Meet The Locals: Sarah & Johnny

Sarah and Johnny Carlson both grew up in small towns but left to live in the city. However, in the back of their minds, they always planned in the city. However, in the back of their minds, they always planned to come back and retire in Otter Tail County. But it happened sooner than they expected.
Sarah says the couple would come back every weekend and “during the week we were sitting in traffic wondering why we were living somewhere other than Otter Tail County. I loved living in the city and I always thought I would live in a city, but this is where my heart was.”

Johnny wanted to live on a lake and Sarah wanted privacy, so they found a larger lake lot, then designed and built a home there. They soon bought a pontoon and now especially enjoy socializing with family, friends, and neighbors on the lake.

Sarah, an interior designer, and Johnny, a construction manager, both love the unique opportunity Otter Tail County provides for them personally and professionally. Sarah says that she has “a lot of friends who visit and they’re surprised by the life we can live here. We’ve got great coffee, craft beers, live music, art… we don’t feel like we’re missing anything here. Everyone works their whole lives hard in the cities to make all their money, just to move back to this area to retire. Why do you have to wait to do that? You can come back here, start a job, and live in the area you want as your forever home!”