When I moved to Seattle in 2008, I thought you would literally have to haul my cold, dead body out of the city at some point.  It was perfect, in every sense, as far as what I was looking for in a forever home.

Flash forward to 2022, post-pandemonium madness, and the city had changed much for the worse since I’d arrived, 14 years prior. Though I was working fully remotely at that point, I did have some limitations in leaving the state of Washington entirely (namely, my pup – who has a complete aversion to extreme heat, bugs, storms, and other factors that limit our geographic possibilities in living). But as I was no longer commuting to Seattle proper, I could branch out and escape the city and the suburbs which no longer resonated with my quality-of-life requirements.

Thankfully, just an hour southeast of the city lies a quiet hamlet where small town life is still alive and well. I almost hesitate to tell you exactly where, as I don’t really want everyone to discover it and move here.

I grew up in a small town in Florida, and all I could wish for was to finish school and move to the “real world” – a.k.a. anywhere larger than my small town, preferably a metropolis.  Which I did, and I loved it. In fact, I spent the next 30 years living in major metropolitan cities in the U.S. and working traditional corporate jobs in all of them.

But as I aged, and the world changed dramatically, I found that big city life no longer appealed to me. The pros and cons of millions of people sharing small geographic areas started to tip more and more to the cons side of the scale.

Here in my small town, people are friendly – they look you in the eye and say hello when they pass you on the street or stand in line at the grocery store. Neighbors know one another and are always willing to help out if you need something. I can walk my dog at 2:00 a.m. without locking my door amidst the silence of the night (save for the crickets). Safety and courtesy, and sanity prevail.

Of course, my town has its share of challenges – nowhere is immune completely.  But after two years of living here, Seattle seems a thousand miles away and all its mega-city mess right along with it.