In your element?

[Keroin]

As I was looking out at the lake this morning, I was thinking about my connection to water. I live in a mountain town and this is very much a mountain culture but water is really my element. It got me to wondering about what environments people feel most comfortable in and why.

In 40 years, I have never lived more than walking distance from a body of water. Whether I am in, on, under or near it, water is where I’m at home, at peace.

So, what’s your element? Where are you most comfortable? Do you thrive in the hustle and bustle of the city? Are open stretches of desert your nirvana? Are you a mountain goat or a powder hound?

Where are you when you’re in your element?

 

[MisterSir]

I'm a city boy. Born and raised in South...London, to kill the rhyme stone dead.

But seriously, I am indeed a city person. The countryside, being close to nature and so on so forth doesn't really interest me, nor does the alleged peace and quiet being away people brings. I like the chaos, I like the crowds and I love that I could find pretty much anything I wanted to buy within ten minutes walk, it's a great thing.

 

[Myskaninen]

the deep forest.. its sounds...the animals... it just makes me relax

 

[missy_me]

.....

 

[redgiantuk]

trees and plants and moors and views, so I guess Earth. but I love the sea, and a roaring log fire, and clouds. I'm a member of the cloud appreciation Society.

So I guess theres not one, just all

 

[Keroin]

I'm a city boy. Born and raised in South...London, to kill the rhyme stone dead.

But seriously, I am indeed a city person. The countryside, being close to nature and so on so forth doesn't really interest me, nor does the alleged peace and quiet being away people brings. I like the chaos, I like the crowds and I love that I could find pretty much anything I wanted to buy within ten minutes walk, it's a great thing.

I like to visit the city, and I've spent enough time in them that I don't look like a country bumpkin when I'm walking around in them but I find I get really depressed in cities, after a very short time.

However, I can certainly see the appeal of the stimulation of lots of things happening all the time. I visited London, once, in 1986 and had a heck of a time!

the deep forest.. its sounds...the animals... it just makes me relax

See, it's interesting. I love the forest, heck, I'm surrounded by forests, but I also feel kind of claustrophobic inside them. I like the wide expansive view an ocean offers.

Water for me, as well. I'm struggling now, as I live in a landlocked country with almost no water anywhere, it seems. Ok, so there are these rivers, but they aren't enough. I need lakes, seas, oceans. I don't want to see where the water ends!

That said, I'm an urban dweller through and through.

Well, you should live in Vancouver then! Best of both worlds.

Actually, moving to Nelson was a big step for me because I've never lived so far from the ocean, (7 hour drive). However, Kootenay Lake is massive and there are rivers and lakes all over the darn place, so it's not so bad. Plus I can run away to the ocean now and then to get my fix.

 

[Keroin]

trees and plants and moors and views, so I guess Earth. but I love the sea, and a roaring log fire, and clouds. I'm a member of the cloud appreciation Society.

So I guess theres not one, just all

Are there environments where you are not comfortable?

 

[the captians wench]

I was born in the city, lived my childhood in the city, now I'm in suburbia.

I've never felt quite at home in the city, and even suburbia is too crowded for me. I like having room to roam.

I'm also a water girl, though not so much beaches. I loved how Dublin just always seemed to have a mist, even on the "sunny" day I was there.

So maybe a large plot of land with a lake would be where I would be most happy.

 

[MisterSir]

However, I can certainly see the appeal of the stimulation of lots of things happening all the time. I visited London, once, in 1986 and had a heck of a time!

Mirror mirror on the wall, do I make K feel impossibly ancient? No, that would be evil and cruel and eeeevil

It's not just the stimulation I find so appealing, it's the strange routines, like the Evening Standard people shouting "Free Standard...(two second wait)...free Standard free paper!" like robots. Keeps me smiling.

 

[JMohegan]

I need seasons. All four.

If it's too hot for too long, I feel like the life's draining out of me. Extreme heat & humidity for months at a time would be hell on earth.

I need a yard plus good places to run with my dog.

I need proximity to a major metropolitan area, with thriving communities reflective of the great American melting pot. Predominantly white-only areas feel very unnatural and bizarre.

