when i lived in a city i had second, third, fourth, fifth places. i used to go a museum every week, actually good coffee shops, a pocket park nearly every day, the river when it was warm, and a local arcade to play pinball and rhythm games once a month. now i can walk to my parents’ house, the woods, and an Arby’s where i get treated like a princess. theres a pretty cool pedestrian downtown mall but it’s a drive away and i spent so much time there in middle and high school it feels like it’s no longer my third place. plus, there’s not much to do there but spend money. it sounds sad but i live a quieter life and know a lot more bird calls and native plants and get to spend a lot more time with family, especially the 102 year old grandpa.