Through our lifetimes we all have folks that drift in and out of our lives. Some we grow up with and never see again. Others may come back in our lives many years later. It seems that most of them leave an impression.
I still can picture my class in the first grade. Mrs. Brock was my teacher, Miss Pavey was the aide. She later became Mrs. Parry when she married Dave. I remember Mrs. Brock, who was an older teacher at the time, didn’t finish teaching that year. My Grandmother, Mrs. Mae Fenner, was a retired teacher and finished out the year for her. I saw this as a win for me in many ways. I was certain special privileges and duties were sure to exist. I was wrong, very wrong. The point is, we remember most people that come across our paths.
Being in real estate, I get to go to a lot of homes and meet new people almost daily. They may be buyers for a certain property, or they may be selling their current home. I may see them once and they disappear, or I may get to know them well and we become friends. I never know at the first meeting which way it will go.
I don’t have any statistics, but it seems to me that in our county we are having buyers from other cities moving here in droves. The big three are Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus, in that order.
As I have mentioned many times, being very much a “why” guy, I want to know why this is so. Do they move here because they have family here, a job in the area, lower cost of living, Rocky Fork Lake, why why why? After much self-debate, I concluded that I am not sure. It could be one, all, or a mixture.
Like many of you readers that were born and raised here, we tend to forget just how great our county is. This is a pretty darn good place to live and raise a family. How many times have you been asked if Hillsboro is where Rocky Fork Lake is? Our cost of living is also much cheaper than the counties north of us. Drive down any country road and just look at how beautiful our area is. Better yet, take a picture and look at it like you have never seen it before. It’s amazing! How many times have folks from elsewhere talked about how nice and friendly we all are? We also have many great small and not so small businesses operating right here. Being in the Bible-belt we have many good solid churches and schools. These are just a few of the reasons our county is so great.
I have never lived away, but came very close to moving to northern Ohio 30 years ago. I was offered the dream job any young man would jump at. The money was double what I was used to making. I drove 3.5 hours for my new dream job for what was to be the third and final time and I was going to accept this life-changing position. I sat in the car for 30 minutes then drove home without even going inside. Even though I had no idea the “why’ at the time, my inside voice was screaming, don’t do it!”
One of the best decisions I ever made.
Randy Butler is a lifelong resident of Highland County and a licensed real estate agent for Classic Real Estate in Hillsboro.
