Our Four Homes

 

 

In the fall of 1991, in thick in the middle of a deep, dark recession, two crazy kids found the Long Island housing market to be delightfully in their favor. There was no shortage of homes available for us to choose from nor was there a shortage of homeowners willing to negotiate. After several weeks of frantic weekend searches, we found this not even 1600 square foot ranch, 50 miles east of Times Square with a very motivated owner who was relocating to Houston. Built in the midst of the 1979-1980 energy crisis, which itself helped spur another recession, this, at the time, bone stripped, builder's special served us well. The house was not perfect, though. Too small and with no basement, by the time the boys came along we were  bursting at the seams. The best part about this home and the Long Island housing market in general back in those days; appreciation. In the 12 1/2 years we owned this home our initial investment tripled. The challenge was that our investment tripling also meant everyone else's investment tripled.



 

 

Make plans, God laughs. In the blink of an eye, circumstances change. In 2004, I changed jobs taking advantage of an opportunity in "nearby" Connecticut. We bought this "contemporary colonial" in a Hartford suburb and it was everything our Long Island home was not. Twice the size with a walk out (unfinished) basement, two stories (the boys loved that) and loaded with luxurious amentities, we could not ask for more. Of the house. While very nice, Connecticut is nearby to Long Island only physically. The metaphorical differences between Long Island and "Southern New England" are seismic.  After being in the same place for 12 1/2 years, we suddenly found ourselves moving for the second time in a year. To Dallas, Texas of all places.

 

With knees and elbows scrapped from the abortive landing in Hartford, we decided to "buy down" in Dallas. The Dallas housing market is remarkably affordable at least in comparison to homes from the North East. Armed with a wheel barrow of cash, we could've easily "over bought" down there. The homes tend to be out of this world huge. Knowing that and being fully aware of the tender nature of what I do for a living, we thought it best to buy something at least on the modest side by comparison to what a lot of folks down there buy. Always thinking quick resale, we found this 2,500 square foot, "one story home" in a handsome, booming community North of Dallas (Allen) about 20 miles from where I would work. This home was gorgeous inside. 4 bedrooms, spacious kitchen, 3 1/2 baths, a pool, hand scraped wood floors amidst other wonder touches, the only things we wished for was a basement and a tad more room. I also wasn't fond of this mini cul de sac thing and the traffic on the street; we were too close to a major roadway that was only getting busier. We toyed with the idea of relocating within this development to a larger home with more property that lent itself to more privacy. We loved Dallas and never thought we'd leave.

We'd live here a total of five years. I would live here, technically, only three. We were still getting adjusted to life in Dallas when in early 2008, another massive life change occured. My position that relocated my entire family to Dallas for was eliminated. While, luckily, I found work fairly quickly, it was in Nashville and with a company that I was not excited about working for. I moved to Nashville, the family stayed back in Dallas while we tried to figure out what we were going to do long term. I had a small apartment in Nashville near the airport and came "home" just about every other weekend. This dragged on for two, very long years.
 

In March of 2010, I found work in Cleveland, Ohio and I felt confident enough, with the position, that we moved there as a family. We settled in a community about twenty minutes west of downtown Cleveland that, ironically, is a pleasant mixture of all the places we've been. We couldn't ask for more of our home. If you count the massive, finished basement, we have approximately 4,000 square feet, six bedrooms, four bathrooms and a three car garage. The schools here are fantastic, my commute is the best I've ever had, save for my ten minute jaunt to the office when I slummed it in Nashville, I enjoy my job but most importantly, my family is thriving. In Cleveland. Who'd have thunk it?

 

 

We even got a dog.