find your spot
http://www.findyourspot.com
It�s an interesting idea to me, that by the simple answering of a few vague questions, the internet can tell me where to find happiness. Here�s my results:
Portland, Oregon City of Roses
This Oregon city has the nation's largest forested municipal park, the aptly-named Forest Park�Population: 1,573,000 | Average Home Price: $196,000 | Precipitation: 36" | Snow: 5"
Little Rock, Arkansas Where America Comes Together
All Maybelline products distributed in the U.S. are made in this fashion-conscious spot�Population: 584,000 | Average Home Price: $148,000 | Precipitation: 48" | Snow: 5"
San Bernardino, California The Inland Empire
You can satisfy your craving for heat at this city's annual California State Championship Chili Cook-off...Population: 185,000 | Average Home Price: $175,000 | Precipitation: 12" | Snow: 0"
Hartford, Connecticut The Insurance Capital
This Connecticut city is home to America's oldest State House, oldest public art museum, and oldest continuously published newspaper...Population: 1,183,000 | Average Home Price: $155,000 | Precipitation: 41" | Snow: 42"
Honolulu, Hawaii America�s Tropical Paradise
This state capital has long been an important port city; its name is Hawaiian for "protected bay"�Population: 876,000 | Average Home Price: $310,000 | Precipitation: 23" | Snow: 0"
Providence, Rhode Island New England�s Best Kept Kept Secret
This Rhode Island spot is the home of the award-winning flaming sculpture WaterFire, installed on the three rivers of downtown...Population: 955,500 | Average Home Price: $190,000 | Precipitation: 48" | Snow: 32"
I�ve never considered Oregon. I know nothing about it. I like forests. What kind of city is Portland? Who lives in Oregon?!
Arkansas, no. I liked the Ozarks� beautiful. But the people were very backwards. Maybe I�m being snobby, but you should at least have heard of the internet or MTV or something modern by now.
San Bernadino? Maybe. I like California actually. If it wasn�t so expensive to live there, I would. It is so beautiful with that perfect temperature and atmosphere and landscape and coolness. If I can avoid LA-type people, I think I would like it there.
I�m upset that Hartford made my list. But maybe that�s just because Hartford was traumatic for me. I suppose the city itself was pretty cool in a smaller-big city, nice people, close to New York way. And Connecticut has Stars Hollow which has Lauren Graham. ;-)
Ok, Hawaii, obviously. But who actually lives there. Honeymoon? Sure. But to live in paradise? One can only dream. One day when I win the lottery.
Providence seems like a place to retire to. I don�t know. Just seems old and quaint and full of AARP ladies going antiquing. I�m sure it�s very nice though.
Thing is, finding your �spot� is a cute idea, but moving there wont make you happy. I believe if you are not happy because you are a happy person, where you move is not going to make you ultimately happy. Maybe for a time, but then you�ll recreate all the problems you thought you escaped. I don�t mean to sound preachy. I just think of myself as a generally happy person and it has nothing to do with the population size of my city or the average precipitation. And maybe it�s because I am generally happy that I feel no desire to leave. Everyone complains about the weather but I thought every day so far this year has been perfect here. The summer never got really hot and the winter never got really cold. Maybe that�s what Lake Michigan is good for, because it�s really not good for much else.
And where I live is the absolute perfect combination of city atmosphere for me. I�m in the suburbs � and before you give me that condescending look, let me tell you that I�m proud of the suburbs. I�m not burdened with the rush of the city. I can get excited by the nightlife when I choose to � by making the easy 10-minute drive. I�m not stuck and caught up and tempted by living in the midst of it. But I�m also on the edge of the country, so I can drive a few minutes in the other direction and experience the freedom and beauty of lakes and fields and forest without being stranded out in the deafening silence and boredom.
Not to mention the fact that the suburbs of a mid-size city have the best grocery stores. They�re monstrous. Anything you could possibly imagine having a vague hankering for is instantly available. City and country grocery stores both suck in their tiny, expensive, limited, suckiness.
Plus suburb mentality when it comes to friends fits me best. In the country, your closest friends are few and far between. Someone who thinks like you might be hours away. In the city, people seem to be much more into appearances and materialism and having a good time and sex. But suburb friends I�ve met seem to have struck a balance. Values are important to them without having been sheltered and na�ve.
So that�s what I�ve noticed works for me, but again, it�s not the reason why I�m generally happy. You�ve got to find that for yourself first, I believe, and then the place you live will work for you. So even though I like it here, I liked it in the big city and I could make it elsewhere too. There�s no survey of vague questions that could tell me where to go to be happy. Find your spot by finding yourself first.
Posted by heydomsar
2004-10-12
go back | random brainstorm | go forth
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