Wanted: Perfection

There is a website entitled "Where Should I Live?" which narrows down one's ideal city (it's always a city) based on various criteria such as nature, climate, demographics, transportation, politics, food, size, and cost of living. For those looking to relocate, it helps narrow down what part of the country would be most amenable to one's particular preferences.

But always remember, perfection isn't possible. When we bought our property in late 2020, it was the height of the pandemic lockdowns and rural properties were being snatched up fast. We knew our new place wasn't perfect, but it hit many of the marks we had on our bucket list. We decided to bloom where we were planted, and have been very happy here since.

These factors came to mind recently when Don spotted a post on a "Homesteaders for Beginners" page in which a woman was looking for ... perfection.

The image is a little hard to see, so I transcribed the wish list. Her requirements include:

• Affordable housing
• Lots of jobs to offer

Bonus for:

• Pagan-friendly/accepting
• More small-town feel
• Generally kind respectful people
• Homeschool friendly
• Homestead friendly

She absolutely did NOT want to consider the following states:

• Washington
• Oregon
• California
• Florida
• Arizona
• New York

Later, she added more information as follows (edited slightly for grammar, spelling, punctuation):

"I grew up Mormon and don't mind church folk, but as an adult I'm more of a closet pagan and rather keep to myself anyway, so again not a requirement. Would just be a nice bonus. To get on my feet, I need to be able to find a job and find affordable housing. But the end game is buying land to start a homestead. I just don't want a place that's miserable dying heat like six months out of the year. I have a mixed stepdaughter, so want her welcomed in whatever place we make home. I already barely socialize due to social anxiety, but it would be great to find an accepting community to be a part of, but again more than happy to stay on our land and ignore our neighbors if needed. I've grown up in Washington and lived in Idaho [and] Oregon, and just plain sick of the PNW [Pacific Northwest]. I have always wanted the small-town farm life and I just want to find a place to make that happen."

Ironically, it sounds like her ideal community would be somewhere in Western Oregon or Western Washington (west of the Cascades). However given the states she absolutely does not want to consider, I'm a bit stymied where she might settle that would fill all her other criteria.

I sincerely hope what this nascent homesteader realizes is perfection doesn't exist. Some places might get close, yes; but most of us do better by blooming where we're planted.