My partner Ed & I started dreaming about building a small dwelling of our own when my good friend and I were still living in the dorms.
Ed and I fell in savor our junior year of school & have been inseparable since.
Even back then when Ed and I were enduring such long Winters with radiant heating in those dorm rooms, Ed and I were already planning for our future. Both of us were studying passions that led to good jobs. I really think that is a great way to approach adult life. And when Ed and I had kids growing up inside the central a/c of our home, Ed and I pointed them in that direction. Ed and I fostered interests & urged our kids to follow what they wanted to do not just look for the highest paying jobs. This formula entirely worked out for us & I think it will for our kids as well. Once the kids were off on their own, the planning of our 1st custom dwelling began in earnest. This time, Ed and I were making plans for a real dwelling & not the one Ed and I dreamed of back in school. This dwelling would be just for the two of us & it would be based on our shared beliefs & our needs. So that meant some massive option when it came to making the dwelling as sustainable as possible. And when it came time for heating & cooling, Ed and I had to choose between a traditional central a/c & a geothermal heat pump. Ed and I loved the idea of the super efficient geo heat pump. But the initial cost is considerably more than just the old school heat pump. In the end, Ed and I opted to go with the geothermal heat pump & it worked out honestly well.