Ask Lemmy

College campuses. They almost always make me think that’s what utopia would be like.

I really like airports. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it probably has to do with the complex design and (hopefully) focus on a good traveler experience. Good airports have to have an easy-to-follow layout, but the amount of things to be discovered in an airport is also oftenvast and plentiful. I also just really love the architecture and interior design of my local airport.

Salt marshes - they were everywhere where I grew up and they're absolutely lovely to explore (as long as you use proper precautions).

I love libraries. I used to spend a lot of time in them when I was a kid. I still have my 16 digit library card number from when I was a kid memorized.

Coffee shops and pubs when they are cozy and have that atmosphere of life.

A nice old style pub, preferably with a horseshoe shaped bar. Just something peaceful for me about a nice old style pub.

This is a weird one, but grocery stores for cultures other than my own.

For one, there's SO MUCH cool shit and delicious foods I never even knew existed. I think the biggest factor though is it's the closest I've ever gotten to actually traveling. Can't afford the real thing.

While I also love their restaurants and cultural events, there's something about being served or attempting to showcase major cultural highlights in some event that kills the authenticity of the experience.

In their grocery stores, I'm surrounded by that same culture, but none of it's about me: the other shoppers don't give a fuck about me, the staff only interact at the checkout... and other than that it's just me and a can of... some kind of sauce? I can't read it... but some elderly Asian woman just grabbed two of them and the rest of her cart is filled with what will undeniably become an amazing meal... fuck it, I'll give it shot!

The drinks and junk food too are also usually a safe option to find something both very different from what I'm used to and very tasty.

Definitely spent more than a few bucks on things that weren't... eh... compatible with my palette, but finding out is part of the experience.

Idk. Weird thing to get excited about, but it's a good time.

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

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.

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.

Old growth forest, with tall trees and enough space between trees to walk or sit, and the occasional clearing.

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.

Mountains where I can see clouds rolling gently over peaks and trees. No matter how often I see it I'm always filled with an overwhelming sense of peace and awe

Anywhere that's free of light pollution.
I just wanna look at the stars dammit

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.

Love about everything outdoors around here, but the swamps are special. There's one right down the street where I kayak. Teeming with life! Bugs are no issue once you get a few feet from shore. The dragonflies do not allow anything alive over the waterline.

If you really drill towards the back, there's a monster rookery of some kind. Great Ibises I think? Hoping to spy a gator some day. There almost has to be one in there given the size of the area and food supply. Tried looking for eyeballs one night, nada.

Anyway, it's peaceful. My wife and I have tied our kayaks together and just floated in the night.

I love the beach, probably because I grew up here. It's the division between land and water. In the daytime it's relaxing and hot. Everyone is nearly naked no matter their shape. Once when I was a teenager we went at night when the phosphorescent algae were in the water and it was so magical, you could wave your hand through the water and a trail of light would follow it.

Love sleeping above a dance club, too, or when a neighbor is having a party. The thumpy muted music coming from below in particular I just find so relaxing and sort of trippy, I love the sleep I get in those conditions.

Empty places where you can see the horizon but there is no evidence of humanity. It makes me feel the vastness of time, or like I'm outside of time in a way. Its hard to describe but I find it peaceful and it makes me appreciate being alive.

Sand dunes and beaches of the outer banks in NC/SC US. The sights, sounds, and smells are amazing.

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.

Anywhere with snow and a window. It's quiet, it's peaceful, i can dress all comfy.

I love liminal spaces so much. Not the cg nonsense ones with the weird pools or endless test cell rooms but real ones. Hallways that fell crammed into buildings, like they build the rooms before realizing they need to be accessible. Rooms that have been converted into other rooms but will have the remnants of it's original use, like a stairway turned closet that still has the stairs as woefully inefficient shelves. Bedrooms that still have piping for the kitchen appliances that used to be there. Legal offices turned into studio apartments.

I love things like this.

Canadian forest.

My ideal way of life would be a stone & log cabin in a secluded area of forest with a small stream or lake in view of the windows. Give me a cozy fireplace crackling as i sit at my PC/in front of TV sipping scotch and looking out into nature. A nice firepit outside to grill steak and enjoy a beer or mulled wine, and some quiet days with a fishing line in the water, dont even care if i catch a single thing for the day.

Space!

A spaceship is the ultimate symbol of freedom!

Trees. Love me some dense forests, shaded paths, little bits of creeks, but it’s all down to the trees for me. I am lucky enough to own my home and it won not because the house was perfect but because of the five mature oak trees in the backyard.

I like beaches. Especially in the graveyard hours at night where there are few people there and I can feel the nice ocean breeze

Downtown of a small town in the middle of winter, late at night when nobody's around. Cold enough that the snow squeaks under your feet as you walk, but no wind at all. Just the memory of the smell of sub-zero air makes me think about a destination with warm walls a nice cup of hot tea waiting for me.

A workshop.

All those tools with dedicated reasons for existing. All those improvised tools that are highly specialized. All the scraps and leftovers saved for some unknown day in the future. The whole vibe is opportunity to create.

Bed. Sleeping is the best.

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.

The woods, at night, near a creek or river that also doesn't have a ton of frogs. IDK why, really. It's just the kind of place I always think of when I think about where I want to be.

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.

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.

One of our family friends owned a property I used to go camping on when I was a kid. There was a heavily wooded area with a creek running through it and there was a wide part of it that had a bend that went around a sandbar that was big enough to camp on. It was so quiet and peaceful there. Probably my favorite spot on the planet. I've found other places like that but they've been in public campgrounds and having tons of people around ruins the vibe.

Maybe bizarre. My happy place is a new brewery taproom.

Visiting some different places. Experiencing what other beer fanatics have set up as their special place. Tasting what they've been able to put together. Looking for that "diamond in the rough". Tasting a beer from a small spot that's great or even better than some of the best.

I've been to several hundred around the U.S. and 7 countries. It's a fun and tasty hobby.

My basement.