How Does Where You Live Affect How You Live?

The first answer that comes to mind when someone asks how does where you live affect how you live is: do you have a lot of spare time? Because this one takes a while to answer…

Like Karl Marx said, “infrastructure determines the superstructure”—no, we’re kidding. Not *that* long!

Let’s try to get the question of how does where you live affect how you live and put it in the most practical light so everyone can truly visualize this issue that is so simple that our brain tricks us into being more complex than it is:

There are countless ways the place where you live affects how you live. If you think through it, you will see that the “where” is integral to the “how” you live. The way a person lives in the Colorado mountains is completely different from someone living in one of New York’s boroughs. From the type of housing they need to construct in each place – a vertical apartment because the demand is too big in New York and a log cabin to endure the snow storms of the Rockies’ winter – to the type of living you have due also to weather impediments; while both can have severe winters, you won’t get to ski or snowboard in New York City, right? If you’re living near an airport you will live less worried when you’re about to travel or return from travel, because you’ll be only a few minutes of it. Same thing with those living near the beach; they have the blessing of going for a quick dip and will never have to get stuck in traffic.

But more than that, the facilities and lifestyles connected to each place will determine the price you pay for it, and, with that, having more or less money in your pocket, you might have a reduction of quality of life.

For instance: if you live in an affluent area, prices will be higher. If you can’t pay for the luxuries within the area, if it doesn’t fit your budget, you won’t have money to go out too much, travel on your vacations etc. Likewise, if you live in a poor area it will affect how you live because, typically, you will have to worry about other aspects like safety and distance to good health services. Additionally, where you live affects your health; affluent areas usually have stricter building codes and more preoccupation with common wellness areas like parks to exercise etc.

Here’s a pristine example of how does where you live affect how you live in a direct way: if you live by a crowded street you will have to deal with:

• more noise than usual due to traffic and passersby - and then you have to learn how to reduce noise pollution
• a longer time to get to and from your house
• bigger expenditure because supply and demand determines everything concerning pricing, so the whole area will have more expensive services and prices overall
• your guests will have difficulty parking close to your home when visiting

And so on.

Need the utmost example of how does where you live affect how you live? Here’s a list of the worst cities for natural disasters. Even within the list; the way residents from San Francisco live – always worrying about earthquakes – is very different from how Floridians live, always worrying about hurricanes. Hey, let’s go one layer deeper: pick two Florida cities; the way Ocala residents live – with the number of sinkholes they have – is very different from the way Miami residents – hurricanes a bunch-   live. And from neighborhood to neighborhood, house to house… the place where you live determines the way you live.