In the past dozen or so years, I've discovered that I'm really bad at predicting what will give me a better quality of life. I don't think I'm the only one either, if research on stuff like the hedonic treadmill and the tyranny of choice is any indication. That means that there's been a lot of experimentation on our family's part in these past years to figure that out. Here's what I've learned improves our quality of life:
* A short commute. This is a big one for us. Not just the commute to work, which is a big deal, but the distance to other things we do regularly. This seems to apply to all of us. The less time we have to spend driving the better.
* Good food. This means good in terms of local / sustainable as well as good restaurants to try. This is affected by regional concerns as well as locale size.
* Local economy. I like living in a place where there are lots of local options in the economy. That means independent restaurants and grocery stores, local artists and artisans, and local banking options.
* Social compatibility. Now that we've lived in the Desert Southwest, Rocky Mountains, Midwest, and Northwest, I can tell you that there are regional differences in culture that affect our quality of life. These are subtle, but at this point the ability to find other parents who are cool (and won't keep trying to invite us to church) is a big part of it. I don't want to stereotype as no matter where you are there are different types of people, but I've noticed broad trends in things like religiousness, type of sense of humor, conformity to norms, and so on. Having friends comes under this heading and is important for all of us in the household.
* Light. This is interesting in that my husband and I differ on this one significantly. He'd be perfectly happy in a cozy basement or Hobbit Hole, while I need copious windows. I particularly want windows that bring in the outdoors, while he craves privacy. Our current house is a compromise that doesn't seem to meet either of our needs in this regard. Better would be a house with a finished basement for his studio and a ground level floor with windows all around for me. One thing we agree on is that we prefer to be set back from the street with yard all around.
* A calm job. For years I had rollicking startup jobs with lots of energy and stress. I'm not sure if I was really happy there or just addicted to the adrenalin. And I'm not sure if my current preference for calm steady work is because I finally figured out my real preference or whether I've changed as I've aged. In either case, I like a long-term stable job that are interesting, but not hyper-stressful or chaotic.
* Financial stability. This doesn't mean wealth necessarily (I wouldn't really know whether being fabulously wealthy would improve my quality of life, though I'm willing to subject myself to the experiment) but that ability to not have to worry about money all the time. I wish we were there right now.
* Health. We have had some issues with this recently and it's made me really appreciate how important it is to be well and uninjured. This has caused us to focus on our own health more lately in terms of diet and the like.
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From Venecia
Date: 2013-07-24 04:02 pm (UTC)* A short commute. This is a big one for us. Not just the commute to work, which is a big deal, but the distance to other things we do regularly. This seems to apply to all of us. The less time we have to spend driving the better.
* Good food. This means good in terms of local / sustainable as well as good restaurants to try. This is affected by regional concerns as well as locale size.
* Local economy. I like living in a place where there are lots of local options in the economy. That means independent restaurants and grocery stores, local artists and artisans, and local banking options.
* Social compatibility. Now that we've lived in the Desert Southwest, Rocky Mountains, Midwest, and Northwest, I can tell you that there are regional differences in culture that affect our quality of life. These are subtle, but at this point the ability to find other parents who are cool (and won't keep trying to invite us to church) is a big part of it. I don't want to stereotype as no matter where you are there are different types of people, but I've noticed broad trends in things like religiousness, type of sense of humor, conformity to norms, and so on. Having friends comes under this heading and is important for all of us in the household.
* Light. This is interesting in that my husband and I differ on this one significantly. He'd be perfectly happy in a cozy basement or Hobbit Hole, while I need copious windows. I particularly want windows that bring in the outdoors, while he craves privacy. Our current house is a compromise that doesn't seem to meet either of our needs in this regard. Better would be a house with a finished basement for his studio and a ground level floor with windows all around for me. One thing we agree on is that we prefer to be set back from the street with yard all around.
* A calm job. For years I had rollicking startup jobs with lots of energy and stress. I'm not sure if I was really happy there or just addicted to the adrenalin. And I'm not sure if my current preference for calm steady work is because I finally figured out my real preference or whether I've changed as I've aged. In either case, I like a long-term stable job that are interesting, but not hyper-stressful or chaotic.
* Financial stability. This doesn't mean wealth necessarily (I wouldn't really know whether being fabulously wealthy would improve my quality of life, though I'm willing to subject myself to the experiment) but that ability to not have to worry about money all the time. I wish we were there right now.
* Health. We have had some issues with this recently and it's made me really appreciate how important it is to be well and uninjured. This has caused us to focus on our own health more lately in terms of diet and the like.