Sand dunes and beaches of the outer banks in NC/SC US. The sights, sounds, and smells are amazing.
I really like airports. I’m not entirely sure why, but I think it probably has to do with the complex design and (hopefully) focus on a good traveler experience. Good airports have to have an easy-to-follow layout, but the amount of things to be discovered in an airport is also oftenvast and plentiful. I also just really love the architecture and interior design of my local airport.
Salt marshes - they were everywhere where I grew up and they’re absolutely lovely to explore (as long as you use proper precautions).
Airports, train stations, and cafes.
Airports are rather formative to me, as well as train stations for much of the same reason, and both airports and train stations have cafes, or at the very least the ones I’ve visited typically do. There’s nothing quite like the vibe of being at an airport at 7 AM on a sunny morning about to embark on a journey into the wide blue yonder while the scent of coffee pleasantly floods your olfactory system.
This sounds cliche but parks/public playgrounds are lovely. I live near one and spend much of my downtime drawing, writing, or doomscrolling at it. They often aren’t too loud if you don’t live in a big city, and I love hearing kids play in the distance behind me. Occasionally, you might even have a nice conversation with a stranger.
Coffee shops. I don’t know why. I just really enjoy sitting in them and having a coffee, especially if they have nice cushy couches or chairs.
Storm drains under the city. Started exploring them in the 90s and only stopped in recent years. Great for photography and a super fun hobby for someone who fucking hates people and likes being in total solitude lol. There’s a bunch of online communities for it where I used share my photos and such. Even created a legend of sorts in Tulsa with a big ass project of painting the coordinates for every tunnel entrance in the city. It’s called the drain atlas.
Anyone looking for a fun but semi risky hobby check out draining.
I met a guy named Sam Pate. He was a radio man and was live during the JFK shooting. He said that at that time the drains were big enough for a person to easily slip into. He said the real shooter escaped that way and was on his way back to Chicago before Oswald was arrested.
I explored the hell out of those drains! I grew up in Dallas. They’re way more than easy enough for a person to fit through. You could fit a damn car through them. They’re actually a pretty famous tunnel in the draining community. Dallas is where I started my draining career lol. I’ll have to dig up some photos of that drain and show you some time. If I remember correctly we called it elm Street tunnel. It was caked in deposits as it was so old. Even had stairs in it, was really strange. Surprised I never put that together. We used to smoke weed on the grassy knoll and then explore the tunnels…
I love libraries. I used to spend a lot of time in them when I was a kid. I still have my 16 digit library card number from when I was a kid memorized.
A nice old style pub, preferably with a horseshoe shaped bar. Just something peaceful for me about a nice old style pub.
College campuses. They almost always make me think that’s what utopia would be like.
Usually campuses are the only places rationally designed to be highly accessible to people. So they can be walked. You can go from place A to place B on foot, usually under shade, either from a canopy, tree sided paths, or human scale adequately proportioned buildings. They also tend to consider and include amenities like parks, snack and drink stands, on the way. And also several cool third places like libraries, auditoriums, study halls, athleticism stadiums and cafeterias. Places where you can exist and occupy without having to consume. Finally, they usually confine cars to parking lots and prohibit their traffic inside the campus, making it a quieter and clean air space.
My point is, college campuses are sometimes literally how humans are the happiest to live.
That’s quite the surprise, as I’ve had exactly the opposite response.
yeah that’s really true
I like the crown land camping spots during summer in Alberta more than anywhere in the world. It’s beautiful, there’s remnants of others that left you rock fire pits and their extra firewood, you can shoot guns and be as loud as you want and nobody bothers you. Good trails for jogging, no stress, just nature and blue skies and good friends.
I’m drawn to places that feel forgotten, where time seems to stand still. The emptiness and absence of people create a rare solitude, and these spaces feel like snapshots of a different era. I love seeing nature gradually reclaim what was once built by humans. It’s a reminder of nature’s persistence, quietly reclaiming what we left behind.
Above all, I enjoy the disconnection. These places exist outside the rush of modern life, free from obligations and deadlines. Stepping into them feels like entering a different reality, one that’s both familiar and alien at the same time
This is a weird one, but grocery stores for cultures other than my own.
For one, there’s SO MUCH cool shit and delicious foods I never even knew existed. I think the biggest factor though is it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten to actually traveling. Can’t afford the real thing.
While I also love their restaurants and cultural events, there’s something about being served or attempting to showcase major cultural highlights in some event that kills the authenticity of the experience.
In their grocery stores, I’m surrounded by that same culture, but none of it’s about me: the other shoppers don’t give a fuck about me, the staff only interact at the checkout… and other than that it’s just me and a can of… some kind of sauce? I can’t read it… but some elderly Asian woman just grabbed two of them and the rest of her cart is filled with what will undeniably become an amazing meal… fuck it, I’ll give it shot!
The drinks and junk food too are also usually a safe option to find something both very different from what I’m used to and very tasty.
Definitely spent more than a few bucks on things that weren’t… eh… compatible with my palette, but finding out is part of the experience.
Idk. Weird thing to get excited about, but it’s a good time.
There’s an Asian Market near me (literally called that) and it’s always fun to explore and see what new thing we can find to try! Lots of snacks, lots of ramen, lots of spices!
Space!
A spaceship is the ultimate symbol of freedom!
I feel like spaceship freedom is the SciFi embodiment of American “freedom of the open road” propaganda.
For me it’s the idea of a self sufficient spaceship so I don’t have to go to anyone for anything. Zero needy!
That I can get behind. I’d love to build a windmill over my house and store extra energy as hydrogen or springs. I don’t have to be cost effective of I’m not participating in the economy.
Yeah, but being stuck to a patch of land means you can’t warp away when the pirates come.
That’s what the excess hydrogen canisters are for.
Canadian forest.
My ideal way of life would be a stone & log cabin in a secluded area of forest with a small stream or lake in view of the windows. Give me a cozy fireplace crackling as i sit at my PC/in front of TV sipping scotch and looking out into nature. A nice firepit outside to grill steak and enjoy a beer or mulled wine, and some quiet days with a fishing line in the water, dont even care if i catch a single thing for the day.
