Kayla and Jeff Wohelski never imagined they'd call a small town like Woodbury, Tennessee home. That started to change in the summer of 2020 when Kayla and Jeff Wohelski made the bold decision to sell their home in Franklin, Tennessee, buy an RV and travel the country with their son, Wriley.
“About a year into our travels, we realized we really loved the magic of small towns,” Kayla said. “There’s less traffic. People actually say hello to you. You go to the grocery store and see someone you know. I never thought I’d be a small-town girl, but I quickly realized that’s exactly what I wanted to be.”
After a few years of traveling, Kayla received an unexpected call from her brother. The property next to his in Woodbury was going up for auction. He wasn’t talking about a property down the road—they would share a property line.
“We couldn’t turn down the opportunity to live next door to her brother,” Jeff recalled. “This was the hometown of Kayla’s grandpa. This was her roots.”
Kayla and Jeff knew they were taking on a monumental task when they decided to buy the land in Woodbury. Before they could start building their own home, they needed to take down the uninhabitable, century-old home and a large barn on the property. Drawn by the charm of rural living, they bought the land, eager to restore the heart of the original property as a self-sufficient homestead.
With support from Rural 1st and their loan officer, Kayla and Jeff turned their rural home-building vision into reality.
“Our relationship with our Rural 1st loan officer was great,” Kayla shared. “We quickly felt like we knew one another. I could text her or call her any time of day, and she was always so quick to answer and get back to us. She really made it easy.”
The Wohelskis are thriving in the rural environment, bonding with family, exploring nature and connecting with the community.
“The rural lifestyle is amazing,” Jeff said. “Not only for waking up and hearing the birds, crickets and frogs, but you also know the people. You know the meat cutter, the person at the co-op, the person at the store.”
For Kayla and Jeff, it wasn’t just about building a new house. It was about building a community and getting Closer to What Matters®.
“It’s just peaceful,” Kayla said. “There’s nothing stressful. No busyness. It’s quiet and tranquil.”
Buying land and building a home takes careful planning and a lender like Rural 1st can walk you through each step of the process. Looking to plant rural roots of your own? Connect with a loan officer to get started today.
