I bought my house two years ago, almost to the day. Today we are offering on Heather’s first property. She is moving back to Springfield, OH to start an office location for Publicity For Good. It has been amazing to watch her grow and develop her company from February until now and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
The plan is to scale Publicity For Good while avoiding going insane. Lucky for us we found something that just might do those things….well at least one of them. Her alma mater Wittenberg University has a great 50/50 program for hiring student employees and interns. So after hiring an office manager, her life is about to get pretty radical. She is shooting for 10-15 new employees in the next 6 or so months.
Meanwhile, I will head to Dubai for my last deployment which is pretty much vacation. I am finishing out my last year in the Navy, having had the privilege to serve my country for over six years already. I feel lucky to be going somewhere with high speed internet so I can one talk to Heather as much as practical and two keep track of affairs going on back here in the States.
I will backtrack a little bit though. We are currently in Pflugerville, TX right outside of Austin. We have been here since the 9th touring the countryside and a little bit of the city to determine if this is an area we would want to live after my tenure with the military concludes. So far it definitely is. Amazing is a word that has been used frequently this trip. So naturally we have been looking at every for sale sign and listening to every word our airbnb hosts have let slip about the area and property.
I was asked a couple times, what are you looking for, put it in one word. I had to think about it but its really three phases for where ever we end up: the first is ‘walkable,” should be straightforward; the next is ‘community’ for the future family we hope for; and the last is ‘property’ or ‘legacy’ for the generational impact we desire to have. I can’t wait to share with all of you as we build this life and hit these milestones.
One of the most special experiences of the trip so far has been Heather’s surprise to me. She took me to Carly’s Critter Camp just outside Dripping Springs, TX, in the beautiful hill country of Texas, and introduced me to Justin and Carly; Justin had actually been her Lyft driver on a previous visit to Austin. Amazing Couple! There’s that word again. Carly runs a petting zoo helping a wide age range of children connect with animals in a very real way, even helping those with personal challenges.
Back to the properties, we have a lot going on with real estate. I am in escrow on a triplex in Springfield, 11 more units that an offer needs to be made on, and last is 4 units that we need to find financing for. The flip side is my house and rental in San Diego that need some attention. Mostly finding good tenants, there has been good progress so far. Still on the subject of tenants, we also have a property in Columbus by Ohio State to fill. Last is Heather’s house in Springfield that she is offering on today.
All of this on top of dreaming about living in Austin and traveling around the country in an Airstream. We have to be a little crazy but at least we love each other’s crazy.
Single Girl Manifesto 