Charlie and Rebecca Ker
Dallas, Texas, sizzles all year long.
“It’s one long, endlessly hot summer,” says Rebecca Ker. “It’s crazy heat.”
She and her husband, Charlie, ached for cool springs, chilly falls, even snowy winters. They longed for dry air, mountains, trees and lakes.
Charlie works for a national property management firm. When a position with the company opened in Spokane, he applied. And he got it.
The couple didn’t know much about Spokane, Rebecca says. “But we knew it had four true seasons.”
They came up last fall to look at houses. Charlie fell in love with a 1915 Craftsman bungalow near Audubon Park that quickly grew on Rebecca. They bought it and prepared for an uneventful move that, instead, nearly killed them.
An ice storm hit Dallas the day before their planned Dec. 1 departure. Two hours into the trip, the couple’s Toyota Tacoma hit a patch of black ice and spun out. The truck, loaded with the Kers, their three dogs and personal items, flipped one-and-a-half times, landing on the passenger side.
Amazingly, the couple, their crated dogs and their belongings were unscathed.
“We thought we were never going to get out of Dallas,” Rebecca says.
Undeterred, they bought airline tickets and made it to Spokane within a week of the accident.
“There was snow on the ground when we got here,” Rebecca says. “And we just loved it.”
Why Spokane?
Both were raised in Dallas and were eager to try something new.
“It’s a big place, totally different from where we came from,” Charlie says. “The people are as friendly as can be.
“And I see natural beauty outside my window everyday.”
“It’s so laid-back here,” Rebecca says. “The traffic is so much slower.”
Real Estate
Unlike many of Spokane’s most recent transplants, the Kers found housing slightly more expensive than in suburban Dallas, Charlie says. “It’s about 3 to 5 percent less in Dallas.”
They toured at least 25 homes in Spokane before choosing the 2,600-square-foot Craftsman with wood beams and hardwood floors. Now they spend their spare time painting.
“The kitchen was all orange, including the ceiling,” Rebecca says, adding that she’s switching the home’s brighter colors to more neutral shades.
Settling in
Rebecca, an actress, found lots of work in Dallas doing commercials and print work. She wants to explore Spokane’s growing film presence.
“I haven’t done it yet,” she says. “I’m getting the house up and running.”
Charlie works out of his home. “It cuts way down on gas consumption, which is good,” he says.
Missing home
Rebecca and Charlie say they miss their friends and family and favorite hangouts. Rebecca misses a discount shoe store and a container specialty shop. Charlie misses the Tex Mex restaurants.
But both say they are finding new favorites such as the Downriver Grill.
“We’re doing a lot of exploring, finding out what’s here and what’s available,” Charlie says.
They love the signs of spring they see everywhere, especially the people emerging from their homes after the long, gray winter.
“We cannot wait to start doing outdoor things,” Rebecca says. “There are just so many things to do here, places to travel.
“We’re really excited about that.”