Finding One's Home

[liveonearth]

I read a quote recently that was given as the epitomy of a Western way of being. It went like this:
Find your place. Dig in. Defend it.

I have long been looking for my place, and I have known since I arrived here in Arizona that this is not it. I want to be near water. The dryness of this places unnerves me, and the fires are terrifying.

So I have long thought about what I want in the place that I will call my home....hopefully for the rest of my life.....after I finish this round of schooling. I have a fun email conversation going with a former professor of mine, who recently relocated to Gig Harbor, Washington from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Here are the criteria he listed for finding his home (shared with a wife):
1. major airport nearby
2. major city nearby (plays, art, culture, hospital)
3. temperate climate (no sticky humidity)
4. tolerant citizenry
5. diverse population
6. strong educational system
7. appreciation for the good things that government can do

What are your criteria?

Comments

[bodacia.livejournal.com]

I would like to live a little farther out from "civilization" (i.e., the strip malls, chain stores and restaurants, etc.)....but still within a reasonable distance. I stated that I'd like to live within 50 miles of a Trader Joes. Where we are now, it's maybe 6 miles to a TJs.

I'd also like to have a bit more land. Right now, we have 1/4 acre. I'd like to have at least 1 to 2 acres around me. The city I live in has a population of 100,000+. I'd rather be in a smaller town, or even in an unincorporated county area.

So I'm closer to what I ultimately want, but not quite there yet. :)

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

I hear you loud and clear. It would be nice to get far far from strip malls etc. Plasticized consumer-oriented development is hard to avoid these days. You can do a lot with 1/4 acre, though. Have you worked with your land, or are you waiting for some other location?

[bodacia.livejournal.com]

Our backyard is pretty much fully landscaped. We just need to refine it a bit. We also have to make some repairs (to the koi ponds and also the patio cover, stuff like that). And of course, there's a lot of maintenance work.

I would like to completely redo the front yard, as the currently landscaping is ass. I don't get the former owners. They made the backyard look like a cross between a forest, a park, and a Japanese garden -- beautiful and peaceful. But the front yard is just horrid. I wish I could afford to hire a landscape architect right NOW...but I know that eventually we will get the front fixed up. One think I've learned about home ownership is that one must have a lot of PATIENCE. ;)

[liveonearth.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, patience, grasshopper. Perhaps you can little by little make your front yard as enjoyable as the back yard. Plant things that provide food! The day might come when you are very glad to be able to collect fruit or nuts from your own tiny garden.