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I can't imagine owning a house. I always thought this was because my mom never owned a house, or because I've never had any substantial amount of money. But I just stumbled upon this picture and realized that maybe it's something else: I don't have any idea where my "dream" house would be located. I looked at that picture and immediately thought, "Wow, how great would it be to wake up to that every morning?" But then again, I realize that waking up to that every morning would mean sacrificing the conveniences of city living, such as having everything within walking distance. And there are a ton of other things I love about living in a city: the culture, the events, the opportunities for career and education, the ease of transportation. But I dislike the homeless problem, and the crime, and the noise when I'm trying to sleep. How great would it be to live on a big plot of land and not have to share a wall with someone who listens to techno music?! And going even further: I wonder what it would be like to live in another country. I always thought I'd do that at some point. But as the years go by (and yes, I realize I am only 23), it seems like that won't happen. I'm on this track that is somewhat constricting. I mean, I'm investing all of this money to educate myself and set myself up for a job, but I have to get a job right after school so I can pay all that money back. This doesn't leave much time for trying out living in the country, and in Italy, and in a skyrise apartment in New York City. I have to make the choice, and chances are when I make it, it'll be pretty permanent. True, I don't know where my career and life will take me, but once I start establishing a reputation for myself as an attorney in a certain area, it'll be harder to just pick up and move. And the other issue I think about sometimes is, do I really want to live in a city when I have kids? I know it's a long way off, but it's an inner debate. Part of me thinks that kids would benefit from living in a city for the reasons listed above: culture, events, etc. But then again I think kids benefit way more from open spaces to play and explore in. I guess that's a bridge I'll cross when I get to it. In any case, looking at that picture makes me kind of sad because I realize that I can't have it all. My dream home would probably be something like this: a house on lots of land with a pool as well as a body of water nearby (preferably a lake)...but with neighbors close enough so it doesn't feel so remote...and then of course you only have to walk 2 blocks to get to a major city...did I mention that the city is Rome? Yeah, right.