I need to live among liberals, progressives, left-leaning folks. Call them whatever you want. Predominantly red or religious communities are not a good fit at all.

I loathe big-box, strip mall, cookie-cutter home community wastelands and would rather live pretty much anywhere else.

 

[Keroin]

Mirror mirror on the wall, do I make K feel impossibly ancient? No, that would be evil and cruel and eeeevil

It's not just the stimulation I find so appealing, it's the strange routines, like the Evening Standard people shouting "Free Standard...(two second wait)...free Standard free paper!" like robots. Keeps me smiling.

Oh please, I know I'm ancient.

I'm sure I wouldn't recognize London now but what fun I had back then! I thought I'd found nirvana when I stumbled on Carnaby Street. So many mohawks in such a small area, lol.

 

[Keroin]

I need seasons. All four.

If it's too hot for too long, I feel like the life's draining out of me. Extreme heat & humidity for months at a time would be hell on earth.

I need a yard plus good places to run with my dog.

I need proximity to a major metropolitan area, with thriving communities reflective of the great American melting pot. Predominantly white-only areas feel very unnatural and bizarre.

I need to live among liberals, progressives, left-leaning folks. Call them whatever you want. Predominantly red or religious communities are not a good fit at all.

I loathe big-box, strip mall, cookie-cutter home community wastelands and would rather live pretty much anywhere else.

Seasons never used to be so important to me but then I did two years of summer. Yep, I'm just fine with snow now.

 

[intothewoods]

I definitely need water, Keroin. I totally get that!

I think that may be my only must have. I prefer cities, but I couldn't live in one like New York. Love New York, but it's too much city for me. If I had close a friends, a small town might be ok. Maybe. It's been so long, I don't remember at this point!

<snip>
Well, you should live in Vancouver then! Best of both worlds.

Actually, moving to Nelson was a big step for me because I've never lived so far from the ocean, (7 hour drive). However, Kootenay Lake is massive and there are rivers and lakes all over the darn place, so it's not so bad. Plus I can run away to the ocean now and then to get my fix.

I love Vancouver!

I need seasons. All four.

If it's too hot for too long, I feel like the life's draining out of me. Extreme heat & humidity for months at a time would be hell on earth.

I need a yard plus good places to run with my dog.

I need proximity to a major metropolitan area, with thriving communities reflective of the great American melting pot. Predominantly white-only areas feel very unnatural and bizarre.

I need to live among liberals, progressives, left-leaning folks. Call them whatever you want. Predominantly red or religious communities are not a good fit at all.

I loathe big-box, strip mall, cookie-cutter home community wastelands and would rather live pretty much anywhere else.

Heat and humidity are my biggest challenges. I'm actually getting somewhat better at running in the heat, but humidity is tough.

 

[chy_girl]

Earth. Straight up Earth. Fire, wind, water... meh. But don't take me away from Earthy stuff. The thought of living in a flatland makes me cringe - I have to be able to see a mountain. No desert, it needs to be green. And even living in the city I've found a way to play in the dirt, grow things, bring nature to my little corner of crackvill.

When I was learning energy work it was extremely Earth based too.

 

[BiBunny]

I live in the city,
But don't fit in
Oh, Lord, it's a pity
The shape I'm in....

I live in a small city and will probably be moving to a large one within in the next 6-12 months. But I belong in the country, always have. My dream is to have a farm out in the middle of nowhere. Or to live by the ocean. Actually, I wish I could combine the two into one, but I don't think that's possible.

I don't like mountains. I don't like being close to people. I don't like the idea of being crammed into urban apartments or condos or ugly cookie-cutter suburban developments. I need space and freedom, and I need to be able to see for miles and miles. Or at least to have my view blocked by trees, rather than buildings or mountains.

And I prefer heat and humidity to freezing cold and rain and wind and ice. Not that either are ideal, but there's no place on Earth that's a nice 70 degrees year-round, unfortunately. The hot and humid is better for my asthma and my various joint issues, at least.

We're backwards here, but I belong in the South. I damn sure wouldn't fit in anywhere else.

 

[tigressnred]

yes I am in the South also.....there is no ocean here except across to South Carolina....ugggh!

