Acknowledgement: I borrowed the “less about walleye and more about wine cellars” line from an article Gene Rebeck, senior editor of Twin Cities Business, wrote about LakePlace.com - thanks Gene!
More Ely & BWCAW Images (Click Here for 3,800 more)
Related Links: Ely land for sale, Ely Minnesota Resorts, Ely Minnesota Cabin Rentals, Ely Minnesota Lakeshore Property, Ely Minnesota Cabin
Tags: Ely Minnesota, Aspen Colorado, National Geographic, Mukluks, Real Estate, Boundary Waters, BWCAW, BWCA, Walleye
Â
