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I've moved around a lot, but bigger distances (Asia, a lot within Europe Europe, Africa), and one thing I've noticed is that the more you move, the more you abs

I've moved around a lot, but bigger distances (Asia, a lot within Europe Europe, Africa), and one thing I've noticed is that the more you move, the more you abstract away the particular details of the place and focus on a start of bigger picture. For example, if I move now, I'd focus on food (supermarkets, restaurants) and transport, and once I have understood, I'd be basically comfortable already, and I'd just let the gaps like neighbourhood and so on fill themselves out automatically. It's a bit sad in a way - that sense of seeing something new and unexpected is now lost to me. All my recent travels are just a variation on something I've seen before, even if to supposedly exotic places.

mpare 16y ago
I noticed the same pattern as I've been moving around the last few years. Transportation is huge -- there was a big difference for me moving even just two metro stops farther from my job in Paris. Jonah Lehrer wrote a post on this a while ago: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2010/03/commuting.php http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2010/03/commuting.php According to the calculations of Frey and Stutzer, a person with a one-hour commute has to earn 40 percent more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to the office.