As we celebrate get ready to celebrate our nation’s birthday, I wanted to take a minute to share how much I appreciate living and raising my family in Northern Kentucky.
When I was 6 years old, my family moved from a small town in Michigan to a slightly larger suburban KY city – Florence, KY. At the time in 1988, Florence was still developing and about to ride the boom from all of the airport expansion through the 1990s.
My family came to Kentucky because my Dad worked for Delta, and now we are rooted in the Cincinnati area. During that time, there were a lot of people in NKY who came to the area who were from other cities. Certainly, there are NKY families who have been around for decades, if not longer, but Florence in particular seemed to be a gathering place for people from out of town.
I loved growing up in Florence. Yealey Elementary was fantastic. I spent my summers playing baseball at Boone Woods, The Complex, Ockerman, Florence Elementary and Central Park. I have extremely fond memories of enjoying my childhood.
I went to college in Nashville and then returned to live in the Cincinnati area in 2003. I volunteered for a high school ministry called Young Life in found myself living in Anderson Township from 2003-2011. Then, after we had our first son, my wife and I ended up moving to Fort Thomas, KY – partly because we had friends who lived in the city and partly because it was closer to grandparents! (I CANNOT overvalue the role of grandparents in helping us raise our kids!)
Now, 6 years later, we’ve lived in Fort Thomas and have fallen in love with this city. It’s a bit of a throwback where kids walk to school instead of buses everywhere. People look out for one another. I often say, “you don’t go through Fort Thomas unless you are going to Fort Thomas.” It’s an amazing location in the city in that it’s close to downtown and yet there is not really any pass through traffic (like Florence). So, every time the Reds win or hit a home run, I hear the fireworks from my house and I hear the siren go off at Highlands High school after every touchdown.
Tomorrow is the Fourth of July parade in Fort Thomas, and it is one of the festivities in this city that makes it shine. A few years back, I remember seeing all the chairs lined up on the city streets the night before, and I thought, “what is going on here?”. People actually put out all of their camping chairs on the side of the road to save their seats for the parade. The whole town turns out, and there is a ton of demand for a prime real estate location!
It’s so much fun. AND, the kids love it because unlike the Reds Opening Day Parade, all of the participants pass out candy!!
This year, wherever you are, I hope you and your family have an excellent 4th of July weekend!
And, if you need to sell your house in Fort Thomas, Southgate, Newport, Wilder or Alexandria, give us a call. We buy houses for cash and make the selling process simple and painless.
Happy 4th of July!!