I’ve just spent almost three months living in different parts of the world, loving the experiences and then leaving for the next destination. As a result, I’ve become a professional on short-term relationships with cities & towns; fall hard & fast, don’t get too attached, never say ‘I love you’, move through goodbyes quickly with ‘bye-for-now’ (don’t look back at the airport)… and finally, shamelessly use the next place as a re-bound to forget the devastation of separation from the last.
As I’m winding up the last few days of this epic series of relationships, people are beginning to ask the same question consistently… “Of all the places you’ve been on this adventure; where was the best place of all?” This seems an impossible question to answer because of the variety in places I’ve been and the ambiguity of the term ‘best’ – so I’m going to tackle my answer in a different way… through my observation of “the place people wanted to leave the least”.
When I met people in different parts of the world – the local residents in each area pretty much fell into one of two categories; they either loved where they lived & passionately chose to exist there (in a couldn’t-live-anywhere-else mindset), or they yearned to be somewhere else but felt compelled to stay-put for one reason or another. Of all the destinations I’ve just visited, the location where more people seem to fall into the ‘why-would-you-live-anywhere-else’ attitude is Byron Bay, Australia. This isn’t about comparisons or taking anything away from the other destinations on my adventure; purely to answer a question with my observation that ‘less people seem to want to leave’ Byron Bay in order to be somewhere else in the world (either to live permanently or even for a holiday).
The people in Byron Bay (locals and visitors) seem to be ‘re-energising’ themselves… not to ‘fill-up’ for the next usage or depletion – but rather to hold onto energy, layering & becoming more & more ‘full’ over time. This results in a community of people in the same spiritual mindset; that life & ‘this world’ is fundamentally good & is here to be utterly enjoyed. This shared-mindset adds an indescribable energy to an already geographically miraculous location – and the combination is purely dreamlike. Very few people are here against their desires and very few people are seeking to attain something more than what is here to be experienced ‘today’. This is rare, it is calming yet energising. Even to be exposed to this in a fleeting glimpse, passing through, is to really feel something about yourself in relation to the entire world around you. This personal impact is absolutely unavoidable and, in-part, the magnetic-pull back to this special part of the world time & time again, if not forever.
I know this all sounds very hippy-hippy-la-la and I’m probably coming down from yoga light or hot-air balloon haze but, honestly, it’s TRUE! So, in answer to the question on most people’s lips’ about the best place in my adventure; I’ll answer Byron Bay baby… Very few want to leave… it’s the sweetest of all my short-term town relationships & the one I’ll come back to forever and a day. It’s Love.
Have you ever been to Byron Bay (do you agree), if not – is it on your list of places to go soon?
October 17, 2012 8:48 am
I have ben to Byron Bay and I agree with you. Great place, great people, great vibe. That being said, there are many other places around the world that could get the title and I am not even starting a list because it will make me nostalgic. Also, some places are the best at certain moments of your life and depends who you are with. Anyway, the world is big and beautiful, so keep on moving. I realized that this year I moved for the 30th time in my life (I mean real moving, not traveling). I hope I will break 50.