What is it like to live in Eastham?
Luke Simpson and his wife, Courtney, grew up summering on Cape Cod. Now they teach at Nauset Regional High School.
Luke Simpson and his wife, Courtney, grew up summering on Cape Cod. He lived in Foxborough, and she was from California, but they shared idyllic South Wellfleet for a few months of the year. His parents owned a restaurant named Serena’s, which they have since sold (Russ and Marie’s Marconi Beach BBQ and Seafood Restaurant operates in the spot); her grandfather had a cottage on a cliff in Wellfleet. The home has since lost its battle with Mother Nature, which eroded the cliff.
Luke and Courtney are now teachers at Nauset Regional High School, which draws not only from Brewster, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, Truro, and Provincetown, but from other communities via school choice. Luke teaches environmental science and oceanography; Courtney teaches biology and biotechnology.
Luke had worked at Chatham High School and Monomoy Regional High School (the product of the Chatham/Harwich merger) before getting the job at Nauset. His commute is much nicer: five minutes (longer when he bikes there).
Back in 2004, when the Simpsons were looking for a house, they considered many of the Outer Cape towns. Because they were living on two teacher’s salaries, Wellfleet was a little out of reach money-wise. North Eastham was a welcome, slightly more affordable option.
During their summers off, they are busy with their daughter, Finley, 6, and visiting friends and family. Each picks up a shift or two tending bar at the Beachcomber Restaurant in Wellfleet. Luke has worked there summers on and off since sorting cans as a teenager.
In the offseason, when school is not in session, the family still flocks to the beach, where for years Luke has photographed the winter surfing culture for magazines.
“I like that you have it virtually to yourself for the other 10 months of the year,’’ he said.
BY THE NUMBERS
17
The number of freshwater kettle ponds in town. Tourists flock to area beaches, but the hidden gems on the Outer Cape — for swimming, fishing, and communing — are these ponds.
9,100 sq. ft.
The size of the Dollar General store proposed for Route 6. Residents are opposed to the idea of a chain store coming to town, and the Cape Cod Commission is reviewing the proposal as a Development of Regional Impact. Residents have started a Facebook page to fight it called Eastham Is Worth More Than a Dollar.
1,500
The number of acres in town in the Cape Cod National Seashore
Nov. 19
The day the community will host its festival celebrating the Eastham turnip. The event will be held at Nauset Regional High School from 1 to 4 p.m. Look for turnip bowling, turnip top balloon hats, locally grown produce for sale just in time for Thanksgiving, holiday shopping, and more.
PROS & CONS
Pro
Beaches
Coast Guard is perennially listed as one of the best beaches nationally, and Nauset Light (located just north of it) is another Cape favorite. If you prefer bayside beaches, you can’t go wrong with First Encounter, the spot where a party of Pilgrims from the Mayflower led by Captain Myles Standish first encountered Native Americans.
Con
No downtown
Businesses line Route 6 but are not walkable to one another.
Scott Lajoie is a freelance writer on the Cape. He can be reached at [email protected]. Subscribe to our free real estate newsletter — our weekly digest on buying, selling, and design — at pages.email.bostonglobe.com/AddressSignUp. Look for our special Fall House Hunt coverage starting Sept. 11.
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