The place where I felt at most home was our city neighborhood where we lived for 30+ years. It was the architecture, the gardens, and then the social fabric that provided a full life. I was career oriented and by the time I had worked at my job for 10 years I knew it was either time to leave or I would be staying there the rest of my career. I chose to stay there the rest of my career not because the job was so great But because everything about our life in our neighborhood was just right.

I need to be surrounded by handsome visuals that make me happy. But I also have a slight sense of adventure, so I’m not married to staying in one place all my life. For both of us, DH and me, we are very home centered and like creating nests but both of us are open to moving.

Decades ago, I spent some time in southern New Mexico. I found the desert absolutely depressing in its brown dryness. The mountains surrounding it didn’t make up for brownness. I loved the historic district of that town because the architecture was charming and interesting, and so many of those houses had green lawns. Well, as green as they could get around there. And trees, real trees Of an appreciable height.

When I went back to visit recently, I had exactly the same reaction to the surrounding desert. And had the same reaction to the historic part of town. There was such visual charm and elegance in the historic district and it was surrounded by depressing topography. If I could’ve lived in that part of town without ever going elsewhere, I would’ve been content, but that of course is not realistic.

I left for mainly a job opportunity, but I would’ve left anyway eventually since I craved green surroundings. One of my friends said “oh you didn’t love your boyfriend enough that’s why you left” but I would never choose people over topography. I guess that makes me not a loving person? Haha. I don’t know, but I know what I like and I am glad that DH is not stuck on living in one part of the country.

We both could easily move back to Iowa. We might even at this stage of life be tempted to move clear across the country to the PNW where gardening is great (but we won”t.) if the winters here in Hermann, MO were bad we could go south for the winter and enjoy that, but winters are not bad really.