Early in 2024, my wife and I began asking ourselves a pretty big question: Where do we actually want to raise our kids? After years of toasting under the Arizona sun, 16 years to be exact, it hit us that Phoenix was starting to feel less like home and more like an oven we couldn’t turn off. Don’t get me wrong, Phoenix will always have a place in our hearts. It’s where we got married, had our three amazing kids, and shared countless adventures. But life evolves, and so did our needs as a family.
So began The Great Location Hunt.
At first, we dreamed big. Like... RV road trip across America big. The vision was cinematic, cruising through national parks with the kids in tow, chasing sunsets, and making lifelong memories. The reality? Three kids under five in 600 square feet of mobile chaos. Yeah, hard pass. (To the families who do this successfully, respect. You are warriors.)
So we started narrowing things down. North Carolina? Maybe. Montana? Intriguing. Canada? (Edmonton, to be precise—my old stomping grounds.) But at the core of every conversation was one simple requirement: wherever we ended up had to be centered around our family’s wellbeing.
That’s how Minnesota entered the conversation.
My wife and I began tossing the idea around. What would the timeline look like? What would we need to do to make it happen? Could we really pull it off? We made a list (or six), talked logistics, and jokingly considered boxing up the kids. (Obviously didn’t happen, but hey, moving is chaotic.) In the middle of all this excitement, my parents caught wind of our potential move. Turns out, they were feeling the Arizona heat too, both literally and figuratively. Combine that with my brother recently having a baby on the East Coast, and boom, they were in. Our family exodus had become a caravan.
But before making anything official, we had to visit Minnesota and see if it really felt like home. So we planned a trip to Minneapolis—me, my wife, our kids, and my parents in tow. And it only took a walk around a lake, with our kids giggling as they rolled down grassy hills and squealed at ducks, for us to know. This was it.
From the clean air and vibrant green landscapes to the warmth of the people, Minnesota just felt right. A local harvest event sealed the deal, because if digging through a massive pile of corn with your kids doesn’t sell you on a state, what does?
We flew back with full hearts and a clear mission: Execute the Move.
Now… you might be thinking, Didn’t you also launch Respectful Goods around this time? Why yes, yes I did. Why juggle one life-changing event when you can juggle five? But truly, Respectful Goods was born from a desire to live more sustainably and be part of something meaningful, and that journey didn’t need to pause just because we were changing zip codes. If anything, it was part of the whole evolution.
Fast forward to 2025. We set the plan in motion. Listed our house in January. Officially hit the market in February. Prayed for a job to land sometime between then and May. And wouldn't you know it, all the stars aligned. Our house sold, my parents' house sold, and I got a job offer, all within three days. I’m still not sure how that happened, but we’ll take the win.
Then came the actual move.
Cue cardboard boxes scavenged from work dumpsters, OfferUp furniture sell-offs, and long nights packing with my parents. We let go of my leased Hyundai Ioniq 6 (RIP), kept our trusty Chevy Traverse, and started divvying up travel plans. I took the wheel, literally, driving cross-country through New Mexico and Kansas. My wife flew with her mom and our three kiddos, who (miraculously) handled it like champs.
I pulled into Minnesota after 24 hours of drive time, exhausted, caffeinated, and honestly, thrilled.
We all bunked temporarily in a rental with my parents while house hunting. And just two weeks later, we each found homes we loved. Ours landed us in the beautiful community of Maple Grove.
The parks? Incredible. The people? So welcoming. The vibe? Just right.
Recently, I reopened Respectful Goods, this time rooted in Minnesota soil. I’m excited to continue this mission, encouraging healthier living, pushing toward sustainability, and connecting with an even broader community that shares these values.
If you made it this far, thanks for coming along on the journey. I hope it gave you a laugh or inspired your own next big leap. We’re just getting started here in Maple Grove, and I can’t wait to see where this new chapter leads.
