As long as you're learning a lot along the way and not repeating any mistakes, I think you'll be destined for REI greatness.

I was an advanced unit leader in a cosmetic company [yes Ben, I really am a little old Avon lady] I had met both Michael Moore and Temple Grandin [ Keith Olberman and Oprah were also on the board, haven't met them...yet]I looked at several cruise ship pictures I had glued to the posterboard.

Can't say anything about the labor prices, as those are very, very region-specific.I will say that, legally, you're cruising for a bruising doing things this way.

Hopefully, it doesn't overshoot the trend line to the downside.When I see people posting fluffy stuff like San Francisco is a world class city, an international destination, and they ain't making any more land, it reminds me of the exact same arguments that people were making in 2005-06 to justify speculative investment decisions.

The route 99 Septa bus does pass through parts of Phoenixville (as well as King of Prussia); you might want to look at the transit map for that route to see how close that bus gets to your planned destination.

For instance, take a homeowner who uses a vacation rental manager to rent her home in Destin, Florida, a beach vacation hotspot, but then buys a house in Aspen, Colorado, a ski resort area.

They choose to ignore all of this and continue to criticize how others spend their money while their home "leaks" enough money every year to pay for a new Mercedes and take a cruise.

Tim,SoCal would be our dream destination :) But it's also quite expensive (may be not so much if you compare living standards in Toronto- avg house price for a decent house is a million).  

., ...David J Dachtera"Success is not a destination.

We have a strong military presence here (Navy Diver training, Navy Seals Academy, Tyndall Airforce  -top gun flight school) and our International Port is expanding though it's already the largest exporter of wood pellets to Europe and copper importing to the East Coast.I mention all that to drive home the point that this area is becoming more and more of a destination attraction with amenities that were never here before.