Photos by Taylor Woodhouse
After downsizing to a smaller home, Mike and Melanie Streng have learned to live more with less.
Melanie attended The Ohio State University and Mike grew up in Marysville and graduated with a law degree from Capital University. After marrying in 2001, the couple lived in Hilliard for a few years before moving to Dublin in 2006.
Today, they live on a quiet street in Historic Dublin with their cat, Pillsbury.
The Strengs initially chose Dublin for its location. Melanie, an independent contractor, works in downtown Columbus, while Mike is a lawyer out of Marysville.
Geographically, Dublin proved to be a good commute for both of them. But they quickly fell in love with life in the City.
“We love the community, the safety and being able to walk everywhere. It’s fantastic,” Mike says.
When they first moved to Dublin, the couple built their own house in Ballantrae. Later, they seized the chance to downsize to a smaller house on Franklin Street. They had friends in the neighborhood and had been thinking of downsizing for some time.
“(Ballantrae) was very family-oriented,” Melanie says. “In our current neighborhood, there are plenty of people who don’t have kids as well.”
Their current neighborhood is idyllic and quiet, despite being just a quick walk from busy Historic Dublin. The neighborhood unfolds past woods and a stream that provide lovely scenery for walking and biking paths. As an added bonus, it takes the Strengs mere minutes to get to their favorite restaurants in Historic Dublin.
“This street just has some great history and a neat mix of people,” Mike says. “You have some people who have lived here since Dublin was a one-stoplight town, and people who went to school right across the way. We’ve enjoyed getting to know everyone.”
Their house is a bungalow-style home, with sizeable front and back yards and a screened-in porch. It’s light and comfortable, decorated simply and functionally. The previous owner of the house did a lot to the house that the couple liked, making the home virtually move-in ready. With the exception of some painting, landscaping and moving a couple closets around, they had very little to do.
“We went from a rather large house to this house, which is probably a third of the square footage of the old house,” Melanie explained. “We really tried to minimalize our possessions, and put more emphasis on living life and less emphasis on possessions and buying stuff.”
The smaller house affords them the freedom to spend their days doing the things they love, such as traveling and staying active. They love the outdoors, and in the summer they can be found sailing, wakeboarding, biking, kayaking and waterskiing. Being close to the river gives them easy water access for all of the water sports they enjoy. A winter day might find them skiing at Mad River Mountain.
Aside from their athletic pursuits, the couple enjoys taking full advantage of everything Historic Dublin has to offer.
“I love walking to La Chatelaine for lunch or dinner and catching the live music at Brazenhead or Mezzo,” Melanie says. “The Dublin Rec Center is also a great resource. And now that I’m in walking distance of one, I’ve rediscovered the library.”
A typical summer day would find the Strengs spending time on the river, followed by walking to dinner Downtown. After dinner, the couple might have drinks at home on their patio, or walk to the homes of their friends for drinks and good company.
The sense of community they found in Dublin is also very important to the couple. Every year, the couple and their friends hold a fundraiser event for a charity. The most recent fundraiser was especially important to the Strengs, as Melanie had just been diagnosed with cancer.
The event was essentially a restaurant tour in Historic Dublin. Everyone wore wigs for the event.
“The local businesses were great supporters of it,” says Mike. “Mezzo had a special menu and contributed some of the proceeds to the charity we chose.”
The charity Melanie chose is the Breast Cancer Fund of Ohio, which gives money to women in Ohio who need financial help while going through breast cancer and treatment.
Melanie has recently completed treatment, and Mike says she is doing well.
So how does such a busy couple make time for each other between working and traveling?
“I think we make that a priority,” Mike says. “We manage our time well. And we do everything together. We’re fortunate that we have the same loves and interests. We make it a priority to have as much fun as possible.”
In 10 or 20 years, the Strengs believe they will still be living on Franklin Street, doing all of the activities they love. Sailing more, working less, and enjoying all that Dublin has to offer.
Taylor Woodhouse is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
