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This post is dedicated to Ross.

We're moving. Soon. To Cleveland. My wife got a new job there.

I've wanted to do this for YEARS. In fact, I didn't really want to leave (and have done my best to not actually leave... I commuted weekly). Cleveland is my favorite city; I love it for it being such an underdog, for trying to fix her problems even though she fails so often. I think it is that striving to return to her former greatness that is one of her most attractive traits. Cleveland could be so much more than she is, and I hope some day she will be.

I also have many friends still living there, and just about all of my clients are in the Cleveland area... but the real reason I want to move back is so my kids can be near some grandparents and I can use them as cheap baby sitters.

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While our house is finished, we're moving into my parents home. It'll be tight, but it should only be for a couple of months, and then we'll move back out again.

Here are some pix of the new home and here are some pictures of the interior (not yet completed)

The house if being built by Morningstar Homes, and we've been very impressed with their work so far. After looking at something like 30 homes we found a smaller one that was still in construction. We asked our realtor what he knew about the builder (since he had previously warned us against another new-build by a builder with a less-than-sterling reputation) and he said this was the company that built his home. It was also (when we selected it) at the lower end of the price spectrum of homes we were considering (another plus).

It's not at the lower end any more. So far we've upgraded nearly EVERYTHING from the original specs:
Tile floors in foyer, kitchen/eating area, laundry room, mud room, girls bathroom, guest bathroom, powder room.
hickory hard-wood floors in the dining room and living room, plus same in the girls bedrooms.
nicer carpets in office, family room, stairs/hallway, master bedroom, guest room.
finished basement with "exercise room", kids play room, full bathroom, and office for me (with lots of storage, and lots of network wiring).
wainscoting and chandelier in dining room.
huge chandelier in 2-story foyer.
fancy ceiling fan in master bedroom.
built-in entertainment center in family room.
custom cabinetry in kitchen with commercial-grade appliances.
quartz countertops.
and more that I am forgetting.

When it is done, we'll have room for visitors...