If you could go anywhere...

I recently finished reading My Life in France, Julia Child's autobiography. The book begins with Julia stepping off a boat in France, having never been out of the US before, with all her possessions packed in her (and her husband's) car. Arriving in a new land begins a process of self-discovery that begins with Julia as a housewife who has no particular interests and doesn't know how to cook gradually rebuilding herself as a world-class authority on French food.

It's a marvelous story, and from the moment I picked it up I have been imagining and plotting making a move of my own. I've always dreamed about moving to New York and being able give up my car. When the kids were smaller, I imagined sneaking out to a restaurant w/baby in to after one of those crazy midnight feedings. Now I picture regular trips to the Museum of Natural History and weekend lunches at Katz's Deli. I'm not so sure we'd be able to cope with trading our spacious home for a one or two bedroom apartment...

A taste of life in Paris back when E was an infant leaves me dreaming of fresh pastry in the mornings and afternoons at Luxembourg Gardens with the kids. Please don't shatter my illusion that I would somehow teach myself French by reading children's books to the kids. (France seems one of the healthiest book industries anywhere, and I've enjoyed exploring the children's book departments on each of my trips there)

Australia seems like another wonderful place to live, Melbourne reminds me very much of Seattle and I envision myself making weekend getaways into wine country to eat pumpkin muffins and look for Kangaroos. The possibility of having Southeast Asia practically at my doorstep for longer vacations is enticing to.

What about you? If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you go? Tell me in comments!

Related Links:
My Life in France

16 comments | Posted on November 6, 2008 | Save to del.icio.us

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Comments

  1. Tamara on November 6, 2008 at 7:11 a.m.

    Hi Debbie
    I would definitely move back to Spain. It's where I grew up and so it's a part of me. The Spanish are so child-friendly, the way of life is relaxed, the weather is ten times better than it is here in grey old London and I would love my children to speak Spanish as a second language.

  2. Mara on November 6, 2008 at 7:18 a.m.

    Well Debbie, I'm sure you're not surprised to hear that this is a post after my own heart, since I spend at least one day a week dreaming of some wonderful place to go at The Mother of All Trips.

    I actually wouldn't move outside the U.S. though. Here would be my dream scenario: Move to Vermont, spend vacations and summers in Paris (with of course side trips to other destinations).

    I love everything about Vermont: the physical beauty, the skiing, the politics, the food, the lack of traffic lights, the craftspeople...I would happily settle into a cozy little farmhouse with a big woodstove and garden.

    And from the very first time I set foot in Paris at 19 it's been a place that felt like home to me. There is so much pleasure to be found in just walking around there, and I was delighted that my children felt the same way when we were there this summer.

    Thanks for this fun post - a bright spot in a mundane day.

    (You can see some of the other places I've dreamed of here: http://www.motherofalltrips.blogspot....)

  3. Angela Nickerson on November 6, 2008 at 8:55 a.m.

    I dream about living in Rome and having the time to visit every church, museum, and archaeological dig in the city. But then I long for London as if living in London would be like living in "Love Actually." And NYC... I heart NYC! I could live there, too! Sigh. Let's go!

    More thoughts on my favorite places here: http://aknickerson.blogspot.com/

  4. Shelly Rivoli on November 6, 2008 at 11:52 a.m.

    You brought me right back to nursing my first travel baby in the Louvre! For me, Paris or NYC for sure. Easy. I could give up the car, no problem, in either place and would be quite happy making due with the cramped apartment -- er, wait, we have a THIRD kid on the way? Well... I might have a hard time getting the hubby on board there, at least until the job offer from Mr. Trump comes through!

  5. marina on November 6, 2008 at 1:02 p.m.

    Hi! I have done that many times and it's definitely a self discovery. I've done it in NYC, San Diego, Colorado, Rhode Island, london, guatemala, and my latest in Costa Rica. I love it, i have to say, each time it's harder and harder though and now that I'm a mommy, it's even harder. But living an expat lifestyle this is what i get.
    i would absolutely love to move to europe, love to love to love to. but it's quite pricey and not foreseeable in the near future, but i'm begging my hubby to go there.
    also, china!!!
    living in central america is so close to usa, that i want some major culture shock!!!
    <a href="http://muchacostarica.com">MuchaCostaRica</a>

  6. Willy on November 6, 2008 at 3:47 p.m.

    Cape Town.

  7. jamie on November 6, 2008 at 3:56 p.m.

    Hey, I like the new look! The comments are doing a weird centering thing though...

    Your question gets to the heart of things for me. I moved around a LOT growing up and a fair amount as an adult. It has been a great goal of mine to put down roots, and I finally have.

    Where would I live if I could live anywhere? Right here in Palo Alto, California. Belonging somewhere feels good.

    (Small asterisk: we're trying to find a way to spend our summers traveling. More on that if anything comes of it!)

  8. Soultravelers3 on November 6, 2008 at 4:26 p.m.

    There really are so many wonderful places to live, aren't there? So very hard to decide!

