What’s something about where you live now (in your home, city, county, state, etc.) that makes you happy/brings you joy?

28 comments

1. I moved to a new city just before the pandemic, so it’s taken me a while to realize just how many independent bookstores, publishing companies, and book-related events exist in the area. I just found out about an antiquarian book fair that’s happening soon-ish, and it’s like the third book festival that I’ve learned happens annually in this area. As a lifelong book nerd, this makes me so happy. 🙂

2. I have a lot of nature around me. Natural woods, water, nature trails and all the wild berries I can eat.

3. It’s walkable, there are a lot of green areas, it’s a blue area in a blue state.

4. I live by a lake, being near any body of water brings me joy, eventually I’d love to move back near the ocean but the lake will do for now 😁.

5. I live walking distance from a wildlife refuge, a river, lake, and tiny walkable town. So much nature and waterfalls within driving distance. Lots of camping and hiking 🙂

6. Forests, water, wildlife and livestock

7. I’m less than 10 minutes drive from everything! 4 beaches, forests, countryside, the city centre, and pretty much all of my family, plus tonnes of other cool places. Public transport is pretty great here too and most places are pretty pedestrian friendly, so even without driving I can get anywhere within 25 minutes

8. Not a lot of people and doesn’t take forever to get somewhere

9. I’m 45 min from the Ocean. I’ll never stop feeling lucky about that.

10. I live in a very diverse city so I get to experience different cultures often. I did not have that growing up and I’m happy my children will get to experience it

11. Yesterday I walked through a tunnel of trees with interlocking branches. There’s one area where two trees had fallen down into a small little cubbie you can sit in.

    Today I visited my local butcher, then grocer on my lunch break. Everyone was friendly and chatty. On my way home my neighbour showed me a painting she’s working on.

    A couple months back I visited the little stream. There’s a log in the pool you can climb on and end up sitting right in the middle of the pool.

    There are baby lambs too. Actually, I ended up watching one of them following their human caretaker around the field. I don’t think k he noticed he had a companion.

    Living here makes me happy.

12. My yard is in a fantastic state right now. All the greenery are super lush. The annuals are exploding with colors. It’s also super cozy and I just love it.

13. The food. If you can’t find something good to eat in New Orleans, I think you’re doomed to starve.

14. I’m never more than 20 minutes away from an outdoor escape, and just a few hours away from places like Moab and Telluride. I can spend the morning deep in desert red rock canyons and be traipsing through alpine wildflowers at 11k ft by afternoon.

15. It’s decently LGBT friendly and I don’t have to worry about freezing cold temperatures.

16. I love the mountains. Waking up and being able to step outside to the brisk air while seeing the mountains is absolutely beautiful

17. The fact that I live directly across the street from a Wegman’s and a beautiful park that could be a backdrop for the show Bridgerton is right next to our apartment.

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19. I drive 12 minutes to a beautiful lake that has a beach, boat docks, kayak rentals. I love it.

20. Lots of cats. Fluffy, well-cared for, trusting, happy cats waiting for you to call them for some petting time.

21. I like how there’s water all around and I can just decide to go on the beach whenever. I started to appreciate that when I saw how appreciative some tourists were of the beach since they only go once in a blue moon due to how far they live from them. I’m just happy that I can just decide to go chill on the beach and it would take me about 5-10 minutes to get to the nearest one

22. My boyfriend and I moved into our apartment in January, and the big selling point for me is that the complex has a SUPER nice pool, and now that the weathers hitting 100+ degrees every day oh BOY HAVE I BEEN USIN IT

23. I’m surrounded by animals and nature. Every time I have to stop my car so a group of wild turkey can pass by unharmed, I smile.

24. There’s a family of crows that live behind my house , so I have my own little bird army. 😀

25. When I moved to Iowa 20 years ago it was fairly progressive. At least, as much so as you’d think a mostly white, rural state could possibly be. Obviously it’s not California, but at the same time it wasn’t Nebraska or Indiana and controlled endlessly by bible thumpers. We had 2 Senators who were of opposite parties (Harkin and Grassley) who were repeatedly re-elected easily. We had one of the most liberal Republican congressmen in the country (Jim Leach) who was also constantly re-elected, who voted against the Iraq war and endorsed Obama in 2008. We were the first state outside the northeast that legalized gay marriage via the state courts, and the first one to do so with consenting opinions from Republican appointed judges and unanimously (7-0, whereas it was 4-3 decisions in both MA and CT).

    All that has gone to hell.

26. The amount of green space and nature which is within walking distance of my home. And we have foxes and we have hedgehogs in our garden!

27. No war

28. This thread is making me realise that I absolutely hate the city I live in ahaha