Environment

Being an expat, a favorite topic of conversation is 'where I/you want to go next?' or 'When do you plan to go home?'

It's a good question. I'm not sure I want to stay in Dubai for ever, but I'm also not sure about how long I want to be here for or where else I would like to live.

For almost the first time ever, I have no fixed plans apart from keeping my eyes and mind open to interesting opportunities.

And as to going 'home', I have no idea where that is. Constantly moving around as a child left me with the feeling that 'home' is wherever I am right now, so in effect 'home' could be anywhere. The longest I've ever lived in one fixed place was 18 years in London, on and off, but that doesn't feel like 'home' either - I love going back to see family and friends, and it's a great place to shop, but that's about it.

I have a great love for California, which is where my extended family is from (and where most of them still live), but while a good-sized portion of my heart resides there California has only been a temporary resting-place for me. I used to think that I would end up there, somewhere along the coast near San Francisco, but now I'm not so sure.

So, where WILL I end up? I have no idea. My only criteria is that it will be close to water (being land-locked makes me feel slightly uncomfortable) with a warm and sunny climate. Good food, friendly people and an interesting history would be a bonus.

Apart from all that, it could be almost anywhere - South America, South-East Asia, the Pacific Islands, Southern Europe... ?

I do have an image in my mind of the house I will build one day; a minimalist white block with a wall of glass on one side looking out over the sea or the ocean; inside a flow of open space and double-height ceilings, polished concrete floors, lots of natural wood and a big wrap-around deck with loungers and a hammock.

It's good to have dreams but it's also nice not to be overly fixated on the details. Here's to a free-flowing future...