The Hofwebers: Starting a New Life in Leland
By Jenny Vetter
Remember your favorite summer vacation? Most of us can close our eyes and picture the places we loved to visit as children—we can hear the wind rustle through the trees at summer camp, feel the ocean lapping at our toes along the shore or even smell the cookies baking at Grandma’s house. Wherever your favorite spot was as a child, chances are you don’t live there now.
That is, of course, unless you’re Katie Hofweber.
Katie and her husband, Tommy, moved to North Carolina in the spring of 2006—not for all the reasons most people have for relocating, but because of something that had begun before they’d ever met.
As a little girl, Katie always looked forward to her family’s summer vacations to their condominium in Carolina Beach. Each year, the family would pack up the car and make the trek south from their home in Rhinebeck, New York, a small town about 100 miles north of New York City. After the grueling 11-hour ride, Katie, along with her older brother and sisters, couldn’t wait to break out the boogie boards and make daily trips to Squigley’s Ice Cream and Treats.
After spending an icy New York winter indoors, the warm sunshine of a Carolina coast summer was just what the family needed to re-energize them for the coming fall and busy school year ahead. While most of their vacation was spent relaxing on the beach, Katie’s family always made a little time to drive around the area and check out local real estate—"just looking," of course—before heading back home to Rhinebeck.
As Katie became an adult, she continued to head south each year to the family’s beach condo, although now she had someone new to share her childhood memories with, then-boyfriend (and fellow Rhinebeck resident) Tommy Hofweber. Just one weekend trip was all it took for Tommy to see exactly why Katie loved it here. While enjoying the sparkling water and warm sand beneath his feet, Tommy realized that this would be the perfect place to make a new kind of memory for both of them.
"Katie had been going to Carolina Beach since she was a little girl and shared so many memories with her family there," says Tommy. "So I asked Katie to marry me on the Carolina Beach shoreline in front of the same condo where she had made so many of those memories."
After their wedding, Katie and Tommy kept toying with the idea of heading down to the Carolina coast—permanently. As much as they loved Rhinebeck, the real estate market there was tough. After September 11, 2001, people from New York City began to relocate to Rhinebeck and the surrounding areas, which quickly caused home prices to skyrocket—that, coupled with harsh winters and a challenging job market, gave the new Mr. and Mrs. Hofweber a lot to think about.
"After we were married we wanted a change from the small town we had grown up in," says Katie.
Tommy adds, "Katie has always wanted to move here—the spark had been lit in her long before I even knew about North Carolina!"
Almost ready to take the plunge, Tommy and Katie decided to take another long weekend away and headed south for a weekend of "real estate research." While having lunch at Wrightsville Beach after a long day of checking out several neighborhoods, they finally just decided to go for it.
"We thought, ‘if we can sit outside on a pier in the middle of January, this is where we want to be’," says Katie.
That same January day, they fell in love with a house in The Arbors and decided to make an offer without having jobs lined up or any kind of concrete plan. They had a closing date within a few weeks.
"Everything happened so quickly," says Tommy. "Ten months after I proposed, we were married, packed and on our way to our new home and new life in Leland."
Buying a home in Leland would prove to be the easiest part of their relocation—they still had to move everything they owned. After packing up the moving truck they made the 700-mile road trip, migrating south for good.
"We pulled into the driveway, looked at the moving truck and said ‘What now?’," says Katie. "We didn’t know anyone in the area—Tommy had to do some creative unloading!"
Tommy and Katie are still adapting to the coastal Carolina lifestyle, but fortunately they’re not alone. Since their move, both of Katie’s sisters and Tommy’s parents have moved to Leland as well.
In addition to a new home and new community, the couple has recently embarked on a new business venture as well—Top Gun Pressure Washing. They started the business last summer and have been busy growing their client base in both Brunswick and New Hanover counties. The rapid growth the area has experienced in the recent years has certainly helped their business.
"We’re so excited to be in a growing area," says Katie. "It’s a great spot for young people just getting started. We’re excited to see what it’s going to do for our house’s value."
Katie and Tommy are now making new memories for themselves. Whether it’s taking their Jeep onto Carolina Beach with their dogs in tow or chatting with Katie’s parents about making the move down to the coast themselves, this is one childhood memory that has definitely made a lasting impression.
Opinions in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent management views.