We still live in a world with largely closed borders and financial concerns keeping most people from moving away. But what if borders and money were no longer a concern for your mobility? Where would you move? More importantly, how do you choose the perfect place to live?
Of course, everybody has different circumstances and values that makes the question more subjective than objective. I can only assume that I’m a relatively normal person and that most people value similar things as I do.
Taking an objective approach, I think it’s fitting to think of this problem in terms of in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Physiological needs
At the base of Maslow’s pyramid are the most basic needs for living: food, water, warmth, and rest. You can find these anywhere in the world where there are humans currently living, so it is not of much use to us in determining where is the perfect place to live.
Safety needs
Of course, nobody wants to fear for their safety in their own home. Safety is not just about your real risk. It’s about your feeling of safety. Do you feel safe at the location? A perfect place to live must feel safe. Objectively, you can eliminate any place that has above-average crime, any war-torn place, and any place subject to frequent natural disasters.
Belongingness and love needs
The place you feel most at home is often where most of your family and friends live. When finding a perfect place to live, consider whether you know anybody already living there. If you don’t know anyone there, consider your feeling about the people living there. Do you consider people living there to be friendly? Can you make friends there? Is there an existing community of your kind of people there? Objectively, only consider moving to a place if there are existing communities or groups of people there that you would like to join.
Esteem needs
Esteem needs are similar to the belongingness and love needs, except that they are more about status within the communities you join. Will you be respected in the communities and groups of which you become a part? If not, do you think you can build the status and respect after you move there?
Self-actualization
The first four levels of Maslow’s hierarchy are about feeling safe and respected as a human being in the community. Assuming that you are a decent person, have at least one professional skill that you can help others with, and live in a relatively safe country, you can probably be happy living almost anywhere in the world. But the final self-actualization criteria is the one that will be the deciding factor in finding your perfect place to live.
Self-actualization is about achieving your full potential in life. This will be different for everyone. A helpful exercise is to put down on paper what your perfect day looks like. What is your ideal lifestyle? And thinking more long-term, what do you want to be known for after you die? Once you know your ideal future, you can find your ideal home.
My perfect place to live
I want to live somewhere sunny and warm without a lot of bugs (I have some phobias) or natural dangers when I go outside of the house. I want to raise enough money to retire there and not worry about money as I spend each day writing and pursuing passion projects that may or may not turn profitable. I want to have friends who can rely on me and collaborate with me, yet respect my privacy and time. I want to be part of like-minded groups of creative people who are also pursuing their own passion projects and who also do not let money or lack of money control their lives. I want to live in a small but comfortable home with good internet access with my wife and kids (if they aren’t all grown up yet). I would like the town I live in to be multicultural with varied restaurant options and plenty of nice parks to take long walks in. I want my home to be a good place to use as a home base between exploring the world with my wife.
A tip for finding a nice place to live
Find a neighborhood with good schools. The local schools are representative of the future of the community. A community that values and invests its schools is a community that prioritizes safety and education. Even if you don’t have children, communities with good schools tend to be nicer places to live.
What does YOUR perfect place to live look like?
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