Geographic Location: Does It Matter To You?
I spent the past week in California moving my mother into an assisted living facility. My brother lives three hours away from her and I live about eleven hours away when I fly non-stop from North Carolina. As we went through all of the machinations of the move, the thought constantly presenting itself was: why don't I live closer.
If I lived closer to her, I could visit often and she would not be so lonely. I could deal with the doctors and nurses for her. We could handle the finances that have become horribly confusing for her. In general, we could make life better for her in the second half of her 80's.
While this may be a larger example, many things in life are impacted by where you live.
family
education options
employment options
weather
recreational options
cost of living
Do you love downhill skiing? Why do you live in Florida? Do you make enough money to engage in your passion for skiing? Can you find a job closer to the slopes? Powder or ice? Willing to take any job to ski for awhile? Geography can enable or limit your exercise of your passions.
There are four basic decision points in looking at options for yourself: industry, function, employer and geography. While all of these are important to good decisions, geography is often overlooked.
Sit down and look at your values. Is family high on your value list? How close will this location be to your family? Is this an acceptable distance given the other values the location may offer? Are the arts important to you? Does this location feed you desire for symphony? theatre? art?
I have been a nomad all of my life. I never lived in one town longer than six years until Davidson. California, South Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, Colorado, Washington, Indiana and North Carolina have all been my home state at least once. 18 cities or towns have been home. I have greatly enjoyed the places I have been, but, I am a nomad. The whole family has always been nomadic.
Little did I realize until last week, family is a very high value for me. It is a value not served by my current geographic location.
Pay attention to the geography of your decisions.