"Living at the Rumley has been a gift, a dream come true. I no longer feel the need to move to New York to experience city life. We have everything we need and we are looking forward to even more in the future."

These are the words of Rumley resident Taci Fast. Taci and her husband Gary recently moved into the newly renovated former warehouse building in Old Town and haven't looked back.

Taci, a city girl at heart, lived in a small rural town for 13 years before she went to New York City to study photography. This was when she realized city life was the life for her.

"I felt alive in the big city, surrounded by culture and diversity. I knew I would not be happy unless I could look out my window and see the city lights." Taci explains.

After Gary, a physician, took a job in Wichita to be closer to family, the couple moved to suburbia because they felt the had no other options. One day after dining in Old Town, they found themselves staring up at an old warehouse with a single banner that read "Lofts for Sale.

" They looked at the sign then looked at each other and immediately knew that this would someday be their home.

And it is. One of the many unique things about the Rumley is that, despite many of the lofts having duplicate floorplans, each resident's home has its own distinct look and feel. From ultra contemporary to classic and traditional to Gary and Taci's retro-modern style, each l oft lends itself to its owners like a blank canvas to a painter

Taci owns and operates Milly Rose Photography from the loft. She specializes in black and white, infrared, and hand colored fine art images, and has begun experimenting with colorful pop art style images. Taci has found that the open space she works in is an "instant creativity enhancer."

"Location is almost as essential to my creativity as an artist as my cameras! My office/studio is at one end of our loft and there is just such positive

energy in this wide open space flooded with natural light." Taci says.

Milly Rose Photography was actually named after Taci's grandmother who passed away due to breast cancer when Taci was in college. Remarkably, Taci and Gary have both won battles with cancer.

Since moving to the Rumley, the couple enjoy yoga classes taught by a resident who is 80 years old as well as social gatherings which include individual parties and events co-sponsored by the homeowner association. Taci is also a major contributor to "Loft Talk," a monthly newsletter devoted to Rumley residents.

A tight-knit community after only a few months, Taci and Gary along with their Rumley neighbors have proven to be the exception to the rule in a time when many suburbanites don't even know their neighbors' names. It's a unique combination of small town hospitallity and big city living, breaking the stereotype that "city people" are cold and unfriendly. I guess you could say the Rumley is about as New York as you would ever want Kansas to be.