What If Wednesday- Where In The World?

Hello again; it's Wednesday!
That means I'm here with a 'What If' for you.
I promised something a little more light-hearted this week.  My question for you today is this:

What if you could be anywhere else in the world or frankly the universe for that matter, than where you are right now?

This week I am inspired by a teenager that I know who is about to go on a mission trip.  When I heard about where she is going I exclaimed exuberantly how "that is my favorite place in the world!"  And I do vow to take my husband there one day to see for himself the 'other love of my life'.  (Once the drug wars get a little more under control that is.)

If I could be anywhere else, I would be in Cancun, Mexico.  That is the first place where I got an inkling of what I might be in for if I could break free of my family.  I went there for two weeks the summer before my senior year of college, thanks for the generosity and time share of a friends grandfather (I was a commuter student, working full time).  It turned out to be way too expensive to make regular calls home or vice versa.  That was such a blessing- to be set free in a place so beautiful and different from where I grew up.  I learned to snorkel, had adventures I could never have tried at home, and learned what relaxation actually was.  I have gemstones that match the color of the water and a tiny vial of perfume, also called 'Cancun', that smells exactly of a perfect mix of the white sandy beaches, nightclubs and lazy days in a hammock.  I have been to other parts of Mexico since then and they just do not compare.  There is something about Mexican culture stirred with the Caribbean that will always be magic to me.

Photo credit: Keith Pomakis, via wikimedia commons

Where is your magic place?  How did it come to be that for you?

Can't Resist

Before it all goes down, I just have to get my 2 cents or so in on this historic midterm election.  I'm going to avoid pettiness or any urge to say I told you so.  (I'll just be not-so-secretly doing a happy dance all over the joint!) 
So all I have to add to this event is this: I would so much rather be represented by a closer to typical American, not perfectly polished, not a professional political manipulator.  The best person for any job is someone who takes in information, makes sound decisions, and tries diligently to do their best at said job.  I hope the results of this election can help to get our country on a track to actually be a place where average people can contribute in real ways to our wonderful historic tradition.
If you voted, thank you for fulfilling your honorable duty.  If not, I hope you feel more compelled to do so in the future.

You're Moving Where?!

Having lived all my life in one of those places that many people seem to believe is ideal, you get used to certain attitudes and assumptions- that the seasons here are the 'real' seasons, that there is only one temperature range that human beings can actually survive in, that here is normal and all else is well... crazy.
People seem very comfortable with the idea that where they live is superior to all other options. 
Then one day, if you dare to challenge that and do something like oh... say that another place might be an interesting and/or good experience, boy do you get an earful.
Now that I've really settled into 'it's not an if but a when' we will be moving away, I'm getting a real taste of what it might be like once I become an 'outsider'.
Apparently, I will lose IQ points upon crossing the border of our state and even thinking about staying away for any extended period of time.  I will also encounter mad, rabid, gigantic animals of all sorts.  I might even pick up some sort of strange accent that could be very hard to shake, like some kind of chronic disease or something.
With the horrors of huge bugs and hurricanes looming, one might be tempted to just stay put and never leave the cocoon that is 'the ideal place'.  I've even been asked if I'm worried that my dogs might get heart worm.
Seriously, no place is truly perfect.  But some might suit certain people better than others.  And there's really no way to find that out without just biting the bullet and going for it.
So I understand that there is much to where someone comes from.  But I never want to be one of those people who refuse to experience something different and admit that it's good.
I've been attached to one place for a very long time and I've only just begun to embrace the idea that I might actually want a change.
So I'll take my chances that I might regret the day that I ever left, knowing that something wonderful is just as likely to be waiting for me.
What's the worst place you've ever lived?  What about the best?