Somewhere I belong !!

What do you think makes people move from one city to another? or one state to another? or one country to another?

I think apart from the people who have jobs where they are regularly transferred all across the country, those who move always have the same reason deep down inside. Trying to find a place where they belong. The move might take them closer to home, closer to a loved one, closer to friends or far from the world they don't belong in. I have been living away from my country for more than a year now and this question bothers me more than ever - Where do I belong?


I live in Malaysia with my husband and we have a nice house and a good job and a good peaceful life, but I obviously don't belong here. How can I belong in a country where I do not even understand the common man's language?

So if I don't belong here, where do I belong?? Well, I haven't quite figured that out yet but I do have a list of criterion for the place I belong to. The list goes like this -

1. Top of the list is SAFETY - I need to feel safe moving around the streets at night. I need to feel relaxed when a family member is out in the city and not panic about their safety. I need to feel safe living alone (if required). So, for those of you who thought - "Go back to your country if you don't belong here!!" I can't and this is the reason why I can't!!
2. Next on the list is COMMUTE - I need to be able to spend my day the way I want. I should be able to go sightseeing or go shopping or take a class or take a swim or go to an after work comedy gig or go to work (see how work comes last on my list of things to do... ewww). And all of this should be a stone's throw away from my house. I hate to spend 2-3 hours traveling to a place where I might just spend 2-3 hours.
3. Then THE PEOPLE - There should be like-minded people around me. I need to live in an energized environment that stimulates my mind - both at work and outside. Multicultural, multirace, mix up society is great. I need intelligent, good humored, witty people around me who speak Hindi or English or both. That's what I grew up with!! My sister is one of the wittiest people I know on the planet. So I can't live with walking talking robots !! P.S. To be fair to Malaysians, you all might be witty but I don't understand the wit communicated in Malay.
4. Then comes FOOD - I should get my kind of food at least somewhere in the city if not at every street corner. Since I have grown up eating chat and papri and burgers, I shouldn't have to wait to go back home to enjoy a veggie burger. That's just unfair!! This mandates a wide presence of north Indian and vegetarian cuisine in the region. For a foodie like me, this is huge. Now for those of you who have been following my blog, I mentioned in my earlier post that it's quite easy to find vegetarian food in every restaurant in KL coz they are polite enough to customize for me. That's true!! Just the lack of veggie burgers is a lil unfair!!
5. AIR QUALITY - My husband is allergic to dust and pollution and if the air quality is terrible, he is constantly unwell and on meds. So, air quality finds its place on my list.
6. GOOD EDUCATION - For two reasons. Firstly I should be able to go back to studies if I want to. So it's good to have nice universities around. Secondly, sooner or later I will have to worry about primary education and I don't wanna move again for that.
7. AND THE CITY - I love the hustle-bustle of a city. It makes me appreciate the quiet environment of a beautiful holiday resort. I don't wanna be on a holiday forever. And all the things I need at a stone's throw aren't available outside of a city.

One of the things on my list earlier was - NO RACISM. I wanted to live in a country where there is no racism. That was until I realized how racist we are - when I say we, I mean Indians. We might all be courteous to each other, but we cling to people from our small regions and treat everyone else from the rest of the country as outsiders in our region (remember that time you or your friend called a north-east Indian - Chinese. If you just nodded yes, you are disgusting!!). 

All the Indians rebelling at my thought, this is backed up by studies. Check this link out: Top 10 racist countries in the world (courtesy: google) !! 

So, I dropped that criteria coz I come from one of those racist races !! Can't throw stones, living in a glass house !!

Anyway, so that's my small list of criteria for 'Somewhere I belong'. And Malaysia is doing just fine on everything apart from #3, #6 and veggie burgers. And I am the kind of person who wants it all :) Any ideas on where I should go??

P.S. I am a big fan of Linkin Park. At one point of time, I had a poster of the band in my office cubicle. So I played the song 'Somewhere I belong' while writing this piece. So. this post and the title are inspired by the song ;) Singin out loud already - "I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real, I wanna find something I've wanted all along - Somewhere I belong" . Poor neighbors :D :D :D