Not having to own a car and drive it day-to-day. Interesting places with interesting people within walking distance, cafes, etc.

Serendipity. Randomness and some level of chaos on the street. Being able to have interesting conversations at random, not going from bubble to bubble (i.e. home-car-workplace).

Being in a place where kids can be somewhat independent starting at age 10 or so, not somewhere where encourages helichopper parenting.

Not having a large, grassy yard around my house. Maybe a veggie garden and deck in back. But mowing grass or paying some neighborhood sprog to do so for you is a big waste of life and effort. So is maintaining the outside of a house when you can pay an HOA to do that for you (or just have a brick, semi-attached house in the city where mx is minimal).

A large non-American population. People not born here tend to have a different, often more pleasant, perspective on life.

Four real seasons. No thanks to a namby-pamby Southern “winter” for me. Bad enough that it’s 50F on x-mess this year.