I constantly have a weird battle going on inside of me when I travel (and really, every day in my life). I have the urge to settle and the need to see.everything.now, right at the same time.
This means that while I am traveling, my favorite thing, I am also simultaneously playing a game I call “Imagine If I Lived Here,” another favorite thing of mine.
Imagine If I Lived Here involves sound and thorough research, in the form of the following questions: is it cute, would I feel scared, is there a lot of good food nearby, do I like this country’s food so far, how close is the ocean, is there a language barrier, how do I feel when I’m here, would I actually be able to survive here, and so on. Some places merit more questions than others, especially in places like Beijing or Bangkok, where I spent most of the time slightly terrified for my life. (I think that’s a side effect of growing up in a small town in a state with more cows than people).
I’ve imagined what it would be like to live in Bruges, where I would ride a bike everywhere, buy fresh baguette to carry home in my basket, run a bed and breakfast, and walk by views like this:
I’ve imagined what it would be like to live on the Irish coast, in a tiny village where you know everybody and they all know you, on a little farm, with a view of the coast from my attic:
I’ve imagined what it would be like to live in a bustling city like Hanoi, riding a motorbike through the overcrowded streets, visiting Uncle Ho (as in Ho Chi Minh) every once in a while with the crowds:
I’ve imagined what it would be like to live in London, a huge, busy city, commuting home every day on the Tube, walking in my charming neighborhood on the weekends, heading to the South Bank for summer sunsets:
I’ve imagined what it would be like to live in the Andes of Peru, surrounded by ancient monuments, selling crafts or writing down local stories, amongst the behemoth mountains:
It makes me wonder if that’s why I travel: to find my elusive “home.” I’ve learned that the more places I go, the more I can imagine anywhere being my home, and parts of me really wants that. Other parts of me want to be nomadic forever. I love to travel, but it gets murky when the word “home” is tossed around. Jamie wrote a wonderful (and much more eloquent) post on this subject of home.
Maybe I’ll always be a nomad, because that feels okay to me–I can’t imagine never having travel be a major focus in my life.
And maybe, I’ll find a place I want to settle in, and I’ll be okay with that too.
In the meantime, I’m going to keep playing Imagine If I Lived Here…because why not?
Do you want to live everywhere, or do you have a place that will always be home?
This is letter I for the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Some of these letters are kind of hard! Just wait until Q and X, I guess…
Brittany Ruth says
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Bratislava, Slovakia post! I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit Bratislava but if you are going on a day trip from Prague then why not?
AmyMacWorld says
That’s what I was thinking 🙂 there are lots of other places I want to visit first, but it’s so close! Thanks for stopping by here! I’m so happy to have found your blog.
Kaelene Spence says
When it is cold and snowing, like it is now, I think of what it would be like to live somewhere warm and tropical all the time!
AmyMacWorld says
Aww it’s cold and snowing there again? Bummer 🙁 I hope spring arrives soon!
Jenn says
I play that game so often!
AmyMacWorld says
I’m glad I’m not the only one 🙂 it’s fun to imagine what it would be like to live anywhere, even if we don’t want to really move there!
Natalie Joseph says
I do this all the time 🙂 I think it’s the difference between a traveller and a tourist!
AmyMacWorld says
I never thought of it that way! You’re right, though, it’s a great way to imagine yourself in the culture rather than just passing through 🙂