City living and natural surroundings each have a lot to offer you. Urban spaces tend to have access to career resources, entertainment, and other amenities. More rural areas give you the chance for adventures into the wild and sustainable lifestyles. The good news is that if you value both, you don’t necessarily have to pick one or the other.
With a little forethought, you can optimize your city life to support your outdoor interests. Some of the components will be innate aspects of the space you choose to live in. Others will require you to make adjustments. At a time in which we should all be more cognizant of the environment, prioritizing urban and natural harmony can be good for you and the world around you. Let’s explore this concept a little further.
Finding a Supportive Location
No matter what urban landscape you live in, there are ways you can make your home incorporate elements of the outdoors. Nevertheless, if this is priority number one and you have the time and resources available, it’s well worth considering moving to a location that optimizes city living and outdoor life.
This will require some research on your part. There are some key characteristics that can help you identify a new home that combines your love of the city and nature, including:
- Proximity to outdoor activities you love: Think about what types of outdoor adventures you regularly engage in—or want to do more of. Look for cities that have the amenities for these activities in or within a short traveling distance. For instance, if you enjoy skiing, you could choose a city near mountains.
- Strong outdoor culture: Another element to consider is whether your target locations have strong outdoor cultures associated with them. Good indicators of this are plenty of parks in the city space or even bike lanes. You could also look for how prevalent local groups that engage in outdoor activities are.
It’s important to remember that you’re not always going to find the perfect blend of the city and the outdoors. This may be limited by the location itself, but also your specific needs, such as where you can find work. Rather, aim to achieve a good balance. It may be the case that you can’t live in a fully equal urban and natural oasis, but perhaps you could afford somewhere with good public transportation links to nearby outdoor spaces. Having a solid understanding of your needs and resources helps you to make informed choices.
Embracing Sustainability at Home
One of the ways you can harmonize city and outdoor living is to embrace sustainability. It’s an opportunity to ensure the trappings of your urban life don’t have a negative impact on the natural world you value. These are activities you can do wherever you live.
Urban gardening
Growing your own food has multiple benefits. Firstly, you have access to healthy foodstuffs. You can also boost biodiversity in the area by providing habitats and nutrition for vital pollinators, like bees. Not to mention that you’ll be spending quality time with plants and other vegetation outdoors. Remember that you don’t need a huge amount of space to do this in. You can also plant herbs, tomatoes, and potatoes in window boxes and on balconies.
Renewable energy
Your love for the outdoors doesn’t just offer opportunities for recreation, but also resources for sustainable energy. Even if you can’t put solar panels on the roof of your urban home, there are ways you can harness solar power in your everyday life. If you need outdoor lighting in your yard or for your balcony, you can get lamps and floodlights that use built-in photovoltaic cells to charge during the day. For cooking out, you can invest in solar-powered ovens and grills. You might even consider using portable solar stations to charge your electrical devices, rather than using grid power.
Engaging in Outdoor Community Initiatives
Harmonizing city living with outdoor adventures doesn’t just have to be an individual pursuit. There are ways you can enrich both you and the community you live around. Many urban spaces have community initiatives that give you opportunities to have a positive impact.
Some examples could include:
- Cleanups of natural areas: Community organizations often organize cleanups of natural spaces. In urban areas, this may include beaches, parks, and trails, among others. Getting involved in these is a way to care for the environment and keep the outdoor resources pleasant for your adventures.
- Citizen science projects: More people are getting involved with citizen science projects as a way to get outdoors and contribute to a healthy environment. In cities, this might include projects that monitor wildlife and measure local biodiversity, planting wildflowers, or projects that build habitats for urban animals. Organizations, such as SciStarter, keep reliable databases to help people find projects in specific areas.
These community activities aren’t just chances to get outside and do some good in your city. They can also be fantastic opportunities to meet like minded people who you can share adventures with or even introduce you to new activities. You might find this aspect particularly positive if you’ve moved to a new city and haven’t made many friends yet.
Conclusion
Harmonizing city living with outdoor adventures is possible, but requires intentional actions. It might be choosing a balanced location to suit your priorities or engaging with community initiatives that protect the natural world. Don’t feel as though you have to do everything all at once, though. You can make gradual adjustments to your city life, heading toward more holistic outdoor harmony. Even the small things you do now can give you a more enriching experience.
Photo Credit
Photo is from Pexels
Guest Author Bio
Charlie Fletcher
Charlie Fletcher is a freelance writer from the lovely “city of trees”- Boise, Idaho. Her love of writing pairs with her passion for social activism and search for the truth. When not writing she spends her time doodling and embroidering. And yes, she does love all kinds of potatoes!
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