I moved to Idaho because I wished to live deliberately

I moved to Idaho because I wished to live deliberately. And to plagiarize Walden.

No, I moved to Idaho because I wished to to prioritize my life around experiences. To have time to spend in the pasttimes, pursuits and whimsies that are tangible and real. Experiences that we hold with us and not obsess over my checkbook or occupation. I wanted also to live in a place that was convenient.

Boise is the most convenient place I have ever lived since college. The travel times are similar only now by bike rather than foot:

• Groceries? 2 minutes
  
• Park? 3 minutes
• Work? 10 minutes
  
• Hiking? 10 minutes
• Bar? 1 minute
• Friend's houses? 10 minutes
• Camping, Rafting, Skiing or Hot Springs 30 minutes (by car)
  

And if I could afford the North End the times would be reduced.

I love the simplicity of a bicycle. It was not until I removed driving from my life that I realized just how much stress driving adds to your existence and how much time and energy it sapped. Biking every day along the greenbelt, watching the river and trees change with the season is invigorating.

Over the next few months I'm going to be experimenting to see how much more beauty I can find in simplifying my existence and removing clutter. While having stuff and a house makes for a pleasant home, the accumulation of too much stuff is burdensome.

I'll be using this e-book as a guide and will regularly update you with my progress.

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight

- Joseph Brackett, 1848 Shaker Song [source]
popularized in Aaron Copeland's Appalachian Spring