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Forever Home

 Where to live long term has been a top of mind question for us for the last few years. The variables in our lives are fewer and some are likely to be resolved in the next few years. There is a place of my dreams which we happened to visit not too long ago. The road winds along the coast and there are mountains on the other side. A small home on a cliff overlooking the water is what I have always dreamt about and that has not changed. Seeing the place in reality only served to confirm that the dream is worth hanging on to. The living may not be as idyllic as I had imagined it to be. Striking the right balance between proximity to urban amenities and the seclusion of countryside is quite tricky. It is much easier to have one or the other - yet neither is what I truly want. The spot somewhere in between will be hard to come by. 

Reading is article about the right town to live in based on your personality type was interesting. The prescription for me is Seattle and I can somewhat follow the rationale and it is also true that I fell in love with this city when I first visited almost two decades ago. My feelings towards Seattle have evolved since then - there has been a falling out of love as I have spent more time over many visits since that wonderful first one, now a perfect memory. I recall bringing back a bouquet of dry flowers from Pike Place Market from that trip, protecting it on the long flight by holding it my hand. It found a place on my dining table in our tiny apartment. I was married then. In my home that bouquet did not feel nearly as stunning. It spoke to the death and decay of my relationship, held together much like those flowers life and love long gone. When I left, the flowers remained behind along with the many pictures I had taken of that trip to Seattle.

Maybe the truth is somewhere is between. The place in one's dreams needs to meet the places the person sees in the course of their life - specially the ones that come to be imbued with happy memories. Somewhere at that junction, is perhaps the one's forever home. 

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