Leaving Lake View

My wife and I have lived in Lake View since August 2005. When we moved here, she had just started a job at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, and I was about to start graduate school at UA. We were fortunate to find a new house in a great location, with the best neighbors we could have asked for.

My wife left Children’s Hospital in the winter of 2008 to take a new job in Tuscaloosa, where I was already working for UA. After a year of commuting, we decided that we were tired of the drive, and we began looking around to see if there were any houses we liked in town.

In December 2009, we found a house that we both really liked, and we signed a contract to buy it—contingent on the sale of our house, of course. We listed our house with as low an asking price as possible, considering the market has been down—especially in our area. We waited patiently, but only a handful of people came to see it.

Last Tuesday, a couple from Birmingham came to see the house, and they took a second viewing on Friday. This weekend they made an offer, and we negotiated and reached an agreement. We signed a contract to sell our house today.

We will be leaving Lake View at the end of May and moving to Tuscaloosa. Unfortunately, this means that I will have to resign my seat on the Lake View town council. This was a tough decision to make, but ultimately it is the best decision for my family. I wish we could have done more to solve some of Lake View’s ongoing problems during my time on the council; I hope I will be able to continue to work to help the town in the future, even if it is in an unofficial capacity.