Welcome to Louisville, its a great place to live, work, and play. That's the message being touted by New2Lou, a social organization designed for transplants to Louisville who are looking for people to connect with, new places to try, and how to get involved in the community. I had the privilege to sit down with the owners, Stacey Servo and her business partner, and husband, Amador Delatorre III, this past week over coffee to discuss their growing company.
From the get go I could see how these two West Coast transplants to our fair city could start and facilitate a social meet up organization. They were both charming, personable, and easy to talk to, which I'm sure comes in handy during their second Wednesday socials. Hosted each month at a different bar or restaurant, these face to face get togethers allow not only newcomers to Louisville, but also locals, to mingle and meet. Locals you say? Yes, locals are welcome as well. Stacey and Amador made it a point to let me know that locals who are looking to meet and foster new connections are encouraged to attend, and can help provide inside information about places to go and things to do around town to the newcomers who attend. Its easy to feel out of place at parties or other gatherings where you're not quite sure where, or how, you fit in. New2Lou aims to alleviate those awkward feelings by providing an easy-going atmosphere where everyone feels in the same boat and is there for the same reason - to get to know new people. You don't have to feel like you're going to creep someone out by walking up, introducing yourself, and asking them about where they're from or what brought them to Louisville - that's what everyone is there to do. Stacey and Amador help foster this conversation by providing everyone with name tags that also list where they're from; so it's easy to know from the beginning if someone is from L.A., Vermont, or even Louisville originally, and can give you immediate talking points.
Looking to get back into real estate, Amador was given the notion to look at Louisville by his parents, and when he and Stacey started looking at hard numbers such as housing prices, diversity of economy, location within the country, things started looking a little more convincing to the skeptical couple. They admit though, that despite the attractive numbers, things really didn't click for them until they got on a plane and came to visit their potential new home. In Amador's own words, once they got here and started looking around they said "screw the numbers, this is just a cool town!". The two had the flexibility to transfer with their companies at the time and the move was made.
