Location, Location Location...

Marks & Spencer's in-store cafe may not be the coolest place to take morning coffee but, when not in company, I sometimes go there. The coffee is good, the service is amusingly old-fashioned and the first-floor room overlooking the city streets is light, spacious and well-furnished. Outside of peak shopping times it is a sort of retreat, sparsely populated and calmer than the likes of Costa or Nero. The definition of 'un-cool' is subjective but, in this case, a probable contributory factor is the approach route - a circuitous path through the ladies' underwear department. While being spotted in the cafe might diminish one's cool factor, being seen to linger in lingerie could damage it irreparably. I walk briskly through, keeping my head down.

As I sipped my coffee there this morning I felt momentarily directionless; as if still afloat but bobbing about in the wake of a near-collision with a much larger vessel. I gathered my wits and pulled out my phone. Scrolling through the history I was reminded of the brief but intense relationships recently formed with Libby, Patrick, Anita and Stephen. I would have preferred them to be briefer and less intense but I didn't really have much choice. We were all engaged together in the tortuous process of buying and selling apartments.

Now it's done but it's not over: the new place needs inhabiting, titivating, savouring. As I sit for the first time in my new den, unsorted stuff in piles around me, I have a moment to contemplate the fact that, after 15 years in one place, I now live somewhere else. Despite the disruption, I can feel a therapeutic benefit resulting from the move - a change is as good as a rest – and, were it not for the complications and frustrations of buying and selling properties, it might even be something I would do more frequently (perhaps renting is the way forward). The campervan remains on standby but I'm not sure I could commit to the full-on gypsy lifestyle. Internet connectivity could be problematic.

Nevertheless, I am intrigued by the fact that, even though our new place is only two blocks away from the old one, there is quite a different ambience to the surroundings - evidence that in densely populated areas the character of a location can vary abruptly from one street to the next. The theory that location is all-important may have its origin in commercial valuations but there is an argument to be made for its being the primary factor when it comes to choosing a home - assuming one has the luxury of choice. Certainly one's location and lifestyle are interdependent and it is commonplace for people to relocate in order to further a career, pursue an interest - or flee from danger. I am fortunate in never having needed to flee but would consider it danger of a kind to remain in one location without giving due consideration to the effect that would have on my assumptions concerning how best to live life.

So, while in the process of settling in, I am already contemplating another move so as to stimulate my imagination. Given that our lifespan is limited it would seem unadventurous to spend too much of it in one place, making oneself comfortable and inviting complacency to take hold. If we could know in advance how much time we have, we would not be inclined to squander it: as the man said, "I don't need time. I need a deadline." In any case, I must take care not to get too comfortable in Marks & Spencer's.