This is Where You Belong

In the opening chapter the author admits to having a problem.  She and her husband are serial movers.  When Warnick’s husband lands a teaching position at Virginia Tech, they move their family from Austin, Texas to Blacksburg, Virginia.  This move marked the sixth state she had lived in since childhood.  As they unpacked in their new place she began to ponder why her family seemed to be so geographically restless.  That thought was the catalyst for this book.

Americans are some of the most nomadic people in the world.  Each year 12% of us move. We will move, on average, 11.7 times in our lifetime.  Despite our nation’s propensity to move, surprisingly, 37% of our fellow citizens never move from their hometown.  Why? 

This book is the result of Warnick’s quest to figure out what factors create place-attachment. She concludes that there is no one “right place” to put down roots.  There are positive and negative aspects to just about every place on the planet. Place-attachment has more to do with relationship and community building than some score that a town receives on one of the many “best places” lists that are popular in the media. The subtitle is a good description of the book: The Art and Science of Loving the Place You Live.  Overall, I think this book provides readers with several strategies which may help them become more engaged and connected to the community in which they live.