One of my best friends once described me as having itchy feet. I love to travel and experience new places and I’ve never really connected the concept of home with one house or town. I don’t think that this is a normal perspective. The vast majority of people in my life are very happy to stay where they started. A big part of the reason I started this blog was to find other weirdos like myself who want to find their place, but don’t expect to find it where they are. But how do you even sort out what your ideal place looks like?
Visualizing everyday life
What do you want your life in your ideal place to look like? I don’t mean a travel goals life of luxury resorts and perfectly curated tourist experiences. Those are fantastic experiences, but very unlikely to be your real lived experience. Instead, think about basics like how you get to work, what you do on your weekend, how you spend time with friends and family. When I thought through this for my life, I came up with this list of most important features:
1. Car optional
I hate driving. It’s lovely to have the convenience, but for any day to day commuting, I will always prefer a train or my own two feet. I currently work remotely, but could commute to my closest office or into London in an hour by train if I wished. I can walk to a corner shop in 10 minutes, or to the local high street in just under 30 minutes. Obviously, I could move around transit even faster if I lived in a larger city or commuter hub. Finding a home that isn’t super city central, but also allows me to forego car travel much of the time is a massive plus for my mental health.
2. Temperate climate
Did I mention I last lived in California? I mostly grew up in Texas. I like snow as a novelty, but the life I want does not feature it regularly. People complain about British weather constantly, but the truth is it is fairly even keeled for temperature and the rain feeds an endless cycle of beautiful growing things.
3. Slow(er) pace of life
This one is definitely a balance. American work values of busy = better will never be something I find compelling. On the other hand, you’ll never find me craving remote island life because I do like feeling connected to the world rather than apart from it. The UK is not exempt from overwork mentality, but I find way fewer people making work their personality. Meanwhile, London is a major news hub and I don’t feel at all isolated or disconnected.
4. Travel friendly
I want the time and the ability to travel regularly. I’ve talked about holiday time in my post 5 Reasons to Move from the US to the UK. We are also very lucky to have so many bucket list places within easy reach. We’ve already taken short trips to Edinburgh and Dublin, and have upcoming trips planned to Cornwall and Venice. We loved traveling in the US as well, but often found it difficult to have the time or the funds available.
5. Quality schools
My daughter has experienced both private and state school here in the UK. We enrolled her in a private school for Reception (similar age to pre-K in the US, but structured more like Kindergarten) when we lived here before. Since returning, she has started secondary school at a local state school. Both experiences have been positive overall. It took some learning on my part to pick the right spots for her, but I knew I could find a good education for her here.
Find what works
Finding a place that brings you precisely what you want every single day may not be possible. Take the time to really picture that ideal, though. It’s worth it to figure out what you want so that the next place you rest your itchy feet can feel like home.
