Natural Area Attraction

My daughter is home from college looking for a job and getting reacquainted with other young adults she hasn’t seen for a while. Standing in the kitchen last week, her friend Matt mentioned how much he missed our area. Matt grew up in Beeville, a small town midway between Corpus Christi and San Antonio, and graduated from Texas State last year with a degree in music. He now directs an orchestra at a middle school north of Dallas.

I was a little surprised to hear that Matt is still job-hunting, trying to land a job in the San Marcos area. “How nice!” I observed. “Why?” It turns out that Matt became addicted to running in our natural areas, frequenting Purgatory Creek Natural Area in particular. He misses access to trails in natural settings; apparently there really aren’t any to speak of in his new town up north. 

Hikers enjoy Prospect Park - Purgatory Creek Natural Area
Matt is just the kind of young professional that the San Marcos economy needs. He’s likely to settle down in the next four or five years and start a family. We should all hope he does that here. And of course the point of sharing my conversation with Matt is to reinforce the role that a well developed parks and open space system can play in a healthy economy. Along with a good job, people like Matt seek quality of life in the form of plenty of access to open space. With help from our city leaders and people like you, SMGA plays an important role in making that access a reality.

- Ann Jensen, SMGA Board Member