moving

You really can move to a new place

I’ve written about how you can and should love where you live. I sometimes get some push-back on this that feels like excuses. People spend a lot of time defending their own unhappy inertia, that circumstances simply prevent them from … Read MoreRead More

Man on bike

How to know if it’s time to move away

On a recent flight home, I fell into conversation with a friendly woman from my birth city of Philadelphia. She was on her way to a small town in the Pacific Northwest for a job interview and was as excited … Read MoreRead More

One surefire way to pare down your possessions

  There’s a lot of talk these days about minimalism. Apparently, we’ve all gotten so good at acquiring stuff that there now is a trend toward pairing down. It used to be that whoever had the largest house, the biggest amount … Read MoreRead More

On being kicked out of my apartment, or Nothing is unexpected

  Have you ever rented a place, and been very comfortable there, only to receive a voicemail message from your landlord that started like this: “I don’t know how to say this to you, but I just wanted to say … Read MoreRead More

What do people really mean by location independence?

  A few years ago, I performed a feat of employee jiu jitsu: I was able to convince my boss to let me start working from across the country. Like many people, I first heard about the idea of “location … Read MoreRead More

Can you help make places more people-friendly?

  (200th post! Thanks everyone for your support.) I talked before about the pain of being in a place that isn’t designed for you. It might have seemed a bit heavier than the usual fare here, but then again, if we … Read MoreRead More

Why renting is better than owning

  I was taught that everyone should eventually own a home.  Actually, like so many of these cultural imperatives, I didn’t so much learn this as much it was absorbed into my head through some kind of osmosis.  Owning is … Read MoreRead More