If home is where the heart is, how does the heart know where home is?
This past week, I interviewed some neighbors for a project about finding home—how they they define home, where they find home (and the more colloquial “home home”), and ways that they make a place, a neighborhood, or a city feel like home. As I slowly approach two years in Seattle, this made me reflect a lot on my own process of building my life here, and how I meet so many others struggling to do the same.
When I ask what people really like about living in Seattle, responses vary. The enjoyment of a location is a plural and personal experience, but common to all responses was the sense of place this city has to offer—an affinity for the rocky-peaked skyline, the generously sloped terrain, and the vivid greenery that surrounds us.
Moving from the flat lands of Michigan in the midst of the rainy season, I didn’t fully comprehend this part of Seattle when I first arrived. The gloom offered little motivation, and acclimation to the rain is interminable.
Now entering my second summer in Seattle, I think I finally get it.
I took advantage of the beautiful weather this past weekend with a much needed mini-excursion to Bainbridge Island. The sun and warmth felt restorative. After an extended afternoon of leisurely exploration, we made our way back to the city. I stood at the bow of the ferry as we returned, marveling at Seattle’s crepuscular skyline—and in that moment, the growing pains of everyday life seemed to soften.
When the clouds disburse and the sun comes out, it warms the heart of the city and brightens its beauty. There’s a unique and compelling power of good weather that I never experienced back in Michigan. The city seems anew.
I am continuing to build my relation with this city and reflect on my journey. Seattle may or may not be my forever home—the jury is still out on that one.
Finding home remains an arduous topic, and I have a lot to reflect on from my interviews. I don’t have the answers, nor do I know if answers even exist. What I do know is that the growing pains never go away, and home will always be, in some way or another, a process.
But for now, summer is quickly approaching. This sense of place I have come to adore will grow even more evident, if only for a brief period of the year. There will be more struggles, but I can look forward to the radiant weather compounding the majestic terrain of the Puget Sound region.
And for now, home is here.