How one family grew into their Steamboat home…
While downsizing has become the homeownership trend, one Steamboat family plans to grow into their Porches home for years to come. When they first moved to Steamboat, Jim and Brenda never imagined they’d need any more space than a 3-bedroom home. Little did they know the magical power Steamboat would have over their family and friends. With a growing family and friends guest list, it became clear a larger home was in Jim & Brenda’s future. Enter, The Porches of Steamboat.
Tell us about your family…
It’s a bit hard to say where we are from. As a family, we have moved around a lot following Jim’s career with P&G and then a trade association in Washington DC. Originally, Brenda is from Michigan, Jim is from New York and our children were born all over the place. Megan was born in California, Ryan in Florida, and Alex in Cincinnati. We lived in Cincinnati four different times for a total of 15 years and our most exotic location was Sydney, Australia from 1994-1999. Currently, we are are now permanent residents here at The Porches. Megan and her family are in Denver, Ryan and his wife live in Milwaukee and Alex is in Los Angeles. Steamboat however is the place we all gather.
How did you end up in Steamboat?
We have skied all our lives. Part of our long-term plans was to own a home in the mountains, on a ski area. Brenda did a ton of research and Steamboat rose to the top. It has a great mountain, it is a real town, there is easy access via Hayden Airport but it is not a commuter mountain like those in Summit County and it is affordable and populated by the kind of people we like. We first purchased a townhome here in 2013. We thought this 3-bedroom approach would be sufficient. But Steamboat quickly became the place where all our kids, their friends and family and our friends and family came. In 2016, we purchased here at The Porches. The home, the amenities and the services have made this an easy choice of permanence when Jim “retired” (again) in November of last year.
What do you love about living in Steamboat?
It starts with the people. There are a lot of very nice places to live but we think one of the things that sets Steamboat apart is the people that live here. We have made a lot of friends in a very short period of time.
What activities do you participate in?
We ski, that’s a good starting place. Jim also plays ice hockey all year round. In the summer we bike, camp, paddleboard and tube the river. This year we dove into the Steamboat Food & Wine festival. That was a lot of fun. We have yet to take advantage of the Strings on the Mountain or Steamboat Institute events but plan to check those out in the upcoming year.
How has your experience been at The Porches? What do you enjoy about it?
Our experience has been great! We love the Porches and all the people, support and services provided. We can’t say enough about the office staff, maintenance folks and shuttle drivers. They feel like part of our family.
For more information in making The Porches your home away from home, contact our sales team.