Here and There

My wife and I are in the process of buying our first house(!). We've been married for about 2.5 years, and have been (mostly) diligently planning and saving up for this big event. Buying has been a fun process, and we've definitely learned a lot so far about both people and processes. We haven't closed yet, but have a signed purchase agreement and are planning to move by the end of the month. We've been working with some great people and organizations locally that have made the process go as smooth as possible and have answered all of our many, many questions. If you're at this stage of life or will be soon and you're looking for some recommendations on who and how, drop me a note and I'd be happy to talk about our experience.

As I said, it's been a fun process. We're very excited to be in our first "permanent" housing arrangement since our wedding and check a big item off our dream/bucket list. We have lived in the same place since we got married. We've really loved our apartment and will miss it a lot, but we are excited to own a place that we can truly make our own. It's a chocolate brown, modest 1,300 square foot house in southwest Rochester with white trim. We're excited to be a bit closer to a lot of the places and people that we love most. We both went to college and more or less fell in love in this same area of town, so we're excited to once again be within close walking distance of the same stretches of trails, the same restaurants, the same parks, the same grocery store (shoutout to HyVee!) and many other "sames" that are dear, and will now again be near to us.

But personally, I'm excited not just for the "sames" but also for the "news" that will come with relocating to this area. Getting to know our new neighbors. Connecting with a new city council representative, state legislator and state senator than we currently have. Celebrating present and future new economic investments in the neighborhood. Understanding in a real, direct way the burden and balance of property taxes. Observing and experiencing on a daily basis the transportation successes and challenges of the neighborhood. In short: increasing my commitment as an actively engaged citizen of Rochester, Minnesota. These will all be "news" for me, and I'm excited for all of these and more.

With the closing and moving process, posts might be few(er) and far(ther) between over the next month or so, but once we're settled in I hope to begin writing and sharing more earnestly about the issues and places I care most about. Thanks for reading!