If we're lucky we get comfortable where we live. The spider webs that tie us to our neighborhoods often become stronger than steel. We grow to know the people around us. It's easy to find comfort in living in the same place year after year. Knowing where everything is becomes second nature. Life becomes a comfortable routine.
Most people only move when they have to move. A job changes or a decision is made to move closer to the kids. An event triggers the move. Sometimes people choose to move to a less expensive area.
Breaking the routine and moving is extremely stressful, yet most of us have descended from people who took some real risks to move to America so it's not far below the surface for most Americans. That's especially the case since today moving, once you've found a place, is a matter of hiring a moving van, throwing away all the junk, packing all the remaining stuff, and getting on the road. You end up leaving your friends which be traumatic for many folks, but moving is something that people do every day.
Yet some of us have a spirit of adventure that's hard to quench. Having already lived in three places in Canad and a couple in the states, I probably fall easily into that class of folks. There's something invigorating about recreating yourself in a new that gives you a chance to start over, to find new friends, and try new things. In this world of always on communications, it's much easier to stay in touch with friends and associates that you leave behind.
We're trying to decide what to do with the next few years of our life. It doesn't take much to get me excited about change. I love where I live, but I lived here longer than I've ever lived anywhere. I can't imagine that I don't have a few more adventures left in me, and above all the water is exerting a strong pull on me. Maybe my ancestors were seafaring people, because my perch on the mountains now seems to lacking. I feel like I need salt water. I have a longing to fish. I want to stroll on sandy beaches, and I relish the idea of walking out my front door and strolling to town or perhaps even jumping on a bike to get there. Maybe getting into a kayak and paddling to lunch is stuck in my brain.
Whatever the challenges, I working hard to at least spend some significant time in a different spot. View from the mountain might end up becoming "View from the beach" part of the time if all the pieces fall into place.
Hey, you owe it to yourself to visit Grand Cayman! We spent a week there in early 2004 and on about day five I was browsing real estate magazines. I'm told this is typical :) The Cayman Islands government is well run, the fishing I'm told is superb, and the swimming and snorkeling is thought by many pros to be nearly the best in the world. Tourism targets mid-life folks who enjoy good food, great boating and fishing, music and so on, so to me it seemed the ideal island paradise. The wealth of the country is very high - there are barely 40,000 people yet over 480 banks are headquartered there. As a result, the crime is very low, the hospitals are very high tech and so on.
Ultimately, I'll always feel most at home in the mountains. I also want to stay planted for a good long while. I'm more interested in developing friendships with a circle of folks who generally do the same. Folks I can build some real history and heritage with. To me that's more refreshing than meeting a whole new group of friends every ten years. You know the old saying, a friend will help you move, but a good friend will help you move a body!
We do love to travel though, and I've vowed to travel to a new distant country every year, while also leaving time to visit a favorite spot each year also. This year it was Holland and Germany, and we'll be zipping down to Saint Augustine soon. Next year I'd like to see Ireland's farm country, and also make it back to Holland again. Holland really spoke to me.
Sean
Posted by: Sean Pecor | July 31, 2005 at 10:12 PM