Ever since I was little, my head has been filled with visions of far away places. I dreamed of being on top of the Eiffel Tower. I dreamed of floating along the canals in Venice. I dreamed of standing inside one of the adorable red phone booths in London. When I finally saw these iconic images for the first time, I froze, as I couldn’t believe my imagination had become reality. Once I began traveling more regularly, I started thinking about living in far away places instead of just visiting them. Imagine stopping for coffee every morning next to the Eiffel Tower. Or what about commuting to work via a boat on a Venetian canal? How about calling home from one of those classic red British phone booths if the cell phone isn’t handy?
So what makes a place livable? It’s now turned into a game with my friend who also spends a lot of time traveling. He’s put together this list questions that we use when reviewing places we’ve recently visited:
- Does it have a nice climate?
- Is the cost of living affordable?
- Are there opportunities to be productive professionally and personally?
- Does it have a great environment?
- Is there a strong community?
While no one ever wins this game, it’s still fun to play as it gets both of us thinking about where we’d like to live “some day.” Where is this perfect place to live? What makes it better than where we are now? Are we just fantasizing, or, do we have a desire to keep changing locations until we reach the one where we truly belong?
In the past two months, I’ve played this game several times. I like living in Denver, Colorado and I’m very lucky to be near so much natural beauty. But … is there a place I’d like even better? As I started playing this game more seriously, I added questions. I started ranking features each location possessed. I even altered some of my desires. Perhaps I was cheating. But, I discovered that the rules of this game needed to be altered as each journey turned up its own set of questions.
In March, I had the good fortune of spending International Women’s Day on Isla Mujeres – the Island of Women – attending the We Move Forward women’s conference, retreat and celebration. I’ll be honest. One of the things that drew me was the location. Isla receives approximately 200,000 visitors a year compared to its rowdy neighbor, Cancun, which receives 3.2 million annually. I had images in my head of tranquil beaches, “mom and pop” eats and very small town living, as the island is only five miles long by half a mile wide. The second and third images were realized, however, the beaches were far from tranquil as it was high season and the Cancun crowds are only a 20-minute ferry ride away making Isla an easy day trip.
Is this paradise?
However, the water was beautiful and the breezes were lovely. In fact, many of the women attending the We Move Forward conference have given up their winters in the U.S. or Canada and live on island time all year. When I asked one of them why she lives on Isla Mujeres, she replied, “Look around you. It’s paradise!”
When I looked around I did see elements of paradise. The white sand and turquoise water coupled with the warm temperatures and ocean breezes certainly supported that concept. However, I also saw 7-11, the Señor Frogs gift shop and too many visiting Americans being too loud and too rude. Well ok, paradise isn’t perfect. As I toured the island on a golf cart – yes, the locals ride these too! – I wanted to decide for myself if this was really paradise – with a few minor blemishes.
During my time on Isla I saw a lot of litter. I also noticed stray cats and dogs – some needing to be spayed or neutered and some just needing love. My peek into the lives of some of Isla’s natives revealed that many of them live in one-room houses and sleep in hammocks. How can paradise have garbage, stray pets and poverty? There are organizations working to address these issues. For example, Isla Animals was hosting a five-day spay/neuter clinic during my visit. However, my mind’s paradise has more than good weather and beautiful scenery. It includes enough social services so that people, their pets and their surroundings are all flourishing. Maybe I’m just too idealistic.
Or is this paradise?
A few weeks after visiting Isla, my husband and I traveled to his hometown of Lexington, Kentucky. I had never been there and wasn’t anticipating a love affair based on his not-so-positive reviews. It wasn’t a surprise to feel the horrible climate and witness the terrible sprawl in the form of strip malls, apartment complexes and housing developments. Although this was definitely not paradise, the historic downtown area was lovely and very affordable. Plus, my husband’s family was there which made it attractive as neither one of us have family in Denver. So is paradise where history and family intersect? Maybe.
Or could this be paradise?
To officially welcome spring, my husband and I took a quick overnight trip to the mountains. We live less than two hours from Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), have more than 300 days of sunshine a year and can bike, hike, ski, snowshoe and do just about any other recreational activity you can think of, easily. It was the first time we had taken the drive to Estes Park – gateway to RMNP – since the devastating flooding in Boulder county. The road between Lyons and Estes Park was nothing more than dirt in some areas. There were other visible signs of devastation along the river – debris, houses that were barely standing and several “for sale” signs. The area is beautiful. Those who live there have access to nature out their front doors. However, they also have whatever Mother Nature brings to the mountains and rivers. Perhaps paradise is living close to nature, however if storms and floods are also part of the package, is it still paradise?
Because of the questions that have come up during these recent travels, I’ve revised the livability game. Now, it’s called “Finding Paradise” and the questions about the places I’m visiting have changed:
- Does it have a mild climate and is Mother Nature is kind?
- Is there an affordable cost of living for both natives and transplants?
- Are there professional opportunities for natives and transplants?
- Is there access to recreational, intellectual and arts activities?
- Are there strong social services for people and pets?
- Does mass tourism impact it negatively?
Does my concept of paradise exist? If not, can I be happy in a less than perfect paradise? I don’t know yet. I’m still too idealistic to answer that. For now, I continue exploring various corners of the globe always hoping to find “my paradise.” Maybe … just maybe … paradise doesn’t exist at all in any form. Perhaps the concept – the mental image we keep – is there to motivate us to keep exploring. Maybe that’s paradise … the ability to put ourselves in places that are different than where we live and what we know. Could paradise really just be the ability to grow through exploration? I’m going to think about it on my next trip, which is to London. When I find the answer, I’ll be sure to call home from one of those adorable red phone booths!
