Galveston or Bust… or Never, Never, Never Give Up!

Some life long Texans may call me a Yankee, but it was only a miscalculation when my Irish ancestors took a right instead of a left when they got to the Mississippi River in the mid-1800s. Their settling in Minnesota, where the snow is deep, and the two-month-long summers are bracketed by below zero winters and high taxes, has made me a fan of Texas for many years.

   So when my daughter moved my grandkids to the Fort Worth area, the decision to leave the frozen tundra of Minnesota happened fairly fast. My husband, John, and I were hauling our household south while Hurricane Katrina was pulverizing New Orleans, and three weeks later Rita came through Galveston…  or we all thought it was going to hit us. My husband had commuted back to his job with Delta Airlines in Minnesota, and I was on my own to figure out things, like boarding up windows,  repacking the photos that I had just unpacked. And I couldn’t have done  it without the help of my great Texas neighbors.

   After I convinced the lumber department, at Lowes, that I needed the plywood delivered, I still had no way to cut it to size and get it up on the windows. That’s where my neighbors came to my rescue, and saying “a left-handed Irish Yankee was  going to need some Texas-size help.”

We all have our Hurricane Rita evacuation stories, mine consisted of  brakes failing me on the Hartmann bridge, having a Baytown police  officer push me off of Hwy. 146, and giving me a jump start. This after I had pulled off the highway to let my brakes cool, and upon re-entering the  hurricane route my car stalled.

   FYI: All good Minnesotans carry jumper cables in their trunks at all times. The frustration level was off the charts by this time, so I called my husband in Minnesota, and told him if I find a dealership open, I am walking in and buying a new car. Needless to say, he was saved by having the hurricane closing all of them.

   Twenty two (22) hours later, surviving on red licorice, sucking on ice cubes, and throwing ice down my back to stay awake, I made it to Fort Worth. I promised myself that I would never get on a Hurricane route again! And I had only been a Texan for three weeks.

   We still owned our home in Minnesota, so buying a canal home on Moses Lake, in Texas City, was a strain on our budget, until its sold. So we decided that I needed to expand my income, to help get us over the money crunch. I have a graphics art degree and a small design studio with a number of loyal clients, but I decided that I could wait tables, even though it was something I had never done in my 50-something years on earth.

   But you do what you have to do. I convinced the restaurant manager, Norberto Vela at Landry’s on the Seawall, to let me try. That alone was quite an accomplishment, since coming from the great snow-white north, fresh seafood restaurants are not as prolific as they are on the Gulf coast. I didn’t know a sea scallop from a Redfish. Never the less, I managed to hold on to the job for 4 1/2 years. Thoroughly, I enjoyed every minute “selling fish to tourists in T-shirts”, plus I made many new friends, and discovered I love Flounder, Snapper, and Redfish.

   While I worked at Landry’s, I also went to school to get my real estate license. The realtor who helped us find our home was Andrea Sunseri, from the House Company on Galveston. She and I hit it off and I  joined the House Company as Andrea’s assistant. Andrea is B.O.I. and a bottomless well of information. She helped me get my career, as a realtor, off the ground. When Andrea decided to move to Pirates Beach, to join the Sand ‘N Sea agency, Better Homes and Gardens, (formerly-Prudential) Gary Greene, REALTORS was just opening a new office on Broadway, and I decided it would be a good fit for me.

   It's funny how small seemly unconnected things can make a huge  difference in your life. One of the realtors, at the Broadway office,  needed someone to fill in for him at an open house he had scheduled. So, I offered to do it. I got to talking to the roommate of the owner, while I  was there, and she told me about a networking group, in Seabrook, called B.A.N.G. (Bay Area Network Group). I found out they meet every Tuesday at 7:30 am, at Tequila Booms, on Nasa Rd 1. I joined and the rest is history. It clicked, and now I also go to the networking meetings in Santa Fe, on Wednesdays,  Galveston on Thursdays and League City on Fridays.

   At one of the network meetings, I met Vikki Carpenter, Galveston News. She approached me about becoming a consultant for Ambit Energy. I accompanied her to a presentation, and decided it was the right product, the right time and an income opportunity like no other. It's a necessity, and we already budget for it every day. Plus for every house I sold, I could offer my clients the chance to save money on their electric bill. I'm Always going the extra mile for my clients.

   Then Hurricane Ike hit, and four jobs blew out with it. The BH&G-Gary Greene, RE office on Broadway was closed, and I moved to Tiki island. No internet for 6 weeks, to do my graphics, and no one was buying houses. Most people didn’t have electricity, even if they had a home to switch on the lights, and Landry’s restaurant was out of commission. Landry’s did, however, open within 2 weeks, and started serving breakfast, along with a shortened ‘hurricane’ menu. Since I lived in Texas City, and because of the flood gate and dikes we only had roof damage and no flooding. So I opened my home to Vikki and her husband, Wayne, and another networker, Stuart Holifield (Back to You Chiropractic), until their homes were again habitable.

   Hurricane Ike set all of us back, and the economy was sluggish.  According to the September 2009 issue of the Houston Realtor, July home sales for single-family homes are flat, but rentals rose 15%. Generally overall in a national comparison, the Houston area has consistently fared better than the rest of the nation. Coming from a different state, I can clearly see and feel a different attitude in Texas, and I attribute the shape of our Houston/Galveston economy to the ‘get ‘er done’ attitude of Texans.

   I chose Better Homes Gardens-Gary Greene, Realtors because  of their overwhelming internet presence. Speaking from experience as a recent buyer of Gulf Coast property, and moving here from a different state, I know that I did most of the house hunting on the internet. These days you can even zoom down to street level and look at the  neighborhood before you drive there. Better Homes Gardens-Gary Greene, Realtors has consistently been number one in homes sold and listed. Since I joined they, they continue to expand their market share.

   I chose Ambit Energy because I saw an income opportunity like no  other. Ambit Energy has now been named the number one, fastest-growing, privately held, company in America, and was featured in INC. Magazine Nov. 2010. And it was only 4 years old at the time. They just announced that they are offering their great low rates to small commercial in Texas, are currently expanding in Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, California, and already have a solid residential base in Texas, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey. Their goal of affordable energy, top-notch customer service, and an attitude of not sacrificing growth over integrity, has made them number one.

   Moral of the story: I came to the Galveston, Texas area and I didn’t  know a soul. No one! I hitched my star to two ROCK SOLID companies,  rolled up my sleeves and did what I had to do to survive some very rough  times. I overcame frustration, low check book balances, two hurricanes, and being separated for long periods of time from my family. But I never, never, gave up, and NOW I am a proud Texan!