In early 2014, we sold our surburban “dream house” and moved into a 1 bedroom apartment. Itching for a project, and a way to hedge ourselves against an increasingly irrational real estate market (we do eventually want to live in a house!), we decided to start looking for a cabin in the north Georgia mountains. The plan was to rent it out (or preferably, buy something already in a rental program), and visit it when it was not rented.

We started with a 1 bedroom cabin in the Cherry Log Mountain community. It was about 750 square feet, had a loud stream, and was cheap. However, being only slightly larger than our apartment, it didn’t quite fit the bill. So began a long process of looking at every cabin within our budget (which also became increasingly loose) within 30 minutes of the first cabin. As we did this, we began to hone in on on the perfect house; some acreage for privacy, something unique like water, at least 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, not a fixer upper, and within 90 minutes of where we currently live. We put an offer on one house, and were outbid. A few weeks later, we put an offer on a new cabin on the opposite side of Cherry Log Mountain as the first one. We liked the location, as it had access to the Benton Mackaye Trail, and was near a fishing pond. However, it was on a 1 acre lot, and was landlocking 2 other 1 acre lots that will be built on in the next couple of years. Both of those house sites were directly in front of the house, so the tranquil wooded view will disappear at some point.

At the same time, I was running the numbers on the rental business and realizing that, at best, it is a break even proposition. We would be tying up a considerable amount of cash for something that generated zero return unless there is substantial appreciation, which we’re not banking on. Basically, it’s a way to get a few free nights in the mountains. With several hundred thousand travel reward points that are ever accumulating, we have free nights available anywhere we want, so travel lodging costs don’t mean anything to us. This realization effectively ended the rental cabin search.

Then we found some land, talked to our agent and some builders, and the house building project began!

Every weekend for nearly a year, we made the drive up to Blue Ridge to check on the progress of the house and work out any issues. On the drive home, the calm disappeared as soon as we hit Mansell Road and the mass of suburban Atlanta. “Why don’t we just stay here?” was the question every single week. Increasingly, we found ourselves in downtown Blue Ridge, pondering the possibilities of any empty space that appeared on, or near, Main Street. For anyone that has known us for a long time, you’re familiar with our ability to generate endless ideas. Usually, those ideas are quickly dismissed, or are nixed after a bit of research. One idea stuck, however, and at the end of January, we signed a lease for an 1800 square foot retail location for our new business, Terra Outfitters! The business will open in May, and we’ll be moving to Blue Ridge!