A New Neighborhood
Barranco, Lima, Peru
Over the past seven years I have had the wonderful experience of living in ten different countries. In six of these countries I lived for more than a month at a time. In some locations I lived anywhere from six months to two years. This is much longer than the average tourist will ever have to truly experience another country and really get to know its people or get inside of its culture.
In the beginning, I was on a personal quest to find a place somewhere in the world that might meet my requirements for the ideal place to live. In many ways, places like Kyoto, Japan and Costa Rica would easily meet the requirements for such an ideal place. Based upon my journey these last seven years, my path always seems to be to move on and explore the next place.
These experiences have given me a very unique lens and perspective on the world and on life in general. Over time I have begun to see the world in patterns and the threads of similarity in each unique country. In many ways it is like I am watching a movie. I have observed again and again that most people in every country I have been dream of going somewhere else. The idea most of us have is that there is always somewhere a little better that where we are where life would be a little more enjoyable.
Over the years, my own ideas and perspectives have changed with more experiences and more countries. I began to come to the awareness a long time ago that there was no ideal location and that every country had many beautiful places to see and customs to learn from and both kind people and not so kind people. Equally, every country had its own challenges and its politics. No place I have ever been was as dangerous as one might read about nor was it as spectacular as many articles might have you believeā¦..with the exception of Kyoto, Japan.
It seems that over time, my list of requirements to be happy and content living just about anywhere has gotten much smaller and much more simple. In actuality, it has evolved into an internal list that I seems to move with me to each location wherever I go. One day I had an epiphany and discovered that I am no longer on a quest to find a perfect place or add things or experiences. To the contrary, I have been in a process with every country I have lived in of continuously minimizing and simplifying my needs and desires with each new location. If I learned anything from a year in Kyoto it was the beauty of absolute simplicity and emptiness. As a result, I have discovered that contentment and happiness seems to find me in most of the places I have recently landed.
There are a few minimum requirements that seem to remain on my list as I continue to move through the world. Amazingly, Barranco in Lima, Peru has surprised me with just about everything I need to be content:
Affordability. Currently, in Lima I am living in a comfortable and beautiful apartment within walking distance to cafes, coffee shops, groceries and the ocean within the same rent I have now been paying for almost five years. My rent for one month is less than what most people might pay for a couple of nights on a weekend getaway in the U.S.
Walkability: I have now lived for three years in three different countries without a car. Barranco is one district with in Lima of around 11 million people. It is completely walkable with everything I might need on a weekly basis within less than a kilometer of my apartment. Now the only thing on my future wishlist is a bike.
A Quiet Place to Write. Most mornings after teaching English I am looking for a quiet place I can write that gets me out of the house and into the world. It cannot be loud and so places like Starbucks do not work well for me. Barranco has an abundance of small cafes and coffee shops, often with no other people during the day. I have discovered I can literally walk to a different cafe every morning and enjoy amazing coffee for less than a few dollars.
Art, Music and Culture: Barranco seems to be a center of artistic expression which is quite frankly, what makes life worth living. A hundred years ago, Barranco was a beach resort community for the affluent in Peru. Now it is a creative haven for many of the areas local artists.
Nature: I have enjoyed living in some beautiful places surrounded by nature. It is necessary for survival. When I was first planning a month in Barranco, I never considered that I would have access to the ocean. Being within walking distance to the beach has been a huge, unexpected bonus.
Bookstore and Artisan Shops: These are bonus items. I appreciate these much more as I have lived in some remote locations with no access to either one for months or years at a time. I believe very neighborhood should have a small bookstore, not to mention a craftsman who makes leather shoes by hand. Double bonus.
As with every other place I have ever landed, it is unknown how long I will remain in Barranco, Peru. I have already extended my stay beyond the original month I had intended. Similar to Cusco, Barranco seems to suit me very well with the major difference being that Cusco is progressively getting colder by the month and in Barranco the weather is sunny and near the beach. Perhaps it is Peru that suits me. The lesson and reminder is always to live and embrace each day as it comes and appreciate each beautiful moment.
Field Notes
Bohemian
An individual looked upon in society as strange and different.Ā Imagination controls a Bohemianās life, and (some) stay secluded spending their lives creating art, music and literature.
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Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa RicaĀ or a simple cabin on a mountaintop in Boquete, Panama or Ciudad ColĆ³n.
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