Moving from N.C. - Housemates Perhaps?

Hello. I'm Aaron and Winston-Salem, North Carolina is home. In May of 2005, I moved here to go to grad school. During the two year MBA program, I lucked out with living arrangements and have several great roommates in a cool four bedroom house.

Now, I'm about to move so that I can start my post B-School job. So, now I need new roommates. I'm not the type to get a one bedroom apartment and live alone. I've had roommates from the time went to the University of Virginia until now. Also, apartments aren't my thing.

Priorities:

• Cool neighborhood
• A house with character
• Trees, shrubs, flowers and grass
• Interesting housemates with similar priorities (not necessarily similar interests or hobbies, just priorities.)
• A yard
• Kitchen - Functional and possibly even kickass. No kitchenettes or galley kitchens
• Decor
• Balance between livability and tidiness. A comfortable level of cleanliness (Clean and tidy are preferable, but I can accommodate most types, except messy, dirty and/or chaotic.)
• Housemates who've had great experiences in previous living situations
• Housemates with active lifestyles and balanced social lives
• Professional, artistic or creative; characterizations of you career aren't important as long as you're good at what you do and do it successfully with passion.
• Compatible lifestyles. Someone working nights or raising hell on a Tuesday wouldn't work, no matter how wonderful of a person you are.
• Maturity. Age doesn't matter, but I want to live with adults. Being a mentor is for work, not for home. I have a 21 and 30 year old roommate now, and still have a hard time believing the one is 21. He's been a great roommate. In D.C., a buddy and I had a roommate for about six months who was 68. To this day, Mike goes down as the coolest roommate I've ever had. Not just a great roommate, Mike was a great guy to hang out with; thanks buddy.

About me.

Hobbies: Cooking, Dog training / dog sports, Motorcycles and Skiing (in alphabetical order.)

My dog, Max is 6 & 1/2. We've been all over the southeast to compete in Frisbee competitions. He's the number one dog in the world for his breed in a dog sport called Flyball (yeah, I know it's wierd, but it's the only strange thing about me :) People stop to comment on how well behaved he is. During grad school, there were always a few girls who would call me to ask if they could walk him, keep him, play with him, etc. I wish I could say that they just wanted to hang out with me, but that's not the case. He's that cool.

No, he doesn't get on furniture. Ever. He doesn't bark superfluously. He doesn't get in your personal space. He gets along brilliantly with cats. He likes kids. Really, as long as he gets to play ball or Frisbee, anything else is just gravy.

Motorcycles. After B-School, unlike my classmates who got jobs that required beginning work immediately, I took six months off to travel the continent. On an old motorcycle, I rode to Alaska via 40 states and five provinces. It was epic. After I got back, I began the job search, which brings us to today. A link to the blog about my motorcycle adventure.

Cooking. Yep. Not what you'd expect given the biker thing, but I do love it. Before going for a hike, bike ride or heading downtown on a Saturday morning, you'll often find me at the Farmer's Market.

Skiing - A big reason for my move to mountains.

I love camping and hiking and plan on spending a lot of weekends in the mountains. Am a big fan of mountain biking too, but few crashes over the last couple of years has significantly changed my riding style. If it's sunny, you'll probably find me outside. If not, in the kitchen or garage.

The good. I'm a great roommate. Very little bothers me, and if it does, I like to talk about it. Like adults. If you don't like the way I load the dishwasher, just ask. I certainly didn't do it on purpose. I'm clean. I keep a very clean kitchen and tidy common areas. I like yard work. Not only that, I have all the tools. If you need a roommate to maintain the house, then I can do that. I have so much stuff that I'll definitely need a storage unit, so if we don't have need for my mower, trimmer, blower, tools, etc, I'll just put them somewhere else.

The bad. So many ads specify non-smoking. Often in CAPS. I hadn't smoked since undergrad at UVA, but living in Winston-Salem (aka The Camel City) I succumbed to picking up the filthy habit. Is it that big of a deal? Don't write me off for being a social smoker. You would never see me smoke unless we ended up at the same bar. Do people actually smoke indoors? Do people actually get close enough to their housemates to smell smoke? Anyhow, smoking in Winston-Salem isn't unusual. Other places it is. I'm an active person and don't plan on being a hypocrite much longer, but am a straightforward guy and must disclose my tastes for the occasional cancer stick. Also, I've seen ads demanding No Alcohol. Pardon? I wouldn't want to live with someone with substance abuse problems any more that I'd want to have those problems. Craft beer, good wine and old whiskey; I enjoy them all... but never in a way that bums out my roommates. As for significant others, I've had roommates with "always-over" girlfriends. Fortunately, it's worked out ok and never been a problem. But I could see situation where it would be. As long as you're "other" is cool and not disruptive, then I could probably tolerate. I don't have a girlfriend moving with me and don't really know anyone in town. But I don't anticipate that being the case for long. I won't have excessive girlfriend visits, let's just talk about it. I'm a relationship kind of guy, so no worries about a revolving door. Overnight guests are part of having a house. I love to host people. If a friend from out-of-town comes to visit, or if your friend comes to visit, I want to make anyone welcome. If you & I are compatible housemates, it won't be a problem. Promise :)

My job: The job is sweet. However, I've always said I won't travel. But that's not the case with this job. The company is based in the Bay Area, but the Professional Services Group (that's me) travels extensively to work with clients. I'll be on the road three to five days a week. A reasonable commute to the airport is key. If I'm not on the road, I'll either be in San Fran, or will work from home. So I need a desk and cheery environment for a day each week. For the first six months, I'll be gone Monday thru Friday. After that, three to five days each week. Scary, given my commitment to my dog.

So I need a housemate who will be around during the week. I can arrange for someone to spend time with him during the day if needed. Maybe you're gone 12 -15 hours each day. But I want there to be a stable environment where someone is home during the night. So I'm a crazy dog person, ya got me. I made a commitment to the furry one nearly seven years ago and have to live up to my end.

• Maybe you have cats, and have always wanted a dog.
• Maybe you want a dog, but don't have time.
• Maybe you want a dog, but don't want an awful dog and don't have time to train.
• Maybe you have a dog and need a living situation to accommodate and find a fellow dog owner to be an attractive housemate.

If you're any of the above, then let's talk. Oh yeah... Max. He's about knee-high, has no tail and is very athletic. A small dog, but not a lap dog, lounge dog or fru-fru dog. He's laid back and won't bother me for hours on end. He'll sleep until noon if necessary. He'll do absolutely anything to "be cool." ... as long as he get to play Frisbee or ball when needed.

Let's talk. A few minutes on the telephone would give us an idea if we should talk further.

33 6. Two zero 9. Nine six 2 zero.