    Thus we decided the best would be to travel the world very slowly, enjoying ALL if it, immersing deeply in places that we especially adore.

    I can tell you that southern Spain is an ideal place to spend the winter, as we prepare to head there for our 3rd winter.

    I loved the many years I lived in NYC and our recent visit there, but I would not want to raise a child in the city. So many great things for kids to see and do in that city, but the day to day life for families, is less than ideal in my book. That's why we saw so many young ones with their nannies and know so many that live in more family friendly areas outside of the city.

    I love Paris too but would pass on it for many of the same reasons as NYC. I love visiting great cities, but they do not tend to be where I want to live day in and day out with a child.

    My ideal place would be near an exciting city, but in a rural area where I can garden and connect with a small, friendly, educated community. Not unlike my old home in Santa Cruz, Ca or our 15th century tiny village in Andalusia,Spain where we have wintered now for several years.

    I would have to have great weather most of the time, which for me means lots of sun and warm winters ( with mountains nearby for skiing) and preferably near an ocean. I love warm, but not hot ( so southern Spain will never see me in summer).

    I am looking forward to more explorations around Europe ( done luxuriously on tiny budget) and then our slow travel years in South Africa and South America. Later New Zealand and Australia interest me ( more than SE Asia although we will visit that area as well).

    At this moment, I can not imagine settling down permanently in any one spot. Still I know we will really miss Spain when we leave the continent of Europe.

    When we are ready to settle down, I know it will be a hard choice on picking just one. We might even cheat and pick two as we have grown fond touring for half the year and then wintering in a gorgeous, warm spot.

    We have our eyes open for that perfect spot for us, but so far we just keep finding sooo many "perfect spots". It's a good problem to have! ;)

    http://www.soultravelers3.com

  9. Chris (Amateur Traveler podcast) on November 6, 2008 at 4:52 p.m.

    I love the thought of living in the south of France or Tuscany, but when I am realistic about it I actually love living in silicon valley in California. But I would love living somewhere else temporarily.

  10. wandermom on November 6, 2008 at 5:05 p.m.

    I can't pick anywhere yet, there's way too much of the world which I haven't visited - YET. I do love the sun though, and I prefer the beach to the mountains.

    Chuckling at your 'being able to give up my car' comment. I didn't learn how to drive until I was 25 - when we moved to the U.S.!

  11. Dominique on November 6, 2008 at 7:39 p.m.

    I've always said I'd like to move to northern Michigan (somewhere around Traverse City/Leland/Glen Arbor), and I'd like to have a small place around Ann Arbor...so I could come on downstate when I wanted to hit a big museum show, sporting event, shopping, concert...

    Guess I'm just a Midwest girl at heart :)

    Although there are tons of places I know I'd love to visit...Iceland, Norway, Spain (again), New Zealand, to name a few.
    <p>

    <a href="http://www.midwestguest.com">Midwest Guest</a>
    <p>

  12. Monna on November 7, 2008 at 12:29 a.m.

    Debbie, I LOVE this photograph. It captures, beautifully, that it is possible and life-enriching (if not always easy) to travel with children.
    Good game! If I could just pick up and move anywhere, I'd go to...
    1. Paris: Culture, food, architecture, beauty everywhere
    2. Florence: Same reasons but at a slower pace
    3. New York City: Above plus excitement and Broadway!
    4. Seattle or Potland, Oregon: Cool cities, cool stuff going on.
    5. Ottawa, Canada: Some day I'd like to move back to my lovely home city which is small, safe, green and contains most of the people I love best

  13. Wanderluster on November 7, 2008 at 7:12 a.m.

    Debbie,

    Anytime you'd like a "taste" of Paris, come on over to West Seattle and I'll treat you to some of the very best pastries from Bakery Nouveau. There's no view of the Eiffel Tower, but you'll quickly forget that when you bit into one of the double baked almond croissants!

  14. marina on November 7, 2008 at 11:40 a.m.

    I forgot to mention an interesting fact about Julia, she was a british spy for England during WWII. This info was just released aobut a month ago. who would have known!
    <a href="http://www.muchacostarica.com">MuchaCostaRica</a>

  15. Debbie on November 7, 2008 at 11:52 p.m.

    I loved reading all these comments. I suspect there are few places I wouldn't want to "try on for size" for a year or two... everyone's ideas made me want to pack up and go!

    @wanderluster Pam introduced me to those double baked almond croissants on our first meeting & I'm hooked... I do need to make the trip over more often though.

    @marina wow! who knew. I did a quick search, here's a link to more information for anyone who is interested.
    http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/14/spie...

  16. jen laceda on November 9, 2008 at 10:45 a.m.

    Hi Debbie, It's Jen from <a href="http://jenlaceda.blogspot.com">Folie a Deux</a>...

    Ah...I would love to live in Paris, or the South of France, or the South of Italy...that way, I can travel around Europe and Africa easily!