FOND DU LAC, Wis. — Everything seemed to go down hill in a hurry for many workers in 2020.

First there was the pandemic, followed by the economic fallout as the people stopped traveling and conventions dried up. It proved to be a recipe for disaster for many people working in hospitality-focused jobs.

People like Merry Geurin worked for a successful southern California limousine company until the business dried up and she lost her job.

“I had to make a decision,” she said. “Am I going to stay out there and struggle or am I going to make a new life for myself?”

After weighing her options late last summer, Geurin opted to move to Wisconsin, where she would be near her sisters, mother and other family members.

Geurin also found a job as director of sales at the historic Hotel Retlaw in downtown Fond du Lac.

“I’m very happy here now. I have a job that I love at a hotel I love,” she said. “I’ve bought a house. I see my family every day and it’s all working out.”

As Geurin flips through her cell phone, pointing to a photo of her mom, her old house in California and her pink scooter, she stops on another photo.

“This little guy was just born. That’s my nephew,” she said. “Another reason I moved to Fond du Lac.”

Millions of other Americans have moved during the pandemic. Some have moved for work, to be closer to family or to live in an area where they may be less likely to contract COVID-19.

Some Wisconsin ciities like Madison and Milwaukee have noted upticks in population, as have smaller communities like Green Bay.

Eric Vanden Heuvel, vice president of talent and education at the Greater Green Bay Chamber, said his organization has been seeing more people moving to the community from other places. It may not be huge numbers, but it’s happening.

“There are people near and far who are relocating, and we think we’re just going to see that continue to pick up as the pandemic kind of dials down,” he said.