I am so used to the ocean being 45 minutes away from anywhere! The way it makes me feel like I can literally just dissapear when I'm there......so small, so insignificant. just perfect. No one sees me. have you ever felt like just dissapperaing? I know for me if I could have one super power it would be to be invisible , that's how I feel when it is just little ole' me against the ocean.

 

[YourCaptor]

The place I was born was temperate rainforest. So that has a nostalgic, southing effect on me.

Moist cold air with fog caught in the trees, moss covering everything, colorful leaves hiding any trace of dirt. Lots of rocks and uneven ground, white birch trees, tiny streams randomly crisscrossing, so much green it hurts your eyes.

I suppose that is the natural habitat.

 

[graceanne]

I'm a suburbs person. I don't like the city, for many reasons, most of them involving my nose (I'm allergic to car exhaust), and I don't like the country areas, mostly cause I'm easily bored and hate driving. I also can say, from experience, I need to be in a damp moderate temperature kind of place. (High, dry temperatures aggravate my crohns disease and make me very sick.) I couldn't live land locked, I don't think, unless I HAD to. We (K and I) have always lived near the river, and we spend most of our summers on or right next to the river. I don't know how people can live without moving bodies of water near by, I just don't.

 

[graceanne]

The place I was born was temperate rainforest. So that has a nostalgic, southing effect on me.

Moist cold air with fog caught in the trees, moss covering everything, colorful leaves hiding any trace of dirt. Lots of rocks and uneven ground, white birch trees, tiny streams randomly crisscrossing, so much green it hurts your eyes.

I suppose that is the natural habitat.

Washington?

 

[DeepGreenEyes]

I am never more at home than when I'm in a deep, green, lush forest, with creeks calling from somewhere over the next rise, and muted shafts of sunlight piercing the canopy.

 

[CurlyKat]

I love the beach (as in the ocean, which is very different in my mind than most other bodies of water, other than the sea), and I need to have mostly mild to really warm temperature. I'm not a fan of extreme winter at all, mostly because of the darkness associated with the shorter days. Heat I can deal with as long as there is some form of escape at the end of the day.

Pretty much just give me the sun in a warm environment near the beach and I'm set.

 

[graceanne]

I would be totally content to live near the ocean for the rest of my life, and hope to retire to the ocean some day. I don't know what it is, but beyond the water and all that, the beach is the one place I can freely breathe. It's one of the first things I do when I get there, take a deep breath and not cough. Only a fellow asthmatic can understand how awesome that is.

 

[Etoile]

City. Gotta be the city. In another universe, I would live in New York City. It will never happen in this lifetime, but I love New York so much. The suburbs is as close as I'll get, I think.

 

[DVS]

Fire is my element. I HATE cold weather, but I don't mind sweating. Actually, I don't sweat that much, either, so I guess I don't only prefer fire, I'm physically adapted to it.

I'm infatuated with fire. Maybe I'm a pyro, I don't know. I used to LOVE taking out the trash to burn, when I was a kid, checking out the different items in the trash and how they looked when burning, etc.

And I have 3 sisters so I found out how flammable hair spray was long ago. I loved it when I'd toss a can into the fire and wait for it to explode. Ah, the good old days. I don't get to do that any more. I really enjoy watching flames, too. Wish I had a fireplace. Fire...great stuff!
Oh, maybe I digress?

I'd prefer to live somewhere in the tropics, maybe on a beach. But I'd have to have electricity for my electronic stuff. Being a musician, electricity is my friend. I guess I could set up solar panels or a wind turban to be green.

Not into bugs though, so do all beaches have sand fleas?

 

[DVS]

I am never more at home than when I'm in a deep, green, lush forest, with creeks calling from somewhere over the next rise, and muted shafts of sunlight piercing the canopy.

The place I was born was temperate rainforest. So that has a nostalgic, southing effect on me.

Moist cold air with fog caught in the trees, moss covering everything, colorful leaves hiding any trace of dirt. Lots of rocks and uneven ground, white birch trees, tiny streams randomly crisscrossing, so much green it hurts your eyes.

I suppose that is the natural habitat.

...and black mold?