One of the things I’m trying to impress upon my parents is that there are many cities, many neighborhoods, many ways to live.
It’s hard to describe but we come from a country that is also a city and a state: that is only 30 miles.. wide. That’s it. 6 million people. (It doesn’t actually feel super dense to me, there’s still a lot of space because of architecture and the greenery)
But
If you don’t like that one city, or that one way of life, that’s it. There isn’t another one. There isn’t a rural area or other city to move to. You have to leave: as I did.
When they last visited I think they only saw San Francisco but now I’m being more intentional about taking them to the other areas in the Bay Area.
We also leave for Monterey tomorrow where they’ll see my other, quieter life.
I don’t think I would have had a similar opportunity to work with animals where we come from.