[Sportschosun | Reporter Jun-seok Kim] YouTuber Oliver Grant and his wife, Lady, revealed that they took out a short-term private loan through a relative to build a home while leaving Korea and settling in Texas, the United States.
They reportedly faced conditions under which they could lose their house and land if they failed to repay the money within a year, surprising viewers.
On the 10th, a video titled “Two-Million-Subscriber YouTuber Oliver Grant! The Reason He First Revealed for Leaving Korea and Returning to the United States with His Two Daughters, Cherry and Sky” was uploaded to the YouTube channel “Mipji Aneun Gwanjong Eonni.”
That day, Oliver Grant and his wife, Lady, visited Lee Ji-hye’s home and discussed their life in Korea, their move to the United States, and raising their two daughters, Cherry and Sky.
Oliver Grant said he had worked in Korea as a middle school English teacher for three years and an elementary school teacher for four years. While he was in the United States, he was invited by a Korean exchange student and spent a month in Anyang. He explained that he became fascinated by Korean culture and returned to Korea immediately after graduating from college.
After getting married, however, the couple moved to Texas, considering Seoul’s high housing prices and their desire to live surrounded by nature.
Oliver Grant said, “I grew up in the countryside and have liked places with lots of trees since I was young. Living in Seoul, I found the housing prices at the time burdensome. My parents were also in Texas and said they would help us build a house, so the move happened naturally.”
The low cost of land was the biggest factor that swayed the couple. Lady recalled, “Converted into Korean currency at the time, it was about 500 won per pyeong,” adding that they were captivated by the seemingly endless fields and forests.
When they were in their early 20s, the couple spent approximately 60 million won to purchase the land first. They thought they could then build a house with a bank loan, but an unexpected problem arose.
Because Oliver Grant had lived in Korea for a long time immediately after graduating from college, he was in a difficult position to obtain a conventional home loan in the United States. In the end, the couple had to take out a short-term private loan, commonly known as a “hard-money” loan, through a relative.
Lady quickly clarified, “That doesn’t mean our relative is a loan shark,” while Oliver Grant explained, “The terms were similar to having the house and land confiscated if we couldn’t repay the money within a year.”
Saying they had no other choice, he described his mindset at the time: “Rather than thinking, ‘I don’t think we can do it,’ I thought, ‘This is the only way. I have to work like crazy.’”
At the time, Oliver Grant’s YouTube channel had about 300,000 subscribers, and his income was not particularly high because he mainly produced English-lesson videos. To save on labor costs, he went to the construction site himself and took part in various installation and utility tasks.
It took a full six years to complete the house. While it was being built, the couple had to live with his parents, but with help from his father, who was a carpenter, they completed a home that fully reflected their preferences.
However, the couple later left behind the Texas home they had worked so hard to build and moved to Minnesota with their two daughters, Cherry and Sky. This time, climate change was the main reason.
The couple said that as Texas heat waves became increasingly severe, some school districts restricted outdoor activities after 10 a.m.
Their dependence on groundwater also heightened their concerns. They explained that after considering the environment in which their daughters would live 30 years from now, they chose Minnesota because it has abundant water resources and was considered relatively safer from the effects of climate change.
The educational environment was another important factor. The area where the couple settled is known for having a school district ranked among the top 1% in the United States. Although they chose the least expensive house in the area, they said it cost approximately 700 million won.
The cost of moving from Texas to Minnesota was also substantial. When a full-service moving estimate came to approximately 35 million won, the couple left much of their furniture in Texas and brought only essential clothing, books, and daily necessities.
Oliver Grant drove the trailer loaded with their belongings himself and traveled with his family. They initially expected the trip to take 14 hours, but the trailer prevented them from driving quickly, and it actually took about 20 hours. He recalled the difficult move, saying, “I gripped the steering wheel tightly, and after five or six hours, my hands had become so stiff that I could barely move them.”
narusi@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
