Sherry here. My husband and I are always trying to figure out where we want to live. We like it in Northern Virginia, but we don’t plan to live here forever. Sometimes we dream big — London, Paris, Monterey. But sometimes it’s some place smaller and a little off the beaten path. Wickeds, where would you love to live? Is it a specific place or more vague like a cottage with a lake view?
Edith: How about coming back to New England, Sherry! For me, I love it here in my northeast corner of Massachusetts. But as a native Californian, I long to find a small town away from the big cities. Somewhere within a half hour drive to the coast, maybe near Santa Barbara. A town with a bookstore and a move theater. I’d find an adobe house nestled in an orange grove and plant a garden. I’d sit on the veranda and write my heart out, inhaling sweet scents, eating ripe strawberries in March, never shoveling snow, wearing a fleece sweatshirt at the most to keep warm. Thanks for allowing me the fantasy, Sherry. (I feel like posting a picture of the house… but it only exists in my mind.)
Liz: I’ve struggled with this question for a long time. I’m a New Englander at heart, but I’m not a fan of winter anymore. I’ve always wanted to be a California girl – I think I could fit in nicely out in San Francisco! – but I haven’t made the leap yet. I want to be warm year round, but I don’t think I’d fit in anywhere down south. And I do love being near Boston and New York. So I guess the answer is to have a place to live for different seasons. Summer and fall in New England, and winter and spring somewhere warm! And always near a beach. That’s not asking too much, is it?
Barb: Weirdly enough, my husband and I just faced exactly this question. When his mother died sixteen months ago, for the first time in our adult lives we had no obligation to live near jobs, schools or family. It was really weird to suddenly be faced with that kind of choice and the ability to live out at least one of those fantasy scenarios we’d been running for years. Regular readers know the answer. We sold our house in Somerville and bought a house in Portland, Maine. I am now living outside of Massachusetts for the first time in forty-two years, my husband for the first time in his life (not counting college). I can’t tell you how it turned out quite yet–but I’m optimistic!
Sherry: I have no answers to this question. Last weekend I was in Bowling Green, Kentucky for the Southern Kentucky Book Fest. It’s a lovely town and it’s home to Western Kentucky University. A college town is high on our list of wants. As we drove away my husband and I discussed if we could live there. No matter where we end up I picture a house with a huge screened in porch either on top of a hill overlooking a valley or with a view of the water.
Julie: I live in the city and love it. But, I must confess, lately I’ve been thinking about what it must be like to live on a lake, fully wired and connected to the world, but unable to see or hear anyone. I am not a suburb gal–for me it is city or country. As for which city? I love Boston. I could happily live in London, Berlin or Vienna. I suspect I could also live in Paris, but haven’t visited there in 40 years (must fix that). What a fun question to think about!
Readers: Where is your dream place to live?