• Question: If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?

    Asked by Emily A on 23 Jan 2020.
    • Photo: Abbie Hutty

      Abbie Hutty answered on 23 Jan 2020:

      I like living in the UK, and definitely feel like Europe is my cultural home – whilst there are beautiful places in North America, Asia, Australasia etc I’m not sure I would ever feel at home there because the cultures are so different. I’m also terrible in hot weather so I don’t enjoy anywhere that gets too hot regularly as I just get sunburn and heat stroke and would just be hiding in the air conditioning inside or feeling awful.

      While other places in Europe might be more beautiful or nicer weather than the UK there will always be a language barrier, no matter how good my language skills became, as I would never be truly fluent. That means you normally get into a kind of “ex-pat” lifestyle, where you socialise with other British or non-native people, so again you wouldn’t ever feel fully integrated in society and that you belonged there. Whilst I might be happy doing that for a while to have that experience, I’m not sure I’d want that forever.

      So in short, UK is my home, but I’d happily try a few years somewhere else, either in Europe, North America, or maybe Australasia.

    • Photo: Divya M. Persaud

      Divya M. Persaud answered on 24 Jan 2020: last edited 24 Jan 2020 11:28 am

      I love the US and how diverse its geography (as a geologist!) and people are, and I’m getting to really like the UK as well. I’d live somewhere with mountains, close to water and the people I care about. I’d like to spend some time in South America where my parents grew up, but not permanently. I’d also like to trace my roots in India, Nepal, and possibly Pakistan someday and to study the literature and music of my heritage – and maybe teach planetary science outside of my research!

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