The Radius Of My Life.

 I dislike sprawling cities.

Or, at least, having to live in them. 

I am in the Phoenix area this week, visiting family who are generously watching my dog as I travel for work. While I was up here, I decided to go to the high end fashion mall to look at perfume.

And it was more of an exhausting experience than I like.

First, I had to drive 40 minutes to get to the part of town where it is. And that was without traffic. 

Then when I got into the mall, with it's luxury brand shops and car showrooms... And stuffy air and sterile environment... I thought to myself, "This feels so unnatural. And boring."

Yet, I used to walk in high end shopping places a few times a day for years.

YEARS.

I loved window shopping, and - when I could afford to - buying. 

It was my high.

Now... I can afford to shop at these places, but I have absolutely no desire to actually be at them. 

And I do far less impulse-buying than I used to. 

Today, I did none.

In fact, I only got one thing on my list.

A classic for me. Tom Ford's Wild Ginger.

"I only get three of these tubes in at a time," the gentleman at the Tom Ford counter in Neiman Marcus told me. 

I didn't feel compelled to chat with him. When I showed up at the counter, he did ask me if he could help me. I asked about the lipstick. He grunted and pointed to a counter behind the register for me to look at. 

"They're over there," he said, not looking at me.

He wasn't helping anyone else.

"I'll take a tube," I said. 

His energy perked.

"This is such a popular color. This and the Scarlet Rouge," he said.

"Yes," I told him. "I own both. I've worn this color for about a decade."

I put my vintage Chloe Paddington Bag on the counter to dig for my phone to scan for payment. 

"Ohmigosh! I love it! You even have the lock on it!" he said.

"It's about 16 years old," I said.

He looked impressed.

He thanked me for my purchase. 

I walked away, acknowledging him with a nod and a quiet, "Thank you."

It was mid-afternoon, and I hadn't eaten anything since 6am. Naturally, I found my way to the Pinkberry situated conveniently outside the store.

As I waited for my "small original with coconut and toasted almonds with a sprinkle of mini M&Ms"... 

I thought about where I would live if I didn't live in Tucson. And why I liked Tucson so much.

• It's not as sprawling.
• I can walk or ride my bike to most places I do frequent.
• At least in my neighborhood, it doesn't feel like people are trying too hard to come across as anything in particular. I'm surrounded by compassionate, intelligent people.

Where else could I live if I didn't here?

You'd live in NYC. 

I'm in no hurry to return there though. Not to live. Though it is true. I could be old and living in NYC. It's the perfect place for that.

Arizona, possibly, is not.

But for now, I am happy with the radius of my life in Tucson.