Dreams become Reality |

At the first CivicActions Offsite in Amsterdam, we created a vision for ourselves and for the world. As a new father and provider for my small family, and as someone who has unfortunately never broken into the real estate market, I was pleased that this item made the list with general consensus: "every member owns their home or has the ability to".

It seemed like an impossibility just two years ago, yet today our mortgage on a home in Pittsburgh, Penn. was approved. Granted, we're not buying a house in San Francisco (where a friend bought a single garage spot for $185,000 to go with his purchase of half of a duplex a few years ago) but we're exceedingly happy! We extensively researched where to buy over the last few years with three primary criteria:

Excellent public schools

Pennsylvania ranks 10th in the country and Mt. Lebanon, the township where we will reside, ranks fourth in the state

Affordable real estate

for just $50,000 more than that garage I mentioned above, we're getting a two car garage attached to a four bedroom house with full basement and a yard large enough for badminton on a dead-end road just a two-block walk to school on a tree-lined, quiet street;

Proximity to a good sized city/college town for culture, technology, etc.

Mt Lebanon is six miles south of Pittsburgh, has beautiful, tree lined streets and all children walk to their neighborhood schools;
Google has announced plans to open an engineering office near Carnegie Mellon University;
Pittsburgh has more green "LEED-certified" buildings than any other city in the U.S.

I am honored to work with the people of CivicActions as we help our clients create our shared vision of a better world.

I feel blessed that CivicActions' vision has enabled my family to achieve its dream.