This is a story about an international couple raising and home educating three young boys on a small island in Japan, half living in buses, engaged in organic, self-sufficient farming in the middle of a mountain forest while dealing with climate, cultural, and personal challenges. These pages are about pretty much anything and everything all guided by our family motto, Taking Chances, Making Changes, Being Happy. Thank you very much for joining us on our ongoing crazy adventure.

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Places

Welcome to my story places page. This is another page my kids requested. They listened to the stories of all the places where I lived before and they wanted to see pictures to match the stories....enjoy.
Kenmore, New York, U.S.A.

1960 - 1979 - I was born and raised in this little village north of Buffalo, New York and damn proud of it. The climate was difficult, to say the least, with strong winds, freezing temperatures, and an unreal amount of snow some years. Certainly growing up in a place this builds character. I keep very fond memories of this place
My Home Growing Up

1960 - Spring 1979 - This is a picture of my old house, the home on the right in the picture. This picture if from Google Maps street view. I wanted a better picture but the neighbor on the right side of the house apparently contacted Google to block the street view picture for privacy concerns. The owner of that house, at that time, was a cop in Kenmore and maybe still owns the house. Anyway, I think we sold this home sometime during Spring of 1979.
Kenmore Rental House

July 1979 - June 1980 - I rented a house (dates approximate) somewhere in Kenmore before moving to San Diego, California to be with my parents. Pretty sure the house was located on Wabash Avenue. I was renting the house with Teresa Quebral (girlfriend) from an older woman, maybe Anna Sutton, for almost a year while going to college at the State University of New York at Buffalo. I could not remember or find the actual address.

mrs. anna sutton
upper apartment - 7/79-6/80
San Diego, California, U.S.A.

1980 - 2009 - I moved to California mostly to be close to my parents and to continue my college education. My parents had already moved to San Diego to escape the cold weather and high unemployment rate of Buffalo, New York. I graduated with a Business degree from S.D.S.U. and worked many years as a real estate appraiser. I bought and sold several properties over the years, including my main home shown in the picture. I spent much of my time fishing, hiking, and attending local events.

Facebook Post - I moved to San Diego, California many years ago to be with family and to finish my college at San Diego State University. After graduating from SDSU with a business degree in finance, I went to work for a bank as a real estate appraiser. I eventually opened a successful real estate appraisal company and was self employed for many years. I traveled a lot during those years and eventually the passion for other cultures and travel took over. I decided to dispose of my business, retire early, and go back to college. I graduate with a degree in Japanese studies and also obtained a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certificate. I traveled to Japan a couple times to study the language and finally moved there in 2009.
San Diego Rental Apartment

July 1980 - September 1980 - I stayed in my parent's apartment (dates approximate) for a few months when I moved to San Diego with Terry. Pretty sure they were on the first floor unit in the front of the building. The address was 3960 #5 Arizona Street in the North Park area of San Diego. These were pretty spacious apartments with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and approximately 888 square feet. Apparently these were converted to condominiums according to information in Realtor.com.
San Diego Rental Apartment

September 17, 1980 - April 29, 1981 - I rented an apartment with Terry (dates approximate) for about 7 months. Pretty sure they were on the first floor unit in the front of the building. The address was 3943 Arizona Street #5 in the North Park area of San Diego and directly across from my parent's place.

3943 arizona street
4/3/81 - letter of reference

SDGE
9/17/80 3943 #5 arizona street - establish service
4/29/81 3943 #5 arizona street - close account
San Diego Rental House

May 1, 1981 - at least August 20, 1982 - I rented the rear half of a house with Terry (dates approximate) for over a year. Pretty sure they were on the first floor unit in the front of the building. The address was 3954 Arizona Street in the North Park area of San Diego and adjacent to my parent's place. The property consisted of a duplex (pretty sure) in the front and a third separate unit in the back. The house had been occupied by a group of tough dudes (nice but a bit scary) before (pretty sure) we moved in there. We were in the rear (much smaller) section of the duplex. The rent was $235 per month including utilities and was increased on 8/20/1982 to $250 per month. At some point a young couple moved in the front with a very young daughter. At one point they had some stuff stolen from the house. The wife began to like me, a lot, and the whole situation turned into a drama and even the owner of the property, who had become good friends with all of us, became involved. They eventually moved out. The houses have since been removed as seen in Google Maps street view and replaced with condominiums apparently.

