I have an Idea...

I saw an article recently that was describing a recent poll that found only about 40% of Americans live in the area that they really want to live in. ONLY 40% of people live where they want to! This I find appalling. And considering I'm one of the 60% who do not live where they want to, it's even worse.

I won't go through the whole long story , suffice to say I moved to a place that does not suite me so well, thinking it would be a short stay. I'm still thinking it will be a short stay, but in the meantime, it's a challenge. It turns out, I'm not alone. 60% of people, either by choice or unfortunate incident- or sheer luck of the birth, are sweltering in the Florida heat when they would be happier in the cool rocky mountains, are shoveling snow when they would rather be sweeping sand, are crowded by trees when they would rather be in the wide open desert, or maybe they are choked by the activity in a large city, when they would be happier in a small town, or they are dying of boredom in a small town when they would flourish in the big city.

No wonder then, that we have so much crime, so much violence, so much escapist activity going on here. No wonder there are so many people finding relief through drugs, alcohol, tobacco and TV.

I have an idea, I think it might help. Right now the government wants to throw some money at all our problems. Right now a lot of people are out of work. I think they should give relocation relief money to anyone who applies.

Let each person decide where they want to live based on their own criteria for what makes them happy, rather then where they can get a job, or where their family settled 3 generations ago, or where they went to college and never had the means to move away from. Let each person decide where they want to live, and help them move there before we start throwing money at work programs. Once everyone shuffles around to their ideal location, the face of the country is going to look much different. Some places may gain a lot of population, some may loose. Once we see the results of this stirring of the melting pot, we can decide where to use the relief money to create more jobs, based on the new demographics.

I suggest this because if we just start creating jobs with out asking people where they want to live, we are going to end up with a lot of people moving to get employment, and possibly a lot of people moving to places they would not be happy. Ultimately, that is going to add to our demise as a nation. I just think we should do it the other way around, let people decide where they want to live, then make work for them. The happiness this creates could reverberate through generations.

I wonder, if we all lived in the area we think we would be most comfortable in, what would our culture look like. Would some of our problems go away? Would we be less inclined to indulge in unhappy behavior like addictions? I think so. Now, don't get me wrong, some people will just take their problems along with them, and some people will never be happy, no matter where they are. I do think though, that waking up, looking out the window and seeing landscape you love, or a town that fits you goes a long way in making a person feel good about themselves, and their life. And I do think, as a nation, and for the mental health and happiness of individuals, that is just what we need right now. A lot of people waking up feeling good about themselves, going about their new jobs in a environment that makes them feel buoyant every time they look out the window or step out the door.