Charleston, South Carolina: The Holy City, the "it" city and the "#1 City in the World" according to Travel + Leisure.
What is the "it" factor that draws individuals from all over, students from every state and chefs from around the world?
Why did I choose to live in Charleston over another booming and buzzing city?
Why do so many families move here after their children come to the College of Charleston?
Why is Charleston continually voted as one of the top cities to visit?
These are the questions I ask myself in the moments when I take a step back and realize what a treat it is that I have the gift of living in Charleston.
Perhaps the allure of Charleston lies in the creative diversity that is collectively shared throughout this city.
The other day I gave my father a call (who happens to live only twelve minutes away from me since moving to Mount Pleasant, South Carolina) to catch up as we always do. I picked up the phone and routinely asked: "how was your day?"
Since moving from Tennessee, I must say that his responses have gotten progressively more intriguing and creative. I guess Jimmy Buffett knew more than we did when he sang about "changes in latitude, changes in attitude" because since moving further south, my father seems to have a refreshing routine of interests and activities.
He began by recounting that on a bright, sunny, Charleston Wednesday, he started his day by getting a haircut.
As he sat in the cushioned leather seat detailed with silver trim and an elevated footrest waiting for his 30-something-year-old barber (who rides a bike to work and is also a photographer on the side), he appreciated that despite only being open for a few years, the barber shop made him feel as if he had been transported back in time to an authentic, vintage barbershop.
Men both young and old flock here to get their southern swoops perfectly quaffed, their 'staches situated or just to get a trim on top.
My older brother and father have been known to get appointments at the same time so they can catch up while they get their haircut, just like a scene one might see on a reel of black and white footage from an old movie.
My father followed by saying that after his haircut, he walked across the street into a 200-year-old store and bought a boutique bottle of Austrian vodka from a guy from Liverpool, England. He went on to say that he then crossed the street again to an Irish pub where he ordered a beer from Barcelona and struck up a conversation with the bartender who was from anywhere but here (as most people in Charleston are these days).
"Only in Charleston" my father laughed as he realized the uniqueness of his day and the many people and places that one can experience in just a three hour period here.
I find it is too easy most days to become desensitized to the places in which we live. We pass by certain buildings hundreds of times, never taking the time to learn more about them, understand what's in them or even take a closer look at the exterior.
I think this is why I love when I have visitors in Charleston: I am able to see Charleston through their eyes like it is my first time in Charleston all over again.
My eyes become opened to the charm of the cobblestone streets by the Battery. My ears start to actively listen to the many church bells that sound throughout the city daily and I begin to notice the faint touch of salt in the air and (often to my dismay) the density of the thick, seasonal humidity.
This city is bursting with beauty and with the chaos of work, school and other commitments, getting lost in the hustle and bustle of daily routines can cloud our understanding of where we live.
Whether your home is Charleston, Dallas, Vegas, Paris, Dubai or even Racoon Valley, Tennesse, I encourage you to be intentional about experiencing your city as if you were a first-time visitor.
There is a first time for everything and if it is not your first time in the city or town you're in, then let this be the first time you intentionally pretend or act like it was.
Beauty and appreciation is the name of the game and for my father on that sunshiney Wednesday in downtown Charleston, I guess you could say he found beauty in a Barcelona beer, a barbershop and a British accent.