3954 arizona street
san diego, ca. 92104
letter 8/20/82 - rent increased to $250.00 eff. 10/1/82
started renting 5/1/81 - rent $235.00 includes utilities and carport, gerbils, rabbit

Telephone
pacific telephone - 714-298-2193
5/5/81 establish service
9/7/83 last statement
San Diego Rental Apartment

September 7, 1982 - October 1, 1983 - I rented an apartment with Terry (dates approximate) for about a year back in the same building as my parents. This was either the same unit they had been renting or the unit directly below. The rent was $325 per month, pretty sure not including utilities, which was increased on 3/1/1983 to $385 per month. Pretty sure I was working for this A-1 property management company by this time and was receiving a rent reduction along with a monthly salary for managing this building and a building on Arnold Avenue not far away. A lot of drama at this place as well. There was a guy and his Dad living together in one of the upper apartments in the building. A car was blocking the car of the son, who was a cop. He came to my place and asked if I knew who owned the car and I told him that I (as the manager) would ask the people in the other units. He didn't want to wait and took out some kind of tool from his car and smashed the window of the other car and moved it. I vaguely remember needing to testify in court about what he did. Then there were these two girls in one of the upper apartments, one Jewish, who became friends. They used to get up in the middle of night if they found a cockroach and would ask me to come over and get it.

3960 arizona street #1
rent increased from $325.00 to $385.00 eff. 3/1/83

SDGE
9/7/82 3960 #1 arizona street - establish service
10/1/83 3960 #1 arizona street - close account
San Diego Purchased House (stayed in rear unit)

September 14, 1983 - May 16, 1986 - I bought this property with my parents and Terry using my student loan money (which was borrowed over many years of college and put in the bank) and money made from years of working for the post office while simultaneously going to two different colleges. The property was a duplex with the address 4688 Altadena street for the larger front house and 4688 1/2 Altadena Street for the smaller rear house. The property was on a standard lot and had a huge pool which meant only a small yard in between the two houses and the one car garage. At one point, I built a huge family room on the back of the rear house, with the help of Terry and a few friends. My parents lived in the front unit before moving to the condominium and we were in the rear house.

8/10/83 files purchase property

SDGE
9/14/83 4688 1/2 altadena avenue - establish service
5/16/86 4688 1/2 altadena avenue - close account
San Diego Purchased House (moved to front unit)

December 16, 1983 - July 27, 1988 - I moved with Terry into the front house when my parents moved to the condominium and then subsequently moved into the front house. We were married and divorced during the time we were in this house. The dates listed were in my files as the dates for the 4688 address with the first date in 1983 making no sense. I am hoping to find move information in my files that makes more sense but leaving the date as shown for now anyway. I eventually moved from the front house and then rented out the entire property.

SDGE
10/7/84 4688 altadena avenue - first statement
7/11/88 4688 altadena avenue - last statement

Cox Cable
11/15/86 4688 altadena avenue - first statement
7/27/88 4688 altadena avenue - close account

Telephone
pacific telephone - 619-287-5786
9/14/83 establish service
1/1/84 now pacific bell
8/12/88 close account
San Diego Purchased House

July 7, 1988 - ???? - I was working at Security Pacific National Bank as a real estate appraiser when I found out about this property. Actually a girl I was training at the bank, Elizabeth Quintanilla (who became my girlfriend), was living with her family on the same street where this house was located. She told me the property was up for sale and I bought it with my friend and coworker, David Ernst, at full price. I stayed in the house until it was sold and I moved to the condominium.

6/4/88 files offer to purchase accepted $134,900

SDGE
7/7/88 6931 ballinger avenue - establish service

Cox Cable
7/21/88 6931 ballinger avenue - establish service

Telephone
pacific bell - 619-697-6464
7/11/88 establish service
11/27/89 close account
pacific bell - 619-697-5056
7/11/88 establish service

Sparkletts
2/15/89 first statement
2/19/93 last statement
San Diego Purchased Condominium

???? - ???? - I purchased this place as a foreclosure for my parents many years before moving in there. I stayed there for many years with my roommate Chris Baker who was house sitting for me while me and Akiko were in Japan. We stayed there a couple of times when we returned to San Diego for vacations. The traffic noise from the street was terrible, especially on the outside patio.
Hatakeda, Oji, Nara, Japan

2003 Summer - This is a really small countryside community with an even smaller train station.
Hatakeda Vacation House

2003 Summer - I went to Japan and spent the Summer at the home and okonomiyaki restaurant of my ex-girlfriend, Rie Fukumoto. My room was on the second floor, above the restaurant. It was a crazy Summer filled with fun, drama, okonomiyaki, and of course, lots of beer. This was a really special time for me because this is the Summer I met Akiko at the Oji library.
Ando Town, Nara, Japan

