I’m starting to really love London. This is aided by the fact that my new job means I have a higher disposable income which will do two things; 1) allow me to enjoy the city itself more by going out more often, checking out concerts, festivals, etc…. and 2) start traveling around Europe!!!
But sometimes I wonder, should I be somewhere else? Maybe that’s worded wrongly…not should I, but I wonder what it would be like. I occasionally have this vision of living all around the world but sometimes I think that concept is much more romanticized in theory than it would be in practice. Starting over isn’t easy and, as I’ve learnt first-hand, starting anew in a foreign country is even more challenging. It’s a lot of fun, but a ton of work, and it takes a bit out of you.
So where would I even go? Who knows. I mean, I love London, but sometimes the English get on my last nerve (y’all need to just chill out and stop taking life so seriously – and I don’t mean by binge drinking, I mean in your day to day inclination). But would it really be better elsewhere? I visited Stockholm last year and fell in love with the city and Swedish culture. Recently though, I read a blog by an American expat living in Sweden and the way he described Swedish winters (which almost entirely lack sunlight) made me coil in horror. I also loved Barcelona to death, but I wonder if the fact that everything shuts mid-day for a siesta would bother me. I think it would…I like convenience. And I can just imagine how slow everything would be there…I bet setting up a bank account would take months. They would probably make the British banking system look superior and the thought that that is even humanly possible scares me. This harsh perspective can be further repeated for several other countries I’d consider moving to.
So then I wonder, am I the issue? Am I too hard to please? A tough crowd towards planet Earth? I don’t think so. At least I wasn’t always this way. Did moving abroad change me? Perhaps. Can I ever go home again, or will I always be comparing what X lacks and what Y had and how great the people in Z are? Can’t I just be less of a Type A personality and more easily amused? I wish all it took was midgets and clowns in hydraulic cars to make me laugh for ages. Or something.
Anyways I almost forgot where I was going with this. I guess what I intended to end with was that I do realize I need to stop and smell the roses. I just feel like I’ve been running for so long that I forget how. Any tips?
