麻豆传媒AV

I think you always compare your hometown against every city you visit.

It鈥檚 not always a conscious action. You don鈥檛 set out to pit cities against each other in a mental death match. It just sort of happens.

You鈥檒l be walking down the street of some random city and you鈥檒l see something you鈥檇 never see in your hometown. Maybe a rickshaw (basically a human-pulled horse carriage) or crazy graffiti or a particularly obnoxious street musician. You鈥檒l count it as a plus or a minus for the city.聽

Then you鈥檒l see something standard (a downtown core, let鈥檚 say) and you鈥檒l think your hometown does it better or worse. Your brain goes on and on with this comparison, tallying the score until it subjectively determines a winner. It鈥檚 usually how we (unconsciously) decide if our vacation was great or a flop.

Sometimes, we purposely compare cities. We want to find out which town is the best.聽

I鈥檒l admit, I was consciously running through the checklist when I visited Regina last week. I wanted to know how Halifax stacked up.

I wandered through the city, making mental notes of every shop, street, and landmark. I kept score of the points. I hoped Halifax would eke out a victory.

Then I came across the Legislative building.

A few years ago, I served as a tour guide for the Nova Scotia legislative building. It鈥檚 the oldest one in Canada. I鈥檓 curious about other legislatures in the country, so I was naturally drawn to the Saskatchewan building.

It dwarfed the Nova Scotia legislature. You could fit three copies of the Halifax structure in this mammoth. It looked like something from the height of British imperialism and wealth. I was stunned.

It was a gorgeous building inside and out. Every part of it was immaculate. I walked down its marble hallways as the tour guide fielded questions about its history and Brad Wall鈥檚 recent resignation.

A massive garden lay at the feet of the building. It stretched on for miles, surrounding the Wascana Lake. It was full of joggers, kayakers, and oh, so many geese. I forgot about my tally and admired the greenery.聽

As I drove home (mostly in a straight line) I realized I could compare and contrast Halifax and Regina for hours. I could find dozens of ways each city topped the other.

But when I was in that garden, it didn鈥檛 matter. I was just appreciating the scenery.聽

Leave the comparisons to travel sites and Buzzfeed lists. It鈥檚 probably best to simply enjoy what you鈥檝e got.