Adios Muchachos! And Thanks for all of the Sun Downs.

Not in any hurry to tell a story, I typically like to take my time to get to the point, but I think this news warrants the shorter path. Kitchen Storey and I are leaving Tejas and moving to the other side of the Continental Divide to Seattle.

In a few weeks we’ll head for the land of Pearl Jam, the finest of ocean foods, Patrick Dempsey (I know he just retired but I’m going to include him anyway since he’s the reason why we’re Sounders fans), Mac and Jacks African Amber Ale, a body of water called a “sound” with a ferry transit system, and weather that doesn’t melt your face off and incur instant melanoma. Kitchen Storey has pairs of Hunters lined up — My shinny-new yellow North Face is ready to go — looking for rain.

I think every time I’ve been to Seattle in the last twenty-five years I’ve thought, “I need to live here.” Then I would get on a plane, take a photo of Mt. Rainer on climb out, and fly back to wherever home was at the time. Come this November, I won’t be getting on that plane, and any new photos of Rainer are going to be taken from a different, ground-based perspective.

The Toureg is already there. We had it moved a week before Kitchen Storey started her new job as Captain Badass of Tacoma last month. I’ll let her share that news when and if she’s ready, but I want to let the citizens of the Tacoma know you are now a bit safer than they were a month ago — You’re welcome.

Our new home is quite literally on the Sound in Alki Beach. You can expect an instant photo account of water views for the next year, maybe more. For those folks in Austin, think early Rainey Street, on the water, without college students on a daily basis. The local upscale establishment has a selection of options for chilled seafood presentations. It’s one of the first things I checked while auditing the neighborhood. In short, Storeyhouse 6.0 is going to be pretty dope.

Of course there are mixed feelings leaving a place that we’ve called home for seven years. I love Austin. And I love even more the design community that formed here despite the lack of design jobs from the major Bay Area tech companies at the time. From the humble days of moving Happy Cog here in 2011 to working at mass scale at IBM in 2015 to starting up a design program at USAA in 2017, I have met and worked with several hundreds of designers in Austin over the years. I’ve had a hell of a time hanging out at Dribbble meetups and hosting the annual SXSW party. And I personally got a kick watching many early designers evolve into confident, talented, pillars of the local and global design community.

I don’t know if I’ll be in such a unique position again in my career and I’m thankful for opportunities and the results of being in Austin during a truly magical time. Y’all who were there know what I mean — if you weren’t here then you’ll never understand.

Speaking of…to my friends in Austin, there is a silver lining. I am fortunate to be able to continue my work at USAA providing that I return to Texas one week per month. Chances are we’ll have the opportunity to hang out soon, or soon enough.

Looking forward I am genuinely excited to call Seattle home. It has been a long time coming. To my friends and acquaintances in the Pacific Northwest, prepare for Storeystyle.

Also, if you know of anyone who is looking to live large in Austin, please let me know. I’ve got to sell a townhouse as soon as possible.