The Cliffs at Keowee Springs
Where are you from?
Jeff: I grew up and worked for my entire career in Connecticut.
Kim: I am originally from Massachusetts and after we got married, we lived in Connecticut until moving here. We also spent a lot of time at our home in Vermont.
How did you meet?
Kim: We met in college. Jeff lived across the hall from me in the same dorm. One day he was coming back from lunch, and the janitor was trying to clean the outside of my window. The janitor was short and couldn’t reach so Jeff offered to help. That’s how we met! The story goes on…that’s the last window he’s ever cleaned. (laughs)
Tell me about your kids
Kim: We have two boys. Our oldest son, Ryan, is twenty-eight and lives outside of Boston. Our youngest son, Chris, is twenty-five, and he lives here with us!
Jeff: Chris actually works for The Cliffs at the clubhouse in the wellness center. He came to visit a year ago and was complaining about work. I joked with him and said, I think they are looking to hire somebody just like you in the wellness center. The next thing we know, Chris is wearing a nice shirt and disappears. He comes back two hours later and says, “They offered me a job!”
How did you find The Cliffs?
Jeff: In the late nineties, my father saw a marketing table featuring The Cliffs in Grand Central Station in New York City and brought the brochure home. They talked about The Cliffs but never moved. In the fall of 2021, I started researching where we might retire to. I plotted out a road trip after evaluating nearly forty lake communities from Virginia to Georgia. We spent three nights here at Keowee Springs where the discovery team coordinated tours, dinner reservations, and a boat rental. We spent a day on the lake and really enjoyed what we saw. In June of 2022, we were relaxing on our boat in Vermont when I happened to look at my phone and saw that a new house had come on the market. After reading the description to Kim, I texted Justin Coleman twenty minutes later, “Justin, we’re buying that house!” We signed the contract the next morning, sight unseen.
What do you think drew you here?
Jeff: We’ve always enjoyed being on the water, and I have always been a cyclist. When we came here, I was immediately drawn to the rural feel and the lake. This is a great place to ride, and The Cliffs partnership with George Hincapie is special. I traveled quite a bit for work and had the chance to see both George and Christian [Vande Velde] at several races in Europe. The lake, the mountains, the cycling—those were the things that grabbed my attention.
Kim: Originally, I wanted just a home, but not necessarily one in a community, but Jeff convinced me otherwise. Now that we’re here, I love the fact that I can walk up to the clubhouse, the wellness center, or join a water aerobics class. We like the Sportsman’s Trail and The Hammer.
Jeff: We both attend wellness classes and enjoy Friday happy hours at the clubhouse. We’ve supported the Cliffs Residents Outreach program as tutors, and I am a volunteer on the Pickens County Emergency Management Services Special Operations Team as a rescue diver. I had never played pickleball before moving here, but I took some classes with Ralph and have really come to enjoy the sport.
Tell me about the community.
Jeff: It’s amazing how humble people are, and the friendships we’ve made are wonderful. Everyone is incredibly friendly. You can feel the Southern hospitality, even though many of us are from elsewhere.
Kim: I agree. I can’t say enough about the people and how they make me feel. The Cliffs really is an amazing place.
This story was featured in Cliffs Living magazine. To see more stories like this one and learn more about The Cliffs, subscribe here.