2009 - 2014 - We moved here in 2009 mostly because we wanted a cheap house in Japan which was close to Akiko's family. While the first few years were good here, the last few were not. Actually I could speak volumes about why this place was not working for us, from the weather (cold for a few months and then unbearably hot and humid during the Summer) to the very conservative and closed minded countryside Japanese people.
Ando Town Purchased House

2009 - 2014 - I got married to Akiko in 2007 and two years later we had our first son. We were staying in my parents old condo and decided it was not the best place to raise a small boy. We decided to purchase a house in Nara, Japan, in order to be close to her family. A lot of drama went into the purchase of this place. Over the course of a few years, me and Akiko were really not getting along, and a lot of it had to do with where we were. A very old, traditional, and narrow minded community. Although we were totally accepted as friends, there was still an obvious distance between us and the locals. It was definitely time to move on.
Minamitane Town, Tanegashima, Japan

2014 - 2017 - This place totally rocked from the moment we moved there until we returned to America. The island was still pure (no military influence), there were tons of really cool events, we were going fishing a lot, and growing a ton of food. The neighbors were friendly and we made a lot of new friends in three years. Minamitane has a real small town atmosphere with small shops and a wide variety of restaurants. I could go on and on about this place. Ah, forgot to mention the total cool JAXA space center and museum which is totally free.
Minamitane Town Rental House

2014 - 2017 - We had reached our limit with being in Nara, Japan a couple of years before moving to the island. Is the grass really greener on the other side?....it turned out to be in this case anyway. We rented a house on Tanegashima island which included a couple of farms. This was the first time for me to be living in a rental house since my college days but it worked out really well. We were extremely happy to welcome our second son into the world while staying at this house. We spent a little over three really fun years at this place. Then the owner decided to move back to the house and we had to move.
Julian, California, U.S.A.

2017 - 2018 - Yup our six months in America were the worst ever for this family. A few months after moving there we could not wait to get out. From the climate to the people, this place is not much better than landing on the set of Back to the Future II....motorcycle gangs, gun owners, excessive drug use, and alcohol abuse. Happy to be out and not ever returning....read on, you will not believe. FYI, pretty sure we saw Biff walking around town.
Julian Purchased House

2017 - 2018 - This move worked out great financially but was the worst six months of our marriage by far. We were okay as a couple, but were absolutely miserable in this place. After only three months, we made the decision to move back to Tanegashima, and it took another three months to prepare and sell the property for a really nice profit. Akiko found a really nice property on Tanegashima island online, while we were still in America.
Nakatane Town, Tanegashima, Japan

2018 - Present - This place has been a problem since the beginning. Although the property itself is fantastic, we have had problems with the neighbor (previous owner) and especially this town with their inaction on many issues. See this page to read about the issues (page opens to a new tab) in English and Japanese.
Nakatane Town Purchased House

2018 - Present - We moved to this property and immediately began work on this place. The interior was basically pretty nice but with a few repairs required. The landscaping was a mess. Happily, the property looks completely different now.
Nishinoomote City, Tanegashima, Japan

2021 - Present - Although this is really not my favorite place on the island, I suppose it's okay for a small city. Really not much to look at though with a bunch of old buildings pretty much haphazardly built over the years.
Nishinoomote City Purchased 4.5 Acre Forested Mountain

2021 - Present - Yup, technically this is now considered our place of residence, well, at least part time. We purchased this property, bought a few buses, cut a bunch of trees, and voila....our home away from home. See this page for the exact location
Places Almost Lived
Well it was 2009 and we were in the condominium in San Diego listening to the extremely noisy traffic from the busy street below. This was no place to raise a new born baby boy. It was time to move and the two logical choices were either Japan or New York state. Japan because we could be close to Akiko's family and New York because of the fond memories I keep of growing up there.
Grand Island, New York

This is the area where we were thinking of purchasing a home before moving to Japan in 2018. We actually put in an offer on a property there. See Story July 2009 for pictures
Porter, New York

When the sale of the property on Grand Island fell through, I began to focus on this place. Although we found a lot of good points about Porter and the surrounding areas and some things of concern as well. The good points of this area include: nice homes, large lots (really prefer at least half an acre), small town feeling, basically secluded which is something I prefer, especially after spending a couple of years on this island and a few years in the countryside of Japan. I also like the close proximity to Canada, and the possibility of catching salmon. The not so good points include: Possibly a fairly old population, making friends for my kids difficult to find, the difficult climate, and the fact that any salmon caught are probably contaminated with toxins. Actually we are not a catch and release family, we are a catch and eat family, lol.