I love an oak forest.
I know, I know, they’re fascist. They were planted on orders of the Napoleon administration as they violently captured the region where I live. Their dropped leaves activly inhibit growth of most other plants.
Yet. It feels like walking into a cathedral, visiting an oak forest. What am I saying. I’ve walked into cathedrals, it didn’t feel that way.
I just love them.
Salt marshes - they were everywhere where I grew up and they’re absolutely lovely to explore (as long as you use proper precautions).
Airports, train stations, and cafes.
Airports are rather formative to me, as well as train stations for much of the same reason, and both airports and train stations have cafes, or at the very least the ones I’ve visited typically do. There’s nothing quite like the vibe of being at an airport at 7 AM on a sunny morning about to embark on a journey into the wide blue yonder while the scent of coffee pleasantly floods your olfactory system.
This sounds cliche but parks/public playgrounds are lovely. I live near one and spend much of my downtime drawing, writing, or doomscrolling at it. They often aren’t too loud if you don’t live in a big city, and I love hearing kids play in the distance behind me. Occasionally, you might even have a nice conversation with a stranger.
Sand dunes and beaches of the outer banks in NC/SC US. The sights, sounds, and smells are amazing.
I’m drawn to places that feel forgotten, where time seems to stand still. The emptiness and absence of people create a rare solitude, and these spaces feel like snapshots of a different era. I love seeing nature gradually reclaim what was once built by humans. It’s a reminder of nature’s persistence, quietly reclaiming what we left behind.
Above all, I enjoy the disconnection. These places exist outside the rush of modern life, free from obligations and deadlines. Stepping into them feels like entering a different reality, one that’s both familiar and alien at the same time
Anywhere that’s free of light pollution.
I just wanna look at the stars dammitStaying a few nights in Big Bend National park was amazing. I’ve never felt so close to the Milky Way.
Coffee shops. I don’t know why. I just really enjoy sitting in them and having a coffee, especially if they have nice cushy couches or chairs.
Anywhere with snow and a window. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful, i can dress all comfy.
College campuses. They almost always make me think that’s what utopia would be like.
Usually campuses are the only places rationally designed to be highly accessible to people. So they can be walked. You can go from place A to place B on foot, usually under shade, either from a canopy, tree sided paths, or human scale adequately proportioned buildings. They also tend to consider and include amenities like parks, snack and drink stands, on the way. And also several cool third places like libraries, auditoriums, study halls, athleticism stadiums and cafeterias. Places where you can exist and occupy without having to consume. Finally, they usually confine cars to parking lots and prohibit their traffic inside the campus, making it a quieter and clean air space.
My point is, college campuses are sometimes literally how humans are the happiest to live.
That’s quite the surprise, as I’ve had exactly the opposite response.
yeah that’s really true
Storm drains under the city. Started exploring them in the 90s and only stopped in recent years. Great for photography and a super fun hobby for someone who fucking hates people and likes being in total solitude lol. There’s a bunch of online communities for it where I used share my photos and such. Even created a legend of sorts in Tulsa with a big ass project of painting the coordinates for every tunnel entrance in the city. It’s called the drain atlas.
Anyone looking for a fun but semi risky hobby check out draining.
I met a guy named Sam Pate. He was a radio man and was live during the JFK shooting. He said that at that time the drains were big enough for a person to easily slip into. He said the real shooter escaped that way and was on his way back to Chicago before Oswald was arrested.
I explored the hell out of those drains! I grew up in Dallas. They’re way more than easy enough for a person to fit through. You could fit a damn car through them. They’re actually a pretty famous tunnel in the draining community. Dallas is where I started my draining career lol. I’ll have to dig up some photos of that drain and show you some time. If I remember correctly we called it elm Street tunnel. It was caked in deposits as it was so old. Even had stairs in it, was really strange. Surprised I never put that together. We used to smoke weed on the grassy knoll and then explore the tunnels…
I like the crown land camping spots during summer in Alberta more than anywhere in the world. It’s beautiful, there’s remnants of others that left you rock fire pits and their extra firewood, you can shoot guns and be as loud as you want and nobody bothers you. Good trails for jogging, no stress, just nature and blue skies and good friends.
Places that are abandoned, even for just a few hours. Old home that was just walked away from years ago. Mall or airport that’s just closed for the night. Chernobyl. They all have a vibe of once having life, but no longer that makes me feel like an archeologist or something.
A nice old style pub, preferably with a horseshoe shaped bar. Just something peaceful for me about a nice old style pub.
On a frozen ocean or on the shore of a frozen ocean in the middle of February during the coldest night of the year with a cloudless moonless sky.
I got to see this once when I went to see family up on James Bay. I went out with them for a ride on a winter road and at one point we just parked in the dark with a view of the horizon. It was so cold the temperatured dipped to past minus 40! We were in a half ton truck and we parked, stopped, turned off the lights and stood outside for a while. I couldn’t believe the amount of stars we saw overhead. Stars twinkled down everywhere down to the horizon in all directions. The Milky Way was an obvious band across the sky (not as dramatic as time lapse image but still obvious to view).
At one point I realized I was so mesmerized by the image that I became almost afraid and self conscious of it all. I literally realized I was standing on the edge of the planet and it made me realize that space was not that far away and if gravity failed for whatever reason, I would just float out into it all. The coldness, the light and stars and the stillness just made it all feel like I was actually in space.
I’ll never forget that place. It was amazing.
