I just moved to a little seaside town for December as I am waiting for my permanent housing in Lisbon to become available. On first glance, on an overcast day the little town looked like a bunch of strip malls, and depressing signage. But once I got out walking, I discovered a gorgeous beach, abandoned villas with incredible gardens, and lots of charm!
This past summer, I stayed with my parents in their small farming town which is just one street in a really dry part of central Washington state. I wasn’t sure how I would handle an extended visit in this dusty cowboy town after being in pastel-hued Lisbon. But after a summer there, I learned to appreciate a lot about the little town and by the end I was dreaming of owning a cozy coffee shop there!
All this has got me thinking about how to appreciate where you live. I feel like there’s so much narrative about wanderlust and dreaming and wishing we had this or that or wishing we were traveling but we don’t appreciate where we are at often enough. Here’s how I like to approach every place I live or visit to get the maximum experience: