andamu

A little while ago Judy at Widow Shmidow wrote about the difficulties in deciding where to live, and when no longer to live there. This prompted me to try and find out what is important to me in terms of the place that I live.

Ranked roughly in order of priority (although of course I maintain the right to change my mind):

Living somewhere beautiful is important to me. There are many different kinds of beauty that I appreciate, to varying degrees, so that is not necessarily tied to one particular place. But I exult in the fact that when I drive to work in the morning, and home at night, or to the store, there is the kind of beauty around me that makes my breath catch at the back of my throat, if only I open my eyes and mind to it.

Living somewhere with a climate I like (cooler but not freezing, lots of rain, and definitely not too hot) is almost as important to me. I find my moods tied a lot to the climate, and creatures of the flesh that we are, our moods influence much of our lives.

Living somewhere where there is a significant support for some of my stances is important to me, because I cannot deny who I am, and my causes are very important to me.

Living somewhere that I can maintain a reasonably comfortable standard of living is important to me and my family whom I am supporting.

Living somewhere with good access to some conveniences (e.g. international airport) and interests (books, music, art) is important to me.

Living somewhere conveniently placed for family is important to me. This would be higher on the list but for the reality that families are composed of multiple independent members who frequently are widely dispersed, and convenience for one is across the country or the world for the others.