Choosing where to live

Choosing where to live is a continuous problem that we have, but we are often unaware that we decide about it every single day. We often prefer the comfort of the known and well-organized place over the uncertainty of seeking an alternative path to improve our quality of living. In a world where everyone is constantly moving, a decision that previously seemed a good one can quickly turn out into our disadvantage. The fact that we chose to become comfortable with a city, neighborhood and friends will be likely restricting our alternatives in the future. We may tend to go to the same places, participate in the same activities, talk to similar, like-minded people or even build ourselves a mental picture of how we are supposed to live and using it to judge every opportunity that comes on our way.

Where we choose to live can affect our mood, creativity, pace of living. It will determine our access to education and employment opportunities. It will determine who we can work with, what kind of ideas we work on, whether an idea can find financial backing, whether it can survive and scale. It will determine whether we have access to places where we can exercise in addition to work. It will determine the level of fine micro particles we breathe in every day, increasing our chances to get illnesses specific to our surroundings. The cultural norms prevalent at this place will shape our behavior. This means that the decision where to live should not be taken lightly, given that the obvious choices may turn out to be wrong.

A study has shown that the place where you live already determines how you live. This may seem surprising, considering that everyone of us can choose how to spend their time. It means that our cities determine our choices and the degree to which they can be made independently. It is not a coincidence then that so much research is directed towards improving our cities, making them “smarter”, improving their infrastructure and the institutions which leave their mark on them. The mayors of many cities realize that they are competing against each other to attract the best people and investments that will allow their cities to grow at a much faster rate.

There must be some reason for which we exist, which we need to find. It is this reason that determines whether the job would be a good fit for us or not. The extent to which we could make an impact should then not be limited to the borders of our current company. The management may demand so and if we agree, we should carry the consequences. Our worldview will lead us to the place most suitable for realizing what we want, ensuring that we have such chance from the start.

Quality of living is always relative and people often like to associate it with a basket of goods you can afford with a net salary. It is this relativity that says that a country with much higher average salary may not be actually a better place to live. Especially when the prices tend to regulate with the amount of money in circulation. The more money people have, the more rapidly prices tend to increase, further diminishing purchasing power. The oil prices were a great example of this. Each time the economy grew even slightly, oil prices skyrocketed even above 125$/barrel. Each time the economy fell sharply, oil prices decreased only slightly. Why this was so, noone bothered to explain to the wider audience for far too long before the oil crash came.

Thank you for reading my considerations of how I would choose where to live.