GTPulse: Live and Work At This Lovely Leelanau County Venue This Summer

I have fond memories of the summer jobs I once had. I worked at a farmers market, country club, my local mall, also as a pizza girl throughout high school and college summers. Each experience was fun in its unique way. A summer job must be chosen carefully, however. The right combination of indoor and outdoor time is crucial, and I was never looking for full-time work during the summer so the hours had to be right. Ideally, I would find something that didn’t stay open too late, so I could still spend some warm summer patio nights with my friends. Each year as April crept closer I would begin my search. If I were still in the market for a summer job I would have already found the perfect opportunity at . This idyllic Leelanau County event venue is looking for the perfect person to maintain the property and interact with guests this spring and summer season. The best part? The property manager will have the option to live where they work in the on-location farmhouse.

This will be Starry Night’s fifth season. When Meagan bought the property she was ready for a change. A career in writing and education was fulfilling, but exhausting. When she saw all that the property had to offer she had a vision for it.

“One of my best friends from childhood is an events planner and I’m a potter. So my dream was I’m going to have an events barn and make pots for wedding gifts and it’s going to be fantastic.”

A powerful draw for her was a vintage barn that she dreamed of restoring. It had been built in 1895, but the estimate to fix it was exorbitant. The barn had been built on wetlands and she was told that the foundation couldn’t be saved. So she and her husband let it sit until someone from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network came knocking on their door.

“We thought it was over,” she said. “But I saved and saved. Then one day this guy stopped by from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network and he said ‘What are you doing about that barn?’ We had cabled it together, other than that we hadn’t done much. I told them we were letting it fall down, it can’t be saved. He said, ‘If they built it here, then you can save it.’”

The barn is now a historically preserved one and attracts visitors, especially through the busy summer season. A part of the job duties for the property manager will be to learn about the history of the barn so when guests come to visit they can take them through it and educate them on its background. Of course, this isn’t the only part of the job. Other tasks like some lawn maintenance, agricultural labor, tree pruning, and light repair work will be included too.

“We’re looking for an individual or a couple of people who have the skillset to manage the property. We have two cottages here that we rent out all season long, those change over throughout the week. We have tons of perennial beds and gardening stuff, they don’t need to be a master gardener but someone who can pull weeds. We get people who stop by for the barn all the time so they need to be comfortable meeting and greeting people.”

The job is part-time and doesn’t adhere to a strict schedule. Changing over the cottages will need to be done in a timely manner, but Meagan said the job could easily be done in tandem with another part-time job.

The property manager will also get to see the place transformed every weekend for the wedding season. Starry Night includes the cottages for the wedding weekend and full access to the barn and property. Starting next year the farmhouse will be included in the deal too, but this summer it’s available to the property manager for seasonal living quarters.

“That’s our farmhouse that we’ve lived in for many years and we just moved out. I don’t like it sitting alone, and it’s a beautiful house. Whoever takes the job, if they need a place to live there will be a place to live. It’s smack in the middle of Leelanau County. It’s beautiful here.”

Who wouldn’t want that? If you’re looking to spend a dreamy summer working and living in Leelanau County, look no further than lovely Starry Night Barn and Studios. Link to apply .

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