She had lived and worked in a certain area of Lagos, Nigeria for many years, and as was the custom in her place of work, the staff corporative helped to source landed property for their staff; this scheme enabled many of them to become proud owners of lands and houses.
She was excited about having her own home. A place to call her own; after all, she had worked for so many years in Lagos and what better way to show the product of her hard work?
Couple of years after, she put up a decent story building where she would live on the upper floor and rent out the ground floor.
The area was quite a distance from the city center; it was far from many places she would love to visit, and it was inconvenient for many of her friends and family to visit, yet she consoled herself with the fact that she had a roof over her head.
As time went by, she got a better job in another part of town, a more central and urban area. The job was sure to offer her better opportunities. After long and hard consideration, she decided to take up the offer.
Her new place of work was exquisite and luxurious; her colleagues – sophisticated and polished. She liked it here. However, at close of work every day, she had to contend with the traffic back home; a home she dreamed of for many years; her home that she had rejoiced over just a few years back, the idea of not living there had never crossed her mind up until that moment; the stress of journeying back and forth started taking its toll on her.
Should she leave her home?
Or worse still become a tenant again? These and many more questions plague the minds of those in this sort of dilemma. Where should I make my home? Where should I build my home? And so on and so forth.
Here are some points to think about when considering where to put up a home:
Professional opportunities: there’s something called the clustering force. This simply means that when people of like minds come together, ideas flow more freely because individual and aggregate talents increase exponentially. By networking and rubbing shoulders with ambitious, smart folks in a similar line of work and living in a place that is filled with innovative energy, you’ll inevitably hatch new ideas and refine your existing ones.
Aesthetics: our surroundings can affect our mood and how we feel about a place and our lives. The higher people rate the beauty of their community, the higher their overall level of community satisfaction.
Recreational Opportunities: everyone wants their town to offer opportunities that allow them to do the kinds of things they enjoy. If the place in which you live lacks outlets for you to pursue your recreational passions, there will inevitably be a part of yourself that feels unsatisfied.
Proximity to family and friends: living close to family and friends is a valid point to contemplate. Who can you easily call upon during an emergency? Or better still to share a joyous moment with.
Environment for children: most people want their children to grow up in a good neighborhood with good schools, this can be achieved either in the city or a suburb depending on each individual’s lifestyle. Truth though is that wherever you make your home will determine to an extent your child’s outlook to life.
Cost of living is usually one of the first things people think about when they want to set up home. As important as it is, you should always ask yourself if such a neighborhood fits your lifestyle and if you are surrounded with people of like minds. This is not totally about the city or suburb, it’s about what resonates with your personality. While you may want to live in the city or a more quiet area, thinking all the previously mentioned points through is nessecary. one way or the other, something will have to give, while you weigh the pros and cons of your options.
‘Bloom where you are planted’ is definitely a good maxim to live by. You may not have the privilege of moving right now in your life. That doesn’t mean you’re destined for unhappiness or incapable of reaching your goals. When you’re happy with the “what” and “who” of your life, location becomes a lot less important.
The place we live can affect our lives in so many ways, it ought to be a decision you approach deliberately and thoughtfully. Helping you do that is the purpose of this